Winter is coming. Drought, deteriorating pasture conditions and short hay inventories in Oklahoma and the surrounding states of Texas, Missouri and Kansas have most cow-calf operations scrambling to secure hay supplies for the coming winter.
Given the current situation, it can come as a relief to just find hay to purchase. That being said, it is still important to ask for a feed analysis report of the hay before you agree to buy. Among the consequences of a wide-scale lack of moisture is the fact that fields planted to produce a cereal grain crop become drought stressed and are reduced to a hay crop. The hay resulting from these intended cereal grains is potentially of excellent quality and feed value, but sorghum (corn or milo) hay needs to be evaluated for nitrate levels.
Additional information gained through testing hay for nutritional content includes:
• Dry matter and moisture content.
• Crude protein (CP).
• Total digestible nutrients (TDN), which measures the energy level. Other estimates of energy include net energy for maintenance, lactation and growth.
• Relative feed value.
This information can be used to compare “apples to apples” when buying hay. Forage quality varies not only among different plant species, but also within forage species. Plus, forage quality of a specific variety can vary based on conditions such as soil fertility, drought stress and stage of maturity at harvest.
For example, Bermuda grass hay can vary widely in nutritional content. If you had the opportunity to purchase Bermuda grass hay at $200/ton that tested 18% CP and 60% TDN or Bermuda grass hay at the same price that tested 7% CP and 55% TDN, which is the better buy? Both may appear the same to the naked eye, but a nutrient analysis permits you to make the better buy. Furthermore, it permits you to plan a feeding program knowing how much cows should consume and how much is needed to meet the cows’ nutritional requirements.
The same advantages hold true for hay you already have in inventory. The best single measure of forage quality is animal productivity. To ensure animal productivity, assess your forage supply and modify the animal diet before consumption. — Mark Z. Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension beef cattle breeding specialist
