Cost Cutting Checklist by Mike Mehren Ph.D.

This month I’d like to start a checklist of ways to save money when wintering beef cows and calves. There are many different tools available, and the current prices should encourage you to try some of them. If you have some thoughts along this line, or things you do to cut cost and would care to share them with others, I’d be happy to pass them along. Feeding nothing but straw and a mineral to cows that are just about to calve or have calved is NOT one of them. I know it is being done, and am well aware of the consequences. Hopefully you aren’t trying this; if so, expect more open cows, later-calving cows next spring, more sick calves, and lighter weaning weights.

FEED WASTE. Research reported by Dr. Dhuyvetter at North Dakota State indicates that cattle may waste up to 40% of their feed in some instances. Losses of 15 to 20% are quite common. He notes that a goal of 5 to 10% waste is possible. Factors such as feed quality, feeding surface, and feeding frequency influence how much the cattle will waste. Low quality feeds such as straw or baled corn stalks are good candidates
for lots of waste. Feeding only the amount of these ingredients that the cattle will eat in one day rather than a week or more can reduce waste. Feeding on muddy ground increases waste. Any type of barrier that prevents the cattle from standing or bedding in the feed will reduce waste. This can be as simple as a hotwire fence placed around the feeding area. Bale feeders or feeder gates serve this purpose. Another source of waste occurs when stacks of hay or silage are uncovered and exposed to the elements. Bales of hay stacked 4 high can lose the top and bottom bales due to rain damage and mold. An open silage pit may lose the top 12 inches of feed when not covered. Even if you are able to feed all of the damaged hay or silage, the protein and TDN will be much lower than the rest of the stack or pit.

TECHNOLOGY. Low quality feed such as straw or baled corn stalks can be ammoniated to improve the protein and TDN of the forage. Basically, the stack is covered with a plastic sheet and anhydrous ammonia is injected. This should be done immediately after harvest because the chemical reaction works better in warm weather than cool. The process is dangerous, and should be attempted by qualified personnel, such as employees of a fertilizer company working with different forms of ammonia. If your program allows, the feed additive Rumensin is cleared for improving feed efficiency in mature beef cows. This means that every pound that the cow eats will be used to produce more energy than the same feed without the additive. This can also be fed to calves being wintered or backgrounded. It has the added benefit of preventing coccidiosis and bloat. The improvement in feed efficiency amounts to 5 to 7%...which means that you can feed 5-7% less feed to keep the cows in the same condition. We also know that grinding or chopping hay or straw improves intake and consequently improves performance on the same total pounds of feed. De-worming cattle in the early fall helps in two different ways. One, you aren’t feeding the worms all fall and winter, which once again, means that the cattle will get more out of every pound fed. Secondly, parasites impair the immune system. Heavily parasitized cattle are more prone to succumb to a disease challenge, than those harboring few or no parasites. Research from the companies providing de-wormers shows that desert and mountain cattle will harbor worms. It isn’t confined to pasture cattle.

Feed testing becomes even more important when prices are extremely high. We need to buy the greatest amount of nutrients possible for each dollar spent. For instance, you may be offered a bluegrass straw with 9% protein instead of the more typical 5%. Using that information will allow you to feed extra straw in place of alfalfa or any other high-priced source of protein. I’ve seen feeder alfalfa that has ranged from 17% protein to 21% protein. If you are trying to supplement straw with 0.5 lb of protein, you only need to feed 2.7 lb of 21% alfalfa vs. 3.3 lb of 17% hay. One half pound of hay per cow per day adds up in a hurry...especially when both hays were priced the same.

FEED ALTERNATIVES. Almost every crop grown for human consumption has some waste or byproduct. Those byproducts can be eaten or drunk by cattle. Let your imagination run wild. My favorite subject in this area is feeding potato vines. Cattle can use them for maintenance. They are taken off the field and put in a pit to ensile. So far, I’ve had no success with this brilliant idea. Potato farmers obviously can’t suffer any loss of production to supply cattle with feed. Most often, I’m told that the vines have to be wilted using chemical agents and lack of water. Nobody has proven to me that cutting and removing the vines prior to potato harvest isn’t possible without losing yield.
If you can graze most of the fall and into the winter that will be quite a bit cheaper than feeding hay and straw. Unfortunately everybody and their brother know this, and grazing at that time of year is hard to come by. It might be possible to encourage a
neighbor to apply water to his fields after harvesting grain, so that you can turn cattle out to graze the volunteer crop. In some areas, grain and other grasses are grown and saved (stockpiled) for winter grazing. In the Hermiston and Columbia Basin we can plant grazing triticale or turnips by August 10th, and have a tremendous resource for fall grazing. With hay and straw reaching record prices, we may see the day that we feed a limited amount of a ‘growing’ ration to beef cows because we can feed quite a bit less of it than the amount of hay and straw that is needed. It all comes down to dollars/cow/day to meet her needs during that portion of her calving cycle.

CULLING. Feed only those animals that bring home a calf and are bred to calve next year. Bulls must be sound and have maintained the same body condition as other bulls in your herd. Unless you have a feed program coupled with a marketing program to sell dry, open cows, they will use feed that could be consumed by productive animals. This might also be said for leppy calves. Why continue to feed them all fall and winter while
their herdmates are gaining weight?

GROUPING. Cattle can be separated into groups of similar animals. Some groups might be (1) replacement heifer calves (2) two year old and 3 yr old heifers (3) main cow herd (4) old cows and thin cows...might be mixed in with two and 3 yr old heifers, and (5) bulls. The advantages of grouping are due to differences in nutrient needs and amounts of feed needed to achieve your production goal. For instance, you can feed a lot
more straw to the main cowherd than you can to replacement heifers. Two and 3 year old heifers need higher feed quality than the main cow heard.

SUPPLEMENT CHOICE. I don’t mean Brand A vs Brand B, or liquid, tub, block, or meal. Make certain that you purchase a supplement that provides the nutrients that are missing from your hay, straw, silage, volunteer, range or pasture. The only way you can really make that call is to have your feed tested. Any reputable feed company should have a nutritionist available to go over a feed test with you and determine which nutrients are needed and which aren’t. A county livestock agent or Veterinarian who works in nutrition can also help. There are simple computer programs available that allow you to describe your feeds with their analysis; you choose the amount to be fed, and the computer will take this data along with your animal’s description and tell you how your feed meets the needs of your cattle. This area offers a terrific potential for savings! A mineral supplement may cost $.07/head/day while a protein supplement may cost $.40/head/day.

According to my calculations, if you combine all of the cost cutting measures mentioned, you should be able to winter cows or calves for free. Someone from the government
will stop by and pay you $1.00/head/day for complying with the Forage Conservation Act. However in real life, about 15 to 20% can be saved by using some of these strategies in a way that works with your labor, equipment, and land.

Michael J. Mehren, Ph.D. is a livestock nutritionist from Hermiston Oregon who has removed parsley sprigs and broccoli from his diet for cost cutting purposes. He may be contacted by Email @ mehrens@eotnet.net.



		Cost Cutting Checklist BY MIKE MEHREN This month I’d like to start a checklist of ways to save money when wintering beef cows and calves. There are many different tools available, and the current prices should encourage you to try some of them. If you have some thoughts along this line, or things you do to cut cost and would care to share them with others, I’d be happy to pass them along. Feeding nothing but straw and a mineral to cows that are just about to calve or have calved is NOT one of them. I know it is being done, and am well aware of the consequences. Hopefully you aren’t trying this; if so, expect more open cows, later-calving cows next spring, more sick calves, and lighter weaning weights. FEED WASTE. Research reported by Dr. Dhuyvetter at North Dakota State indicates that cattle may waste up to 40% of their feed in some instances. Losses of 15 to 20% are quite common. He notes that a goal of 5 to 10% waste is possible. Factors such as feed quality, feeding surface, and feeding frequency influence how much the cattle will waste. Low quality feeds such as straw or baled corn stalks are good candidates for lots of waste. Feeding only the amount of these ingredients that the cattle will eat in one day rather than a week or more can reduce waste. Feeding on muddy ground increases waste. Any type of barrier that prevents the cattle from standing or bedding in the feed will reduce waste. This can be as simple as a hotwire fence placed around the feeding area. Bale feeders or feeder gates serve this purpose. Another source of waste occurs when stacks of hay or silage are uncovered and exposed to the elements. Bales of hay stacked 4 high can lose the top and bottom bales due to rain damage and mold. An open silage pit may lose the top 12 inches of feed when not covered. Even if you are able to feed all of the damaged hay or silage, the protein and TDN will be much lower than the rest of the stack or pit. TECHNOLOGY. Low quality feed such as straw or baled corn stalks can be ammoniated to improve the protein and TDN of the forage. Basically, the stack is covered with a plastic sheet and anhydrous ammonia is injected. This should be done immediately after harvest because the chemical reaction works better in warm weather than cool. The process is dangerous, and should be attempted by qualified personnel, such as employees of a fertilizer company working with different forms of ammonia. If your program allows, the feed additive Rumensin is cleared for improving feed efficiency in mature beef cows. This means that every pound that the cow eats will be used to produce more energy than the same feed without the additive. This can also be fed to calves being wintered or backgrounded. It has the added benefit of preventing coccidiosis and bloat. The improvement in feed efficiency amounts to 5 to 7%...which means that you can feed 5-7% less feed to keep the cows in the same condition. We also know that grinding or chopping hay or straw improves intake and consequently improves performance on the same total pounds of feed. De-worming cattle in the early fall helps in two different ways. One, you aren’t feeding the worms all fall and winter, which once again, means that the cattle will get more out of every pound fed. Secondly, parasites impair the immune system. Heavily parasitized cattle are more prone to succumb to a disease challenge, than those harboring few or no parasites. Research from the companies providing de-wormers shows that desert and mountain cattle will harbor worms. It isn’t confined to pasture cattle. Feed testing becomes even more important when prices are extremely high. We need to buy the greatest amount of nutrients possible for each dollar spent. For instance, you may be offered a bluegrass straw with 9% protein instead of the more typical 5%. Using that information will allow you to feed extra straw in place of alfalfa or any other high-priced source of protein. I’ve seen feeder alfalfa that has ranged from 17% protein to 21% protein. If you are trying to supplement straw with 0.5 lb of protein, you only need to feed 2.7 lb of 21% alfalfa vs. 3.3 lb of 17% hay. One half pound of hay per cow per day adds up in a hurry...especially when both hays were priced the same. FEED ALTERNATIVES. Almost every crop grown for human consumption has some waste or byproduct. Those byproducts can be eaten or drunk by cattle. Let your imagination run wild. My favorite subject in this area is feeding potato vines. Cattle can use them for maintenance. They are taken off the field and put in a pit to ensile. So far, I’ve had no success with this brilliant idea. Potato farmers obviously can’t suffer any loss of production to supply cattle with feed. Most often, I’m told that the vines have to be wilted using chemical agents and lack of water. Nobody has proven to me that cutting and removing the vines prior to potato harvest isn’t possible without losing yield. If you can graze most of the fall and into the winter that will be quite a bit cheaper than feeding hay and straw. Unfortunately everybody and their brother know this, and grazing at that time of year is hard to come by. It might be possible to encourage a neighbor to apply water to his fields after harvesting grain, so that you can turn cattle out to graze the volunteer crop. In some areas, grain and other grasses are grown and saved (stockpiled) for winter grazing. In the Hermiston and Columbia Basin we can plant grazing triticale or turnips by August 10th, and have a tremendous resource for fall grazing. With hay and straw reaching record prices, we may see the day that we feed a limited amount of a ‘growing’ ration to beef cows because we can feed quite a bit less of it than the amount of hay and straw that is needed. It all comes down to dollars/cow/day to meet her needs during that portion of her calving cycle. CULLING. Feed only those animals that bring home a calf and are bred to calve next year. Bulls must be sound and have maintained the same body condition as other bulls in your herd. Unless you have a feed program coupled with a marketing program to sell dry, open cows, they will use feed that could be consumed by productive animals. This might also be said for leppy calves. Why continue to feed them all fall and winter while their herdmates are gaining weight? GROUPING. Cattle can be separated into groups of similar animals. Some groups might be (1) replacement heifer calves (2) two year old and 3 yr old heifers (3) main cow herd (4) old cows and thin cows...might be mixed in with two and 3 yr old heifers, and (5) bulls. The advantages of grouping are due to differences in nutrient needs and amounts of feed needed to achieve your production goal. For instance, you can feed a lot more straw to the main cowherd than you can to replacement heifers. Two and 3 year old heifers need higher feed quality than the main cow heard. SUPPLEMENT CHOICE. I don’t mean Brand A vs Brand B, or liquid, tub, block, or meal. Make certain that you purchase a supplement that provides the nutrients that are missing from your hay, straw, silage, volunteer, range or pasture. The only way you can really make that call is to have your feed tested. Any reputable feed company should have a nutritionist available to go over a feed test with you and determine which nutrients are needed and which aren’t. A county livestock agent or Veterinarian who works in nutrition can also help. There are simple computer programs available that allow you to describe your feeds with their analysis; you choose the amount to be fed, and the computer will take this data along with your animal’s description and tell you how your feed meets the needs of your cattle. This area offers a terrific potential for savings! A mineral supplement may cost $.07/head/day while a protein supplement may cost $.40/head/day. According to my calculations, if you combine all of the cost cutting measures mentioned, you should be able to winter cows or calves for free. Someone from the government will stop by and pay you $1.00/head/day for complying with the Forage Conservation Act. However in real life, about 15 to 20% can be saved by using some of these strategies in a way that works with your labor, equipment, and land. Michael J. Mehren, Ph.D. is a livestock nutritionist from Hermiston Oregon who has removed parsley sprigs and broccoli from his diet for cost cutting purposes. He may be contacted by Email @ mehrens@eotnet.net.		About OFGA Services Join OFGA Meetings & Events OFGA Officers OFGA Bylaws Links Contact OFGA Articles Mike Mehren, Ph.D. Feed/Export Wheat Report