Feeding in Drought or After Fire

by Craig Gifford, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist Eric Scholljegerdes, Professor Ruminant Nutrition

Supplement or Feed

It is critical to evaluate the pasture situation to determine the amount of forage available and estimate the grazing days that are remaining without harming the pasture. Example: pasture evaluation estimates 2000 grazeable acres and forage abundance is 300 lbs per acre.

In most situations, it is necessary to leave approximately 250 lbs/acre for rangeland health. Thus, 50 lbs/acre x 2000 acres = 100,000 lbs of forage available. If there are 100 cows on pasture and they eat approximately 25 lbs/day = 40 days of grazing remaining.

Even supplementing cake will not extend the grazing season significantly, so management plans likely include destocking and/or transitioning to feeding cows.

Unfortunately, drought situations have depleted forage stores and diminished rangeland production in a vast area of the United States which makes it difficult to find situations to move cows to other regions.

Additionally, frequent drought has made it difficult or very expensive to replace rangeland with stored feed. On the other hand, cattle inventories have been declining at a pace not seen in 30 or 40 years, and many are predicting limited supplies of feeder calves in the near future which could push calf prices higher. Thus, the decision to depopulate versus feed should be weighed carefully.

Placing Cows in Confinement

If reasonable feed supplies can be sourced and the decision is made to place cows in confinement, it is important to plan according to best- AND worst-case scenarios for the range.

What if rain and forage doesn’t come until next monsoon season? What is the cost to feed cows that long? What calf price would be needed to break even? Are there regulations for the short-term feeding situation? Etc. etc.

Facilities should be the first consideration. Electric fence can be a reasonable short-term solution to establishing a confined or semi-confined feeding area.

Cows will need about 24 to 36 inches of bunk space (depending on cow size, horns, etc.) and an additional 18 inches if they have nursing calves. In general, each cow will need 500-800 square feet of pen space.

If there is a possibility for water quality issues, water samples should be tested. Finally, if possible, various classes/sizes of animals should be separated for a more targeted feeding approach.

Feeding

Generally speaking, various types of hay can be found in New Mexico or trucked in from surrounding areas. If forage is very cost prohibitive, cows can be limit fed hay. A general rule of thumb is that, at minimum, cows should be offered 1 lb forage/hundred lbs body weight. The diet should be balanced using other cheaper ingredients.

Contact your local County Extension Office if you need help balancing a ration to meet your animals’ needs. Ideally, hay is purchased on a ton basis and with a feed analysis; unfortunately, hay is typically sold by the bale with only visual appraisal for quality.

Without an analysis, it is difficult to determine the appropriate and lowest cost ration involving hay. The cheapest hay is not always the lowest cost feeding option.

There are several “nontraditional” byproducts that can and have been successfully fed to cows. Some examples include chile’ trash, cotton gin trash, candy, bread, tortillas, reject blue corn, brewing byproducts, etc.

Each of these can serve a role in low-cost rations but need to be used carefully. The cow’s rumen is a remarkable organ that can digest and utilize a wide range of feedstuffs but are also susceptible to various dietary toxins.

Alfalfa is an excellent forage that typically fulfills protein requirements while providing a good energy and mineral content. It is best to mix alfalfa with other forages rather than feed a straight alfalfa diet.

Depending on costs and quality, supplementing 5-7 lbs of alfalfa/head/day will usually meet the protein requirements for cows but can be fed to as much as 50 percent or more of the diet. Certainly, more alfalfa can be fed per day, but typically there are cheaper options and gut health can become a concern.

Sorghum, Sudan, millet, wheat, beardless wheat, oat, barley, and other “small grain” hays can also be an excellent forage source. Nitrate and prussic acid levels can be a concern if the forage was stressed prior to harvest and quality depends on several factors including fertilization level and plant stage at harvest.

High quality hays in these classes can be sufficient to comprise 100 percent of a cow’s diet when supplemented with mineral.

Though there are exceptions, grass hays are usually too low in protein for lactating cows and some lower quality grass hay may be deficient in energy as well. Grass hay is a great option to mix with alfalfa.

Wheat midds are a high fiber and high energy supplement. They are an excellent forage replacement option in rations but must be accompanied with a good mineral supplement.

North Dakota researchers have used diets of 16.7 pounds of wheat midds, 10.5 pounds of straw and 5.5 pounds of alfalfa/ grass hay daily along with a vitamin/mineral supplement for lactating cows.

Soy hulls and cottonseed hulls are also good energy supplements that can be economical depending on market conditions. They make excellent additions if hay supplies are difficult to find.

Aside from alfalfa, dried distillers grains (DDGs) are an excellent protein source that also benefits from a high fat content in some cases which boosts the energy value. If you have high levels of sulfate in your water, that can be a concern when coupled with DDG supplementation.

Cottonseed meal, commercial tubs, cubes, blocks, etc. can also be used to boost protein levels in a ration as needed. Cubes or other commercial supplements in combination with average quality grass hay can be an economical option if available.

Corn and other high starch feeds can be excellent sources of energy especially when used in combination with protein supplements like alfalfa. However, feeding corn in combination with low quality hay can depress forage digestibility.

It is important to balance the amount of corn fed to meet the animal’s needs as well as ensure the remaining diet has sufficient protein to keep the rumen microbial population healthy. Feeding corn at 0.2 to 0.4 percent of BW every day while ensuring more than adequate bunk space to competition and avoid overconsumption, which may cause bloat and acidosis, can be an effective method to increase energy intake.

In summary, there are numerous options for feeding cattle. However, the current economic climate may be cost prohibitory.

Talking with your County Agent and Extension Specialists will help identify the lowest cost option available to you. Also consult with your local feed dealers to see what options they may have.

Animal Considerations

Understand the difference between gut fill and body condition score. If feeding cows in confinement, the goal is not weight gain. The goal is the minimal amount of input to sustain a healthy body condition score to allow the cow to raise a healthy calf and breed back.

Often in confined situations, the cow no longer needs to travel to feed or water so her feed requirements are less. During the last major drought, cows in feed yards were able to be fed as little as 75 percent of their expected requirements and still maintain adequate body condition score.

The gut mass was reduced, however, which altered the physical appearance. The animals looked thinner but were still in adequate body condition score. Continuously monitor body condition score and adjust feeding accordingly.

Cattle in confinement will also experience more problems with disease. Prior to placing cows in confinement, discuss a vaccination program with your veterinarian. A good vaccine program with quality products will help prevent major disease outbreaks. It is likely disease will occur at some point, so it is important to have a treatment plan in place that was designed by your veterinarian.

When rangeland forage production is destroyed by drought or fire, feeding the cattle herd is a difficult management situation. Cull prices can influence decisions but losing genetic progress can be hard to measure.

Feeding large herds is a gamble that must be weighed carefully but can be financially feasible in the right economic conditions. Feeding a cow in confinement for a year can cost more than $1000 to $1500.

A 550 lb calf at $250/cwt is revenue of $1375, so prices will need to increase significantly to offset the cost of feeding cows for an entire year. Will the cattle herd reduction be sufficient to drive calf revenues above the price of confined feeding?

Can you source feed to bring down the cost of confined feeding? Regardless, it is imperative to avoid damaging rangeland resources by overgrazing; the impacts from overgrazing can prohibit restocking when rains return and perhaps much longer.

If you need assistance developing a ration or incorporating creative ingredients, don’t hesitate to contact your local County Extension Office. ▫