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When Buying High-priced The Midwest Cattleman · August 24, 2023 · P23

Hay Doesn’t Add Up

One of the most important with the time, manpower,
tools for livestock producers is equipment, and other resourc-
a sharp No. 2 pencil. es they have.
The pencil and some basic Tucker and MU Extension
arithmetic can help take the beef nutrition specialist Eric
emotion out of desperate mea- Bailey say producers might
sures to find feed. When you save money by buying grain hay you have and fill the gap sion news release “Don’t waste
do the math, buying grain or and investing more elbow with grain. precious hay during drought”
other alternative feeds may be grease to weather drought-re- Consider reducing hay in- at http://muext.us/n6123 for
the best bang for the buck, says lated shortages. take to 10-15 pounds per cow ways to make the most of it.
University of Missouri Exten- First, ask what you are get- daily, and make up the differ- Plan to roll up your shirt-
sion agricultural business spe- ting for your money by calcu- ence with grain, depending on sleeves to save money, says
cialist Wesley Tucker. lating the cost per pound of pregnancy and lactation sta- Tucker. Invest in infrastruc-
“Many people think their TDN (total digestible nutri- tus. Cows nursing young calves ture and prepare to put in
only options are to pay whatev- ents). Measuring TDN is akin need the most feed. extra time. Feeding grain is
er they must to buy hay or sell to reading the calories on the Don’t be fooled by dollar- more labor-intensive and re-
their cows,” says Tucker. Not so, back of a candy wrapper. It per-bale prices, says Tucker. quires some infrastructure, but
he says. represents energy in the feed. Not all bales are created equal. the savings will likely pay off.
Producers actually have Compare each alternative on When pricing, always consid- This might be a good time
multiple options: 1) Buy high- price for a pound of TDN to er size and weight. “A 4-by-5 to invest in a bulk bin to avoid
priced hay; 2) Limit feeding identify under- and over-valued bale of hay may only weigh carrying individual sacks to the
of hay on hand and make up feeds, says Bailey. 750-800 pounds while a 5-by-6 trough. Also, buy a cake feeder
the difference in grain; 3) Buy When you put pencil to bale weighs considerably more. instead of carrying individual
straw and supplement with paper, you might find differenc- When possible, price hay by the buckets. “These investments
grain; 4) Buy corn silage/bale- es in price per pound of TDN ton instead of per bale, because make an operation more effi-
age from row crop neighbors. among forage sources or that it’s not always apples-to-ap- cient – and save your back,”
Some producers may not grain might be cheaper per ples,” says Tucker. says Bailey.
have access to every option, or pound of TDN. Keep in mind, If you are lucky enough to
it may not work for them, says too, the bonus of grain having have hay or can find hay to buy University of
Tucker. Producers must decide less waste compared to forages. within your budget, save by not Missouri
for themselves what works This allows you to feed what wasting it. See the MU Exten-

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