1. Know a cow's nutritional needs.
The big differences are between mid and late pregnancy. “In mid-pregnancy, the calf isn't growing much, so its needs are significantly less,” says Drewnoski. "Then they increase in late pregnancy. And many people miss the higher nutritional needs of early lactation. Don't worry if you want cows to reproduce again."
- READ MORE:Calf health starts sooner than you think
2. Test your hay.
“Not all brome hay is the same,” she says. "You can guess the nutritional value, but why guess? Spend $20 to have it tested in a lab. Extension offices can tell you how to do it, and they even have hay probes you can borrow to collect samples."
- READ MORE: Prepare for winter feeding with forage-quality sampling bales
3. Choose wisely when purchasing hay.
Nebraska has an online tool calledFeed costs Cow-Q-Lator. You can enter numbers for the hay you are considering and you will get the best hay, not just the cheapest hay. “Priceing based on crude protein and total digestible nutrients (TDN) will ensure you get the best deal,” says Drewnoski. “Frankly, this is an area where people waste a lot of money.”
- READ MORE:Tips for buying good hay
4. Grazing corn stalks is sufficient.
It is still one of the best ways to reduce winter feeding costs. For cows calved in the spring, pregnancy is mid-gestation, when corn stalks are usually available. “We've been doing the research here in Nebraska for five years,” Drewnoski says. "Cows that were supplemented while grazing corn stalks and cows that were not supplemented performed the same in calving performance and reproduction. They may need supplemental vitamins and minerals, but they can get all the protein and TDN they need."
- READ MORE: Avoid grazing disease
Grazing is an important distinction, she adds. When cows graze, they selectively eat leaves and husks, the best parts of corn residue. Bale stems don't give them that choice.
5. Baled stems make a good combined feed.
If you have a mix wagon, a mixed ration of baled corn residue and distiller's grain can make a very good cow ration. Limited feeding is often a cheap solution. “Distillers fed low-quality feed, such as cornstalks, are so cost-effective because distillers are often a cheap source of both energy and protein,” says Drewnoski.
- READ MORE:Packaging corn stalks
6. Gras na maïsopbrengst.
In general, the higher the yield, the more carrying capacity the stems have. “200 bushels of corn yields twice as much grazing as 100 bushels of corn,” says Drewnoski. She adds that when cows graze in a stalk field, she keeps an eye on the corn husks. Once they're gone, it's time to move. Don't bother counting corn cobs. Most cows don't like them anyway.
- READ MORE:Grazing corn residues proves its worth
7. Feed less in the enclosure.
If your cows spend the winter in confined spaces, you can be even more sparing with their feed. “We often find that confined cows require less feed than we calculated,” says Drewnoski. “We suspect that their inactivity during confinement further reduces their energy needs, and we are not taking that into account.”
- READ MORE: Wind screen increases cow comfort and reduces energy requirements
8. Ammoniatize bales of corn residue.
If you bale corn stalks for cow feed after harvest, you can significantly increase the protein and TDN by ammoniating it with anhydrous ammonia. Cover the stem bales with a tarpaulin and then inject the gas to penetrate the bales. Drewnoski says that ammoniated cornstalks are about the same as good quality hay using this method. Crude protein can be increased to 9% and TDN to 55%.
- READ MORE: Ammonium-containing wheat straw increases winter nutrition
It costs about $25 per ton to ammonize bales of corn stalks, Drewnoski says. Interestingly enough, she adds, cows seem to like corn on the cob laced with ammonia. (Complete instructions for ammoniating cornstalks are available in aNebraska Extension Bulletin.)
9. Adopt a Cage, Waste Less.
Cows fed up to 40% of the distiller's dried grain on the ground waste. But in a cage it is usually about 5% waste. “Bunk feeding always makes sense if you can do it,” says Drewnoski.
- READ MORE:Farmer built hard trough
10. Find your competitive advantage.
In almost all cow-calf comparisons, the most profitable farms are those with the lowest costs per cow. cow, she summarizes. "Ask yourself, 'Where are my competitive advantages?' Then make sure your system suits your capabilities and don't be afraid to try something new or different.”
The numbers behind supplementing beef cows with distilling grains
Drewnoski is an advocate of using the distillery's grain to economically feed beef cows during the winter months. But exactly how you do it can make a difference in the cost. Here you can read how she guides you through the choices and arrives at her preference.
“Feeding free roughage and providing supplemental energy or protein is not always the cheapest way to feed a beef cow. That may be the case if feed is cheap, but feed is not always cheap. it's quite expensive.
“Corn residue is one of the lowest feedstocks based on energy cost per pound. That's why it's so cost-effective to mix high-energy and protein feeds, like distillers' corn, with low-quality feeds, like cornstalks. Distillery is often low-quality. - cost source of both energy and protein. In fact, the cost per pound of energy is often lower than even baled corn residue.
“So it is cheaper to create a nutrient-dense diet that is 40% to 50% distillers and the rest leftovers and feed a limited amount that meets the cow's needs, than to limit her leftover intake maximize and use stills to supplement any additional nutrients.” proteins and energy she needs. This approach is often the one manufacturers start with.
“For example, a cow in mid-pregnancy could be fed free-choice corn residue (or CRP hay) and supplemented with hay from distillers. Currently, low grade hay/corn residue is $60 per ton, and hay from modified distillers. is about $75 per ton. So free choice, she would eat 24 pounds of dry matter from scraps or hay, but would need 1.8 pounds of distillates (DM) to meet her energy/protein needs for the day.
“Or I could restrict her to 8 pounds of hay or scraps and 7.5 pounds of stills to meet her needs as well, at a cost of $0.80 per day. The difference – 6 cents – doesn't sound like much, but it does add. For 100 cows it is €6 per day for a feeding period of 90 days. This effect is even greater if you look at more expensive hay.
