November 8, 2007
Beef producers should avoid surprises, inventory feed resources
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Not all bales feed the same, and producers need to take that into consideration when feeding cattle, said a Purdue University expert.The actual bale weight is not the amount that cattle will consume. Ron Lemenager, Purdue Extension beef management specialist, said it's important to not make assumptions based on bale weight alone.
"Producers need to weigh representative bales of each forage type and know the forage quality of each type to make sure they know what they have available to feed to their beef cattle," Lemenager said. "We don't need a surprise in January and February when we figure out that we are out of feed because we thought that these bales each contained 1,500 pounds of feed. Make sure you know the true feed weight of the bale."
Part of figuring out the true usable portion of each bale is to account for the waste factor of the feeds, too. Baled corn stalks are an example where a waste factor must be considered.
"Cows will eat the shucks and leaves, but they will leave the stalks," Lemenager said. "The stalks represent a fairly significant portion of that bale weight. Consider the consequences if farmers assume they have a 1,000-pound bale when, in fact, it really weighs 800 pounds.
"Then if the cows only eat 60 percent of that feed because they refuse to eat the stalk in the bale, all of a sudden that bale is now a 480-pound bale of usable feed when we assumed it was a 1,000-pound bale of actual feed."
However, there are management practices that can help producers get more out of their bales.
One method is to run the bale contents through a tub grinder, which would allow the livestock to eat more of it, Lemenager said. Grinding bale contents improves consumption and digestibility by the cows.
"If you don't have enough feed, you are going to have to consider alternative feeds," Lemenager said. "That could be byproducts and that could be limit feeding a high corn diet."
Taking inventory of feed resources is one of many topics to be discussed at an IP-videoconference to help beef cattle producers manage the forage shortage.
Helping beef producers cope with short forage supplies this winter is the theme of the Nov. 20 IP-videoconference being held by Purdue experts. The videoconference will be from 7-9 p.m. EST at the following Purdue Extension offices:
* Columbus - Bartholomew County
* Charlestown - Clark County
* Brazil - Clay County
* Aurora - Dearborn County
* Jasper - Dubois County
* Goshen - Elkhart County
* Greenfield - Hancock County
* Corydon - Harrison County
* Kokomo - Howard County
* Rensselaer - Jasper County
* Plymouth - Marshall County
* Morocco - Newton County
* Spencer - Owen County
* Rockville - Parke County
* Evansville - Vanderburgh County
* Williamsport - Warren County
The videoconference also will be held in Petersburg at the Pike County Learning Center and on West Lafayette's Purdue Campus in Pfendler Hall's Deans Auditorium. Additional locations may register until Nov. 15 by contacting Phil Reid at (765) 496-7370, pried@purdue.edu.
For questions about the videoconference, contact your local Purdue Extension office.
Writer: Julie Douglas, (765) 496-1050, douglajk@purdue.edu
Source: Ron Lemenager, (765) 494-4817, rpl@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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