"Do you know what's in your haystack?"

Kari Lewis

It seems hay feeding season may not be very far off, which begs the question, ‘Do you know what’s

Hay feeding season will soon be here.  A forage analysis is
money well spent to know what is in your haystack and if it
meet your herd's needs.  Photo by Kari Lewis.

in your haystack?”  And no, I’m not referring to the deer that seem to frequent some haystacks…but do you know what is in your haystack for hay quality?  A simple forage test is money well spent that provides critical information on everything from protein and energy levels to nitrate presence.

A representative sample from the hay lot should be taken using a hay probe, which is available at your local extension office.  A hay probe attaches to a cordless drill which allows for getting a sample of the hay within a bale.  Grabbing and pulling hay from different bales will NOT provide uniform samples for analysis. 

Approximately 10% of the bales in a lot should be randomly sampled.  Round bales should be sampled from the curved side of the bale and square bales should be sampled either at a 45-degree angle on the side or from the end of the bales to get a nice cross section across the flakes.  The sample from the hay lot should be uniformly mixed, put into a Ziploc bag and shipped to a lab as soon as possible (which your Extension office can help with). 

A forage test will typically cost $15 to $40 depending on which analyses are requested, and results are typically available in 7 to 10 days.  If you have any grain hay, we strongly recommend a nitrate test now that the forage has been cut and baled.  If there’s nitrate present, we can help you determine how much of that hay you can feed and at what level.

Having your forage tested is a critical step before purchasing supplement.  Once forage quality is known, we can then fill in the gaps with appropriate supplementation.  Without knowing forage quality though, we might not purchase the correct supplement, or we may even overspend on a product that we don’t need.  Within Extension, we can help develop rations based upon your available forages to ensure a herd’s nutrient requirements are met for various stages of production and weather conditions. 

Lastly, be sure to ALWAYS request a forage analysis before buying hay.  I’ve seen hay advertised as, “Cow Hay,” “Good Grass Hay,” or “CRP Hay,” but the seller’s definition of what is ‘Good Grass Hay” and the buyer’s definition may be miles apart…. make sure to request an analysis before purchasing hay!

To analyze your hay’s nutrient quality, first a hay sample must be taken.   Each hay lot, that is hay from the same field, same cutting, and harvested under the same conditions, should be sampled separately.  For example, when finished sampling, you might have a sample of 1^st cutting alfalfa hay, 2^nd cutting alfalfa hay, CRP hay, etc. 

Cow's Body Condition Score will impact calf health and pregnancy rates next year

Earlier than normal snowfall this year may necessitate feeding cows
earlier than normal.  Body condition score at calving impacts calf
vigor and health and cow breed back next year.  Photo by Kari Lewis.

Kari Lewis, MSU Extension – Glacier County

                Recently as I looked through our cows, I was concerned about some of the cows’ body condition scores.  There’s multiple factors that have had a role in our herd’s body condition being lower than I would like to see.  First, this summer’s drought resulted in less forage than normal, then the early October snowstorm hit the cows hard as well.  In addition, our weaning date was later than it should have been, which meant the cows were also lactating longer into the fall, using additional nutrients to support their calf at side.  Not surprisingly, it is our youngest cows who are the thinnest, as they’ve also been trying to grow in addition to supporting their calf and developing fetus. 

                As cows receive nutrition, they first use it for maintenance, then allocate the remaining nutrients to support fetal development, lactation, growth, and lastly, rebreeding.  Thus, if a cow is short on nutrition, the first thing to be impacted is her ability to rebreed.  Therefore, it’s critical that we provide adequate nutrition now to ensure cows are in an acceptable body condition to rebreed next summer. 

A body condition score (BCS) describes the relative fatness or body condition of a cow on a scale of 1 to 9.  A score of 1 means the cow is extremely thin, and a score of 9 indicates a very obese cow.  Each body condition score translates to approximately 70 pounds, so to increase a BCS 4 cow (on December 1) to a BCS 6 cow (by March 1) would require that cow to gain 1.6 pounds per day, not including the increasing weight of her fetus. 

                Why is body condition so critical?  Simply, thin cows take longer to rebreed, produce less colostrum, and give birth to less vigorous calves.  Those calves that are born weak at birth take longer to nurse, have lower immunoglobin levels which lessens their ability to overcome disease, and are ultimately less likely to survive. 

A cow’s BCS at calving is a large indicator of how soon she will rebreed following calving.  A cow that calves in a BCS 5 or 6 averages 55 days following calving until her first heat, while cows that calve in a BCS 3 or 4 average an 80-day post-partum interval.  Knowing that we want those cows to have one or two heat cycles prior to when they are bred, it’s easy to see why thin cows fall out of the herd.  Data from Spitzer et al., 1995 showed that first calf heifers that calved in a BCS 4 had a 56% pregnancy rate after a 60-day breeding season, whereas those heifers that were in a BCS 5 at calving had an 80% pregnancy rate, and there was a 96% pregnancy rate in the heifers that calved at a BCS 6. 

                The period after weaning (when nutrient requirements are decreased) and before the third trimester begins (when nutrient requirements increase again) is the most economical time to add body condition.  By providing adequate nutrition, a windbreak, straw during cold weather, and access to clean, fresh water, we can add condition to the cowherd to meet our breed back goals for next year.  

Here at the MSU Extension office in Glacier county, we can assist you in formulating a ration for your cowherd.  We have two hay probes that can be checked out to sample your hay for a nutrient analysis, and can use ration balancing software to formulate a ration that will meet your cows’ protein and energy needs.  Please call (406) – 873-2239 or e-mail kari.lewis@montana.edu with questions, I’m happy to help!              

Take time for the $100/hour jobs, make plans to attend the Summer Beef Cow Profitability Seminar and Ranch Tour June 6 in Cut Bank

Kari Lewis, MSU Extension – Glacier County

This weekend as we sorted cows for A.I.ing, again, I began thinking about how much time do we

devote to doing the same activities, over and over?  When Dave Pratt from ‘Ranching for Profit’ spoke at the Next Generation Conference this winter, he talked about that in farming and ranching, we often spend most of our time doing the $10/hour jobs, that is those jobs that either we enjoy or are good at, such as checking cows or perhaps fixing fence.  While these activities must be done, we shouldn’t overlook the $100/hour or $1,000/hour jobs, that is taking time to learn about and make management decisions that can have large impacts on our operation’s profitability. 

Albert Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.  This ties directly into Pratt’s concept, that to get different results, we must take time to focus on the $100/hour jobs.  Would you like to add pounds to this fall’s calf crop or increase your herd’s profit?  If you’re ready to entertain new ideas to do so, I encourage you to attend our Summer Beef Cow Profitability Seminar and Ranch Tour on Tuesday, June 6. 

The seminar will be at the Glacier County Extension Office (1210 E. Main) here in Cut Bank, beginning at 8:30 a.m. with coffee and rolls available at 8.  We should be done before noon, and the event is free with no pre-registration is required.

Dr. Karla Jenkins, University of Nebraska – Lincoln Cow-Calf and Range Management specialist, will cover tools to improve ranch profitability.  Jenkins specializes in cow-calf, range management, and feedlot research out of Scottsbluff, NE and brings a great perspective of the entire beef production system.  Jenkins’s talk will focus on implanting calves, vaccinations and pre-conditioning for the nursing calf, and cull cow marketing options. 

Implants can add 15 to 30 pounds at weaning.  Jenkins will cover how implants impact calf gain, calf sale price, ranch profit, feedlot performance, and carcass quality.  There’s some new data available regarding implants that I think you’ll enjoy seeing.

Jenkins will also delve into how Montana ranchers can set their calves up for success in the feedlot to increase both the rancher’s sale price and to create repeat buyers.  Lastly, she will cover strategies to increase cull cow revenue.  Cull cows typically make up 15 to 30% of a herd’s revenue, and their impact on herd profitability should not be overlooked.

The seminar will conclude with a visit to the Meiwald ranch, west of Cut Bank.  Guy Meiwald has been using Management Intensive Grazing on his operation for a few years now, and will be sharing how the practice has impacted livestock production, fertilizer costs, and ranch profitability.  Meiwald was featured at the 2016 Next Generation conference, this will be a great chance to see the system in action during the growing season!

Please contact the Glacier County Extension office for more information at 873-2239, and I hope you’ll take a few hours on Tuesday, June 6 to join us for the Beef Cow Profitability Seminar and Ranch tour.