Finding more grazing days
The current cattle market can be distracting. Record high prices, while certainly a good thing, can leave
many cattlemen in a state of awe and amazement. Instead of getting caught watching high prices this
fall, your time will be better spent monitoring the cost side of your cattle business.
Cow/calf producers can significantly reduce costs by extending the grazing season, delaying feeding of
purchased feeds. Common sense and research both tell us cattle are most profitable when they are
harvesting their own feed. Allowing cattle to graze into late fall and early winter is crucial to reducing
costs. Even with lowering commodity prices, grazing is still the cheapest way to feed cows. Stockpiled
forages, cover crop forages, and grazing crop residue are all options for extending the grazing season.
Stockpiling fescue
Cool season forages, especially fescue, are excellent candidates for stockpiling. While fescue may garner
a bad reputation for endophyte issues and poor production in the summer months, fall is a time to shine
for fescue. Cool temperatures in the fall negate complications with elevated body temperatures when
cattle are consuming endophyte infected fescue. Re-growth in the fall is primarily green leaf tissue and
the plant is not putting on seadheads which are a feared, concentrated source of the endophyte.
The stockpiling process starts with designating pastures that will be used for stockpiling. Cattle need to
be removed from the selected pastures in early to mid-August. Applying supplemental nitrogen in
August has proven beneficial to yields. When pastures were allowed to stockpile until Dec. 1, applying
50 pounds of actual N per acre in early to mid-August can add approximately 25 lbs. DM per lb. of N
added or 1,250 lbs. of DM / acre.
Grazing management will greatly influence the ability to utilize stockpiled forages. Strip grazing is the
common and most recommended practice. Strip grazing will allow close to a 70% utilization of the
available forage, a 30% improvement over continuous grazing. Stockpiling fescue for 90-100 days will
typically yield approximately 2000 lbs. DM per acre. Assuming a 1400 lb. cow eats 3% her body weight in
DM, the cow would eat 42 lbs. DM per day. Using strip grazing, an acre of stockpiled fescue could
support a cow for 33 days. Adding 50 lbs. of N can gain an extra 21 days of grazing under the same
management and stocking rate.
Cover crops for additional forage
Illinois is blessed with very fertile farmland. Higher land prices, soil health benefits, and the ability to
grow more feed are incentives to add cover crops to a diversified farming operation. Using cover crops
following cash crop production for added forage is one of the best opportunities for IL cattlemen to
lower production costs. There are numerous options for farmers depending on their crop rotation.
A popular choice after corn silage or in idle wheat ground is seeding a mixture of oats and turnips. Two
bushel of oats and 4 lbs. of turnips per acre will give a nice stand and offer around 3 to 4 tons of DM per
acre. Annual Ryegrass is another cover crop that needs to be planted in late summer. Yields can be 2 to
4 DM tons/acre. Annual Ryegrass will overwinter and will require good management in the spring to
achieve termination of the stand. Oats and turnips will winterkill.
Cereal rye, triticale, and mixes including them are good options for producers looking to provide forage
possibilities in the early spring. Many will chop and bag these forages prior to planting beans in the
spring. Weather can make this challenging; however yields of up to 4 dry tons per acre can be
accomplished. As with any crop there will be variation in success depending on seed choice, weather,
and management. Start a discussion with your seed dealer and investigate your options for cover crops.
Grazing Cornstalks
The cost of grazing cornstalks is low; first because the cows graze and harvest their own feed and
second, because all costs to produce the plant for grain production are attributed to the row-crop
operation. Even with the cost of a temporary fence (which many farmers already have) and water,
grazing cornstalks is more economical than feeding hay.
Cattle eat the more digestible and higher protein portions first. Therefore, a good mineral is probably
the only supplementation needed for the first month unless the herd includes fall-calving cows or
stocker calves.
Grazing stalks can also have benefits for subsequent crops. Cows grazing cornstalks for 60 days will
remove approximately 30 to 40 percent of the residue. Residue buildup has been a well-documented
problem in many corn-on-corn fields with new hybrids. Cows deposit nutrients in the form of manure
back on the field. As they graze, they reduce volunteer corn, considered a weed and a yield-robber in
soybean fields.
Using an equation developed at the University of Nebraska, a field that averages 170 bushels per acre
yields 2,430 pounds of leaf and husk. Only 50 percent of the 2,430 pounds is available for the animal;
the rest is trampled or lost in weathering. Thus, 1,215 pounds of DM husk and leaf per acre are available
as feed.
A 1400-pound cow consumes 1,050 pounds of DM per month. At 170 bushels an acre, approximately 1
acre of cornstalks are needed to feed the cow for 30 days. To feed the same cow on cornstalks for 60
days, 1.5 to 2 acres would be needed.
Summary
Producers focused on keeping costs low will be the most profitable in 2014. Those profits could be
substantial, allowing for updates and further investment into the cattle operation. Historically, the
cow/calf business has been a break-even business. Thus, continuing to monitor the cost side will be
important. Illinois cattlemen have the opportunity to use stockpiled forages, cover crops, and crop
residues to keep cost low to allow large profits in 2014.