Feed costs remain the single largest expense for any cattle producer. This expense can easily be half of the total annual expenses for a rancher.
Now that amount can vary depending on the time of year and depending on the forage conditions. In a drought situation feed costs can total 70% of the total yearly costs of raising cattle.
It may seem difficult to reduce feed costs without sacrificing production. There are some that would have no problem with that but the profitable producer knows that productivity is the key to a successful operation. But all is not lost, there are 5 steps that you can reduce feed costs without sacrificing productivity.
Enhance pasture productivity
Forages are the building block for any successful cattle operation. When there are enough good quality forages for your cattle to consume then it is easier to be profitable. But how can you increase your forage production?
The beginning step in increasing forage production is doing a soil test. A soil test more than others affects the economic efficiency of your forage production. When you know what nutrients your plants need you can fertilize and lime as needed to help ensure good yields in your pastures.
Keeping weeds in check is critical in improving both forage quantity and quality. When there is too much competition from your more undesirable plants productivity will suffer. When weeds are allowed to take over a pasture the overall grazing capability of your land will go down.
Some may think that they have a certain stocking rate on their place but in reality the carrying capacity of their land is much lower than that. So it is important to know what is the “real” stocking rate of your place. I talk about finding out what your real stocking rate is in a previous article “Estimating your grazeable acreage”.
Another part of this step is realizing that improving overall forage production is an investment. It is not likely that you will see results overnight but if you do it right you will see an improvement to your bottom line.
Test your forages
Knowing the kinds and amounts of nutrients that your forages provide is important information to have. It is with this knowledge that you can make better decisions on what type of supplements, if any, are needed.
Because forage quality will change based on the time of year you will need to do this test at different times throughout the year. Doing this will give you a good idea of what your forages are providing throughout the year. Once you know this you can then make better decisions on the supplements you may need to fill in the gaps of your cattle’s nutrient requirements.
When you are testing the hay bales that you will be feeding it is important that you divide the bales into lots. Once criteria that you can use is to divide them based on the cutting that they come from. 1st cutting hay will have better nutrients available over 3rd cutting simply because of the stage of forage production. Also when feeding you will know what bales will require any additional supplements.
Trying to feed without a forage analysis is nothing more than guesswork. Sure you may get it right every once in a while. a blind hog and all that, but more times than not you will be spending money on supplements that you may not even be needing.
Minimize hay feed waste
Hay can represent the single largest feed costs for a cow producer and not just with the hay itself. You also have to take into account the cost of the equipment used, fuel, as well as fertilizer. Hay costs between $0.02 and $0.07 per pound of dry matter. That can be more than double the cost of other sources.
How you store and feed the hay will play a role in reducing any waste. According to a study done by Oklahoma State losses during storage can get up to 50% of the total bale. I don’t know about you but I do not have the money to only end up with half of my bale being any good.
The key thing to know is that you will want to keep the bale protected from the elements. This can be covering them with a tarp or placing them on a bed of gravel to improve drainage. If you are feeling really ambitious you can even build a covered building to store them in. I mention the ways to properly store hay in a previous article “5 rules for proper hay storage”.
When feeding that bale of hay how you go about doing that will determine the amount of waste that happens. When feeding you will want to place it in some kind of rack, such as a hay ring. Studies have shown that not using a type of rack for hay can lead to losses of up to 40% of the bale.
Select efficient cows
One way that you can reduce feed costs is by using genetics to select more efficient cows. Some cows have a genetic disposition to be more efficient than others.
The size of your cows will also play a factor in total feed costs. Though it may seem to be better to have larger cattle however they will require more feed. Maintenance energy can represent 70% to 75% of total energy consumed. That means that larger size means they will require more feed just to meet their basic requirements.
But larger cows mean more pounds at weaning right? Researchers in Wisconsin have found that smaller cows can wean more pounds of calf per pound of feed. They also found that increasing the amount of feed that the larger cows consumed showed no improvement in weaning weights.
With the recent advancements in genetic research it is now easier than ever to select cows with the traits that we want them to have. Looking at EPDs is a good place to start but ultimately it is up to you as the producer. If you keep good records you can know which cows are more efficient than others and cull the ones that aren’t.
Extend your grazing season to reduce feed costs
Finally, another step that you use to reduce feed costs is to extend your overall grazing season. When your cows are able to graze forages for longer then they will require fewer supplements.
In order to do this you can incorporate cool-season grasses to extend the grazing season 60 to 90 days. This can make the grazing season go all the way to late fall or even early winter.
When deciding what perennials to go with it is good to know which ones will work best for your particular climate. A grass will do you no good if it will not grow where you are. Legumes are a good all-around choice that you can look into.
Timing is the key when planning on using either cool-season or warm-season grass. You should go with one that will go into high production around the same time that the one that you normally use starts to go down in quality. Your local seed supplier will be a good source of information on this subject.
