SUPPLEMENTING POOR QUALITY HAY
Dan B. Faulkner, Extension Specialist, Beef
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Many beef cows will be fed poor quality hay this year. The
wet spring did not allow producers to harvest hay until it was
quite mature and therefore low quality. Hay that was harvested on
time may have been rained on which also would reduce hay quality.
The only way to determine the exact quality of any hay is to have a
forage analysis conducted. A representative sample (usually taken
with a bale probe) should be sent to a laboratory.
The forage analysis will give a value for a large number of
nutrients.
The two values of primary concern are energy (total
digestible nutrient TDN) and crude protein. Comparing these values
to the guidelines given below will allow a producer to determine if
the quality is sufficient for a group of cows. Generally, a TDN
content of about 52% is adequate for dry cows and 56% is adequate
for lactating cows. If the cows are thin or heavy milking the
content would need to be 2-4% higher. If the TDN content is not
high enough to meet the needs of the cows, supplementation will be
needed.
How the cattle are supplemented is quite critical.
If
concentrate (grain and/or protein) supplementation exceed .5% of
body weigh (6 lbs for a 1200 lb cow), then cattle will not perform
as expected due to negative associative effects. The optimum level
of supplementation is .25% (3 lbs for a 1200 lb cow) of body
weight. Higher levels of supplementation are possible with highly
digestible fiber sources like corn gluten feed distillers dried
gains or soybean hulls. Energy supplementation is usually what is
needed unless the hay is low in protein (7% crude protein for dry
cows and 11% crude protein for lactating cows). If the hay is more
than 4% units lower than the TDN requirement, then supplementing
cows at .5% of body weight will not meet their needs. Local feed
companies also have a variety of supplements available in cubes,
blocks and liquid supplements that can be used to meet the cow’s
needs.
These products should be fed according to company
recommendations.
When determining how to supplement beef cows a number of
factors must be considered. Are there feed bunks to feed corn or
other meal type supplements? Is the ground firm enough to feed
cubes? If these are not possibilities, then blocks or lick tanks
may be the best option. Careful consideration must be given to
cost.
Supplementation cost must be kept quite low to maintain
profitability in the beef enterprise. When evaluating costs it is
important to consider both the cost of the corn (or other
feedstuff) and the mineral supplement compared to a complete
commercial feed supplement (which can contain both).
It is important to meet the cows nutrient needs or serious
reproductive problems will be observed next summer. Much of the
poor quality hay that was harvested each year will not meet the
cow’s needs particularly if she is lactating. Therefore, some form
of supplementation will be needed to meet the cow’s nutrient needs.
Your local feed dealer or Extension Educator can help you if you
have questions about sampling, where to send the sample, what the
nutrient analysis means, and supplementation alternatives for your
hay.