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181: The Hidden Feed Waste Costing Producers Thousands · CattleUSA Daily

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  Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily podcast, your go to source for
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  the latest livestock markets, industry insights and the
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  updates shaping agriculture today.
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  I'm your host Lauren Moylan, a passionate advocate for
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  agriculture, here to keep you informed and connected.
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  Now let's dive into today's episode.
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  Feed is one of your biggest costs, so losing it before
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  cattle ever eat it is like burning money.
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  Wastage happens at every step. Harvesting, storage, delivery,
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  feeding, all of the above. Today we are going to walk
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  through simple research backed tweaks and strategies that help
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  you keep more of what you make, store and bring to the herd.
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  Because every pound saved is a pound that you do not have to
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  buy later. Extension work across the states
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  shows that feed waste isn't small, and hay losses of 30 to
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  50% are common. If you don't manage storage and
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  feeding well, even a 10% waste rate on hay or silage adds up
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  fast. That's extra cost per cow per
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  month just from what is spilled, trampled, refused, or spoiled.
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  So fixing waste isn't just tinkering, it can fix your feed
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  budget meaningfully. Before we jump into fixes, let's
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  map the loss points first. Number one, you've got storage
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  losses. Things like weather damage,
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  spoilage, or moisture intrusion #2 you have delivery and
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  handling losses. Things like dropping bales, poor
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  transport or damaged ends. Then you've got #3 feeder and
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  feeding losses, trampoline, soiling cattle, pulling hay out,
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  all of those sorts of things that we see there.
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  And then you've got #4 feeding site problems, muddy ground,
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  poor drainage, or even mixed forage slash soil contamination
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  at the feeding site. If you know where your weakest
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  links are, you can target improvements smartly.
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  So let's talk about some simple high leverage changes that you
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  can make on your operation. First things first, storage
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  matters. Store hay off the ground,
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  undercover or on pallets, gravel or raised beds to keep moisture
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  out. Stack bales in pyramid or leave
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  spacing for airflow. Don't let rounded edges press
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  tightly to each other where water can creep in.
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  And finally, use tarps or protective covers but ensure
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  that they are well anchored and allow ventilation.
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  Then you've got looking at our better feeding design and
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  configuration. Choose feeder designs with
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  sheeted bottoms, cones or baskets and restrict direct
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  access to reduce pulling and trampling of your hay.
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  Experiments showed feeders with sheeted bottoms reduce waste by
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  roughly half compared to open feeders.
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  Add a soiled sheet or barrier to the base of a round Bale feeder
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  to catch falling hay and prevent it from hitting the ground
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  unconsumed. Then you've got control, access
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  and portion sizes. Don't feed multiple days all at
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  once. Limit hay to one day or even
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  less per feeding interval to reduce trampoline and spoilage.
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  Doing so cuts waste dramatically.
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  Use temporary fixing or electric lines to limit where cattle can
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  bed down. This just keeps our stands clean
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  and dry. Lot feeding confined cattle to
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  feeder areas for 8 to 12 hours per day if possible.
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  Then fence them out for the rest of the time so hay isn't wasted
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  in bedding zones. Next we need to look at site and
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  ground preparation. Feed on well drained ground or
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  rock or gravel pads so hay doesn't soak mud or dirt.
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  Mud and soil contamination degrade feed and can add ash
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  content to the feed as well. Move feeding locations
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  periodically to avoid wear mud and compaction in one area and
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  when feeding outside, avoid low spots or areas that hold water
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  or mud. Next, let's look at forage
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  quality and matching. You need to be testing your hay
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  in forage routinely so you don't oversupply or mismatch feed,
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  which leads to refusal. Then you need to match cattle
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  groups based on size and requirements.
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  Smaller cattle shouldn't have to fight for feed buried by the
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  bigger ones. Grouping reduces waste and
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  dominant animals plugging feeders.
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  And finally, let's talk about monitoring and adjusting.
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  Walk your feeding areas, look for unconsumed hay, trampled
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  bits and adjust feeder spacing, height or restrictions as
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  needed. Track differences in feed
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  purchase versus feed seemingly can seemingly consumed.
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  That mystery loss tells you where to dig deeper.
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  Now I know we just covered all of this, but don't assume that a
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  fancy feeder or pad is going to solve everything for you.
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  There are a few traps to watch out for.
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  Number 1 is under allocating for feeders and labor cost.
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  If you buy a better feeder but never space-time to maintain it,
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  the net gain automatically shrinks on that number 2, not
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  adjusting placement or moves as seasons, conditions, and
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  everything else #2 not adjusting placement or moving the feeder
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  as seasons and conditions change.
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  What works in dry soil might fail in mud #3 letting cattle
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  overextend access when a feeder is too open.
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  The boldest cattle waste the most #4 feeding too far in
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  advance days ahead because it looks efficient.
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  But that invites trampoline spoilage and refusal from the
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  cattle. If you adopt strategies without
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  monitoring, you won't know if they're truly paying.
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  So here is the take away from today guys.
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  Wasted feed is hidden cost. Cut it and you lower your break
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  even. If you focus first on storage
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  and feeder improvements, that is the low hanging fruit that you
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  can focus on right now. Then you can adjust feeding
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  habits, look at smaller portions, can find access and
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  better ground, and finally test your hay, match cattle to
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  feeders and monitor consistently.
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  What works for one operation or one pasture is not going to work
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  for the pasture down the road or the operation across the
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  country. This is going to be something
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  that you have to monitor and do what works best for you and your
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  operation. But don't let feed waste be
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  something that is continuously hurting your bottom line as a
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  cattle producer because every pound that you save is 1 less
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  that you have to buy later. This is the Cattle USA daily
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  podcast. I'm your host, Lauren Moylan.
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  Thank you so much for listening. We will see you all next time on
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  another episode.