Feeding More Grain This Winter

With the recent drought this past summer, many producers are investigating the use of more grain in the cow and feeder calf rations for this winter.  As the cost of forage increases and the selling price of feed grains decreases, the economics of feeding additional grain becomes inviting.

 Given the current state of the cattle industry, the goal of every cattle producer is to reduce their operating costs on their operation.  One of the major expenses on any cattle operation is the annual feed cost of which the winter feeding period is most significant.  The goal is to provide a balanced ration at the least possible cost to meet the animal’s daily nutrient requirements. In order to accomplish this, as a producer you need to know the value of the feedstuffs available to you and the substitution value of feeds in relation to the nutrition properties and costs.

 As an example, if you were to compare mixed hay (50% Grass and 50% Alfalfa) on an energy value, feeding 1 pound of barley would be the equivalent to 1.5 pounds of mixed hay.  If you were thinking feed wheat, the conversion is 1.6 lbs of mixed hay to the equivalent of 1 pound of feed wheat.  When you apply the economics to the above, you can quickly see that feeding grains as a part of the ration is a very viable option this year with the price of forage at $100.00 or above.

 The above examples make reference to the energy value only and do not account for the protein, minerals and vitamins that are required to balance a ration.  In order to achieve the desired body condition on your cow herd, all of the nutrients need to be balanced at the energy level you are providing using a grain ration.  Feeding grains may also create some feeding issues due to processing challenges on farm.  For example, when feeding wheat, it is most desirable to crack the kernel rather than flour the grain as possible digestive disturbances may occur.  It is also suggested that wheat make up no more than 50% of the grain being fed.  Because of the need for roughage in the rumen, it is recommended that roughage make up at least 30%-50% of the ration when feeding a grain product.  As a producer you may wish to consider a purchased pellet ration that has all of the vitamins, minerals and Monensin added. 

 We have some options available for pellets this fall and if you are interested, please call my office at 403-502-2033 or email me at brian.palichuk@ufa.com.

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