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171: Making Hay Stretch When Drought Won’t Let Up · CattleUSA Daily

• 0:03
  Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily podcast.
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  Your go to source for. The latest livestock markets,
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  industry insights and the update 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.
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  And connected. Now let's dive into today's
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  episode. Chronic droughts across the
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  entire United States have been impacting agriculture for years.
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  Recently, and on top of that, flash droughts hit extremely
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  quick. And these situations don't just
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  dry up grass, they drain hay reserves faster than anyone
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  would have planned originally across the Southeast, the
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  Southwest and just pockets across the entirety of the
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  United States, producers are already tapping into winter hay
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  reserves. And with the forecast not
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  guaranteeing a leather cutting, the question becomes how do you
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  make the hay that you've got stretch far enough to carry you
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  through? Today, I'm going to walk you
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  guys through some strategies that livestock specialists are
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  pointing to and why the decision you make this fall could save
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  you money, body condition, score on your cattle and stress later
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  in the season. First and foremost, let's talk
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  about the problem itself. Normally winter hay is just
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  that, it is for the winter, but the lack of forage during flash
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  droughts and just the chronic droughts that we have seen have
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  forced many producers to start feeding those bales.
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  Now at the University of Florida's Research Center, hay
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  was only recently bailed and a chance of another fall cutting
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  are extremely slim. So the warning is extremely
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  simple, if we keep feeding at this pace, the hay simply won't
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  last. And when the hay runs out, well,
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  the options usually mean paying high their commodity prices or
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  watching the body condition score of our cattle slip as
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  winter drags on. Neither one of those is a cheap
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  option. So let's talk strategies.
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  One of the simplest, most overlooked steps that you can do
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  today is to test your hay. A hay test tells you exactly
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  what you are working with. From protein to energy to fiber,
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  everything. It is all there and broken down
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  in detail. Once you know that, analyzing
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  tools can help you figure out the cheapest, most effective way
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  to supplement that hay. So pretty much.
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  In other words, I'm saying why buy expensive feet across the
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  board when you can target it based on what it your hay is
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  specifically missing. Now another thing that we can
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  strategy to that I want to talk about today is to consider
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  coaling cattle. This isn't always an easy call,
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  but the market right now makes it worth discussing and talking
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  about. Coal cow prices are strong,
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  bringing $1500 or more in many cases.
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  If you're worried about feeding into the red, selling those
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  bottom end cows now might free up resources for the core herd
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  later. It is not about shrinking your
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  operation, it is about tightening up when feed is tight
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  and the market is rewarding you for it.
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  Strategy three that I want to talk about is limiting access to
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  hay. It's just a very practical
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  adjustment. Don't let cattle have hay all
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  day long. Research shows restricting
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  access to about 6 to 8 hours can reduce waste significantly.
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  The key to this situation is making sure that every single
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  animal has access during that time.
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  Otherwise you're going to create stress and competition amongst
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  your herd. But done right, it means that
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  less hay gets trampled, less hay gets wasted, and more days your
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  reserve lasts. Now strategy 4.
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  You've got investing in the right feeders.
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  Not all feeders are created equal.
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  At Florida's Research Center, they have seen waste hit up to
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  40%, with some structures 40%. Guys, that is like losing almost
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  half of your hay before the cattle even get to see it.
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  Cone type feeders on the other hand cut that waste dramatically
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  from some research research studies that we have seen across
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  the industry. But one major tip with these
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  cone feeders is you do not want to mix cone feeders with rings
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  or trailers on the same pasture. If cattle have the option, they
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  will spend more time at the easy to access feeders and those are
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  usually the ones that waste more in the long run.
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  Cattle prices are high and that makes every cow more valuable in
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  every open cow from poor nutrition.
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  More costly nutrition decisions right now aren't just about
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  surviving the drought that you are currently in.
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  They are about positioning yourself to capture value in the
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  strongest cattle market that we have seen in years.
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  Because losing body conditions score could mean that you are
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  losing calves and profits tomorrow.
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  The drought is forcing our hands as producers.
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  But you still have a choice at the end of the day.
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  The question is how will you stretch your hay to make it last
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  through the winter without stretching your operation too?
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  Then I hope you guys enjoyed today's podcast episode where we
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  broke down some research that is hitting the news channels and
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  everything as we continue to go through these droughts and we
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  start to tap into those winter hay reserves a little too early
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  in some areas. If you guys enjoyed today's
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  episode, I got the inspiration to talk about this topic from
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  our Cattle USA Dr. newsletter. This newsletter hits your
• 5:28
  inboxes every morning at 6:00 AM, bright and early.
• 5:32
  It is the best way to start your day.
• 5:33
  It talks about everything from news that's happening in the
• 5:36
  agricultural industry. It talks commodities, weather,
• 5:41
  markets, everything that could possibly be going on in the
• 5:44
  world of the cattle industry. It's right there and outlined
• 5:47
  for you perfectly. So make sure you go check out
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  the show notes down below to hear more about what that could
• 5:52
  offer you as well. Find those links down below and
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  we will see you guys tomorrow on another episode.
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  Have a good one y'all.