A calculated approach to improved efficiencies Mark Warren UF IFAS Flagler County Extension
You have driven off the road while looking at your neighbor’s calves. You wave at every other truck you pass whether you know them or not. Over half of your clothing has Ivomec, Ralgro, or Suga-lik stitched on it. The only time your kids get an excused absence from school is when the cows get out. You’ve never thrown away a five-gallon bucket. The most watched program on TV is the Weather Report. You have enough ball caps for every day of the month, but you only wear one so you don’t get the others dirty. More than once you have had to turn your truck around to see if the paper that flew off the dash was important.
edis.ifas.ufl.edu Publication AN123
$300 $1800 $1200 $300 $500 $1500 $100 $500 $9,460 ~$15/ bale $560
Land Costs Depreciation Fences Equipment Buildings Cattle (Culls-Replacements) Taxes Insurance Calving Losses LABOR
Forages vary dramatically in quality Stored forages are more than fiber and filler They are an expensive me method of providing nutrition (deserving of improved efficiencies)
Resource Wastes (excessive inventories) Loss of body condition (BCS) Calving Percentages Weaning Weights Longer Calving Season Nutritionally Affected Disease and Parasite Impacts
How much hay will I need this winter? Why are my cows so thin? Does a bale of balage have the same amount of feed value as a bale of hay? Why are my calves so light? Where can I get some cheap hay? (February after a cold Nov, Dec, and January) When is it going to rain?
Number of Cattle Average Frame Size Duration of Feeding Season (estimate) Bale Size Moisture Content (10- 70%)
Consider production class Brood Cows Open Nursing Replacements Bulls Stockers?
Small – lbs. Medium – lbs. Large – lbs.
Estimate based on previous years Consider short seasons (before ryegrass comes on) Use Climate Forecast Consider periods of multiple methods (grazing + hay)
How do we buy feed? By the ton or by the pound How do we buy hay? By the bale The only way to really know is to weigh and do the math.
It is everything minus the water.
40 head Medium frame brood cows (1150 lbs.) Dec. 15- April 1 (~14 weeks) 1000 lb. bales (T85 cured hay) 15% moisture How many bales would it take?
5 Steps
Locate Frame Score (Small, Medium, Large)
Slide to number of cattle
Estimate Required Weeks to be fed. Read “Dry Matter Tonnage” value next to “Weeks to Supplement”
Turn the chart to the other side Locate appropriate stored forage type Cured Hay vs. Balage (ensiled) Slide the chart to the appropriate, average bale size
Using the calculated, required tonnage from the reverse side. Read the number next to the required tons and under the appropriate moisture content.