Silage and Haylage: facing new economic realities Stan Smith Fairfield County, OSU Extension

Disclaimer... Considering the way we’ve done it for decades, some of this may seem extreme... Questions / Concerns ??? No problem, I’m from the government and I’m here to help!

Background For years, hay and forage production has been consistent... In most cases yielding 2 to 4 tons of average quality forage per acre. For years, hay and forage production has been consistent... In most cases yielding 2 to 4 tons of average quality forage per acre. During the same time, corn and other row crop production has increased nearly two fold. During the same time, corn and other row crop production has increased nearly two fold. The result: costs of traditional forage production per unit of nutrient have increased significantly more than corn! The result: costs of traditional forage production per unit of nutrient have increased significantly more than corn! The rules of the game have changed...

The response... Option #1 (you’ve seen this guy before!) the same old, same old ! ! !

Option #2, The opportunity... When evaluating ‘whole farm’ profitability, shall we consider a totally new (?) concept... a THREE crop (plus one?) rotation... Corn, Soybeans, and Wheat (plus a second crop of... forage ? ? ?)

Avg. Hay Yield by County (ton / acre) yr. ave. Athens Fairfield Highland Knox Average Ohio’s average hay yield was 2.93 tons/ac in 10% moisture, that’s 2.64 tons/ac dry matter

Avg. Corn Yield by County (bu / acre) yr. ave. Athens Fairfield Highland Knox Average Ohio’s average corn yield was 151 bu/ac in harvested as corn silage = 7.35 tons/ac dry matter

Result... With high yielding, high valued crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat competing for every acre, we need to take a hard look at land use and least cost feed nutrient production, and harvest and storage alternatives for our individual operations!

Hay versus Corn Budget OSU Extension, Crop Budget spreadsheets 2.8 $80 returns negative $53.18 per ac. to L & M ($100/ac rent) 143 bu $4.90 returns $ per ac. to L & M ($100 /ac. rent)

Using the OSU Budgets Hay tons, or 2.5 tons dry matter Total cost of production = $ $0.066 per pound of dry matter nutrient Corn bushels, or 7 tons silage (DM) Total cost of production = $570 $0.041 per pound of dry matter nutrient Hay versus Corn

Using the OSU Budgets Corn, produced at $0.041 per pound of dry matter nutrient is not only less expensive per nutrient to produce, but it has... TWICE as much energy per pound, with Nearly 3 TIMES the productivity per acre! With high land values, productivity is precious! Hay versus Corn

We might even add another crop after the silage?

Plus … 1. Where do you store your hay? 2. How do you feed it? 3. Is it time to PLAN to BUNK feed cows in winter and when pasture is resting in late summer?

You’ve seen this data before … Bale type % wasted Square bale in rack 7 % Large round in rack 9% Large round no rack 45% Hay feeding systems

Hay barn, or ‘commodity’ barn?

$100 + per ton !

Or...

Custom harvest and bagging adds ~ $0.01 to cost of a pound of dry matter. Distillers can be purchased at significant savings at times. Flour or midds? Or... Could we consider selling corn grain, and buying hay? Silage mixed with distillers, and other co-products!

Corn, , 151 bushels per acre Corn, , 151 bushels per acre Soybeans, , 46 bushels per acre Soybeans, , 46 bushels per acre Wheat, , 67 bushels per acre Wheat, , 67 bushels per acre Which is the most profitable ? ? ? Which is the most profitable ? ? ? Using Monday’s (March 3, 2008) cash crop bids, and the OSU Budgets... Using Monday’s (March 3, 2008) cash crop bids, and the OSU Budgets... Option #2, The opportunity, cont... The past 3 years, average Ohio corn, bean & wheat yields

Corn, $ Corn, $ Soybeans, $ Soybeans, $ Wheat, $ $23.10 (straw)= $ Wheat, $ $23.10 (straw)= $ Which is the most profitable ? ? ? Which is the most profitable ? ? ? Environmentally friendly ? ? ? Environmentally friendly ? ? ? Let’s look at “life after wheat” Let’s look at “life after wheat” Option #2, The opportunity, cont... Returns to the land project at:

Do we need a place to haul manure nutrients? Do we need a place to haul manure nutrients? Do we need to trap or utilize manure nutrients? Do we need to trap or utilize manure nutrients? Do we need additional forage, or cash grain income? Do we need additional forage, or cash grain income? Double crop soybeans, gross returns: Double crop soybeans, gross returns: 20 bu. X $13.75 = $275 dollars per acre Double crop oat forage, gross returns: Double crop oat forage, gross returns: 4 tons X $100/ton = $400 dollars per acre Option #2, The opportunity, cont...

All things considered... Hay, or ? With high yielding, high valued crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat competing for every acre, there’s far less economic incentive to grow hay for livestock feed. Is it time to get back to a corn, beans and wheat/oats rotation? And better utilize annuals and crop residues ?

Could oats be our most productive FORAGE?

Think about the reality of row crop profitability While we’ll take a closer look at using oats as a forage base