Beef Cattle

Check Your Corn Chopper Now

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Now is the time to do corn chopper maintenance, before the crush of harvest. ( Farm Journal, Inc. )

Now is the time to do corn chopper maintenance, giving you time to order new parts if needed.

“To ensure the entire chopper is in good condition, replace nicked knives and the shear bar if the edges are smooth,” Michelle Jones, with the University of Kentucky. “If the rollers are showing signs of wear, replace them.”

Rollers typically have a life span of about 60,000 tons of corn silage, she says. “Irregular wear of the roller teeth can prevent the narrowing of the roller gap, resulting in insufficient damage to the kernel which can lead to reduced starch digestibility for the cow.”

The ideal roller gap is 1 to 2 millimeters, and a quick way to check proper gapping is to use a dime. A dime is 1.2 mm thick. “Place the dime between the rollers and if excessive space is found, the tighten the roller gap,” she says.

Once in the field, you can check if processing is correct by scooping a sample of silage into a 32-ounce cup, explains Donna Amaral-Phillips, a dairy nutritionist with the University of Kentucky. Spread the sample on the ground and count the number of whole or half kernels. If you have less than two whole or half kernels per cup, processing is ideal. Two to four whole or half kernels per sample suggests processing is adequate, but more than 5 whole or half kernels means adjustments to the roller should be done.

To ensure the samples are representative, take sample from three different loads. At a bare minimum, take three samples at the end of each day.

“If the results of kernel processing are not monitored during harvest, starch digestibility may be reduced,” says Amaral-Phillips. “Once the silage is chopped and stored, fixing mistakes made during harvest is difficult.”

You can read more about chopper maintenance and adjustments here.

Prevent Pasture Damage During Wet Weather

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It might seem odd to be thinking about preventing damage to pastures from  wet weather in mid- to late summer, but heavy, persistent rains across some portions of the country in July are posing potential problems.

In the worst case scenario, cattle can be moved to a sacrifice area and fed stored feeds until pasture soil returns to acceptable conditions, says David Hartman, a livestock Extension educator with Pennsylvania State University. “The area should eventually be repaired with tillage if necessary and then reseeded to either an annual or perennial mixture, depending on your goals,” he says.

The other key is to move cattle more frequently during wet weather. Some farmers prefer grouping cattle into a high stocking density area to contain damage to a small area. Others prefer to spread cattle out over a larger area. “Regardless of [your] management decision, moving cattle more frequently than usual helps to avoid or reduce the concentration of damage,” says Hartman.

He also urges farmers to maintain heavy sod conditions to withstand grazing pressure. Keeping stands thick might involve over-seeding, soil testing and maintaining adequate fertility and avoiding overgrazing, he says.

Using no-till seed establishment is generally recommended. “Cattle traffic during wet weather will be much less damaging on land that has been planted no-till versus with tillage,” Hartman says.

“Finally, good grazing management should always include leaving a considerable amount of residual forage when moving cattle to the next paddock,” he says. “Overgrazed pastures not only recover more slowly from grazing during droughty conditions, they also sustain more damage from grazing in wet conditions.”

Five Ways To Help Cows Beat The Summer Heat

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Run sprinklers about one minute—just enough to wet the cows. Shut off for five to 20 minutes to allow cows to dry and cool. ( Rob Leach )

As summer temperatures rise, beef and dairy animals benefit from heat abatement, says Joe Zulovich, a University of Missouri Extension specialist in livestock housing systems.

Lactating cows face the most risk from heat, says Zulovich. Dry cows and pre-weaned calves also fare better with heat abatement systems in place.

Heat abatement systems can be economically beneficial for some operations in hot, humid climates like Missouri, he says.

Zulovich suggests five ways to make cows cooler and more productive:

1. Water.

The best heat abatement available is an ample supply of fresh, clean drinking water, Zulovich says. The hotter it is, the more water cows need. Lactating cows consume 3-8 pounds of water per pound of dry matter intake. Larger dairy animals need about 2 feet of drinking space per animal. When temperatures soar, there should be enough space for 25% of the herd to drink at the same time. Water should be no more than 800 feet from the animals’ resting area.

2. Shade.

Protect animals from direct sunlight by providing buildings or roof systems. If these are not available, suspend shade cloth over holding pens, especially ones holding lactating cows. Also put shade cloth over feeding areas to keep feed fresh and prevent it from drying. Cows eat more and perform better if their feeding area is shaded. Pre-weaned calves rest better when their hutches have shade.

3. Ventilation.

Ventilation exchanges air inside a building with outside air. The temperature inside shouldn’t be more than 2-3 degrees higher than the outside temperature, Zulovich says. Air movement and direct evaporative cooling depend on good ventilation.

4. Air movement.

Get that air “moo-ving” for cool cows. Moving air helps move heat from the animal to the environment. Air should be moving at least 100 feet per minute over the animal’s body for the best effect. Stirring fans—propeller fans or low-speed horizontal ceiling fans—move the air inside buildings. In pasture-based systems, wind and shade can keep the herd cool.

5. Direct evaporative cooling.

Every pound of water evaporated from a cow’s skin surface dissipates about 1,000 BTUs of heat. Sprinklers create large droplets needed to reach the cow’s hair coat and wet the skin surface. Air movement and good ventilation help to evaporate the water from the skin. Sprinklers with a 360-degree circular pattern work well in holding pens. Sprinklers with a 180-degree semicircular pattern work well next to and along feed bunks. Run sprinklers about one minute—just enough to wet the cows. Shut off for five to 20 minutes to allow cows to dry and cool.

Lactating cows need direct evaporative cooling when the other four strategies above do not reduce heat stress. Direct evaporative cooling is desirable for dry cows and replacement heifers within two months of calving. Some pasture systems with irrigation systems let cows get wet under running irrigation sprinklers for direct evaporative cooling.

“Typically, indirect evaporative cooling is not effective for dairy operations in Missouri and other humid climates,” Zulovich said.

It’s two, two, two feeds in one

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By Mike Rankin

Our understanding of corn silage has come a long way in the past 20 years. That’s probably a good thing because it has emerged as a dominant feed source in most dairy and many feedlot beef rations. What is being achieved with corn silage these days is entirely different than what your grandfather was able to accomplish . . . or even comprehend.

To draw from the old Certs breath mint commercials, corn silage is two, two, two feeds in one. Some argue it’s a grain, others a forage. In fact, the grain and forage portion of corn silage are nearly equally distributed on a dry matter basis.

From a nutritional standpoint, we’re essentially interested in corn silage as a source of starch (energy) and fiber, along with their respective digestibilities. Agronomically, yield is always a consideration, especially if land base is a limiting factor.

When trying to maximize the utilization of one component, there is often, but not always, a trade-off with the other component. Of course, trade-offs in the forage and feed industries are nothing new.

It’s a war on kernels

“If you don’t break kernels, it’s very unlikely you will be able to utilize the starch,” Luiz Ferranetto, a dairy nutritionist with the University of Florida, recently said at the Four-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference in Dubuque, Iowa.

There was a day when the prevailing line of thinking was to simply crack the kernel during harvest and the cow would do the rest. Hopefully, nobody is still in that camp.

These days, the ability to make great corn silage has morphed into a war on corn kernels where “obliteration” is the battle cry. Of course, technological advancements in kernel processors have made that happen along with the ability to measure kernel processing scores (KPS).

It’s become really simple from a goal standpoint: If you don’t do a good job of kernel processing, starch (corn kernels) will merely take up space in the manure spreader.

Let’s conclude this brief starch discussion with one more rock-solid axiom of starch digestibility brought forth by Ferraretto: “As time of fermentation progresses, starch digestibility improves.” There is also about a 5 to 10 percentage unit gain in KPS.

Ferraretto noted that the current research suggests to not even feed corn silage until it has fermented 90 to 120 days in storage. He also mentioned that the development of new hybrids may shorten this recommendation in the future.

One final note on starch digestibility: Poor kernel processing at harvest cannot be compensated for by greater storage time. If it’s bad going in, it will be bad coming out. In other words, you have one shot to get it right.

Fiber manipulation

As with starch, research is also bringing to light new ways of improving fiber digestion in corn silage. Unlike conventional forage crops, corn for silage must be harvested based on whole-plant moisture. Harvest timing is not really an option to change fiber digestibility.

There are, however, two primary methods to improve fiber digestibility. One is hybrid selection with the most obvious (and maybe only) example being the selection of brown midrib (BMR) hybrids, which have significantly higher fiber digestibility than conventional hybrids.

This is where we come to the trade-offs. Brown midrib hybrids will typically have lower dry matter yields than the top tier of conventional hybrids. Further, many BMR hybrids will be lower in starch content and digestibility than conventional hybrids. Newer BMRs with a floury endosperm have been developed to help overcome this issue.

Another method to impact fiber digestibility is manipulating cutting height; this is a practice that is receiving more research attention and use in the field. The concept is simple — leave more lignin in the field.

Ferraretto and his graduate students recently completed a meta-analysis of cutting height research studies and developed simulation equations to predict the impact of high-cut corn on silage yield and quality.

In one of these simulations that was compared to an actual field study with good agreement, cutting corn at 24 inches versus 6 inches improved neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD) by 3 percentage units, lowered NDF by 4 percentage units, and raised starch by 4 percentage units. At the same time, yield was lowered by about 10 percent, the same as might be expected by planting a BMR hybrid.

Ferraretto noted that perhaps the combination of greater plant densities and cutting height might lead to improved quality without compromising yields. Stay tuned. More research is on the way.

We’ve come a long way in improving corn silage. The savvy corn silage producer has learned that the benefits of new hybrid and machine engineering technologies can only be realized if silage production and storage strategies are top notch. Only in such situations can the combined milk-producing ability of both starch and fiber be fully exploited.

 

Why Test Forage Quality?

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For nearly four decades scientists have been refining their ability to test forage quality. This has been done in an effort to improve animal nutrition and consequently animal production. Analytical procedures that previously required a week, or more, to complete can now be done in less than 10 minutes and with more accuracy than before. As the ability to analyze forages has improved, the understanding of how to use the test results to improve animal efficiency and performance has also improved. Unfortunately though, forage quality testing is a valuable management tool that many livestock producers still do not utilize.

Greater net profit is the bottom line for why livestock producers need to know the quality of the forages they are feeding! Not knowing the exact quality of the forage being fed is a two-edged sword that can cut into profits either way it swings. A dairy producer who guesses that the crude protein (CP) content of the haylage is 2% units lower and corn silage is 1% unit lower will be feeding more supplemental protein than is necessary. This extra CP to the ration will add $0.09/cow/day in feed costs. With a herd of 100 cows, this is equivalent to $9.00/day. It would take just a little over 3 days of not knowing the quality of the forages and feeding extra protein, as in this example, to pay for the cost of quality analyses (forage quality testing usually costs less than $15.00/sample).

The other edge of this two-edged sword of not knowing forage quality, is over estimating forage quality. Guessing that forage crude protein is greater than what it actually is resultes in adding insufficient supplemental protein to the ration and saving feed costs. Unfortunately, the cows are being “short changed” on CP which could have a negative impact on milk production, especially in early lactation.

It is also important to note that guessing at fiber and mineral content will also have enormous economical impact. For example, the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content of forages helps determine how much of the forage an animal will consume. Guessing too high or too low can have tremendous implication on intake, animal performance, and health. Knowing the quality of the forage being fed to animals not only saves or makes more money it also allows managers to provide better animal nutrition which will result in greater animal production and improved animal efficiency (lb milk or weight gain per pound of feed consumed).

Knowing the quality of forages when selling or buying them has also proven to be economically smart. At Pennsylvania hay auctions, where the quality of the hay is analyzed, and the results posted on each load prior to the auction confirms the economic value of knowing hay quality. At these auctions, each percentage unit increase in crude protein resulted in $8.00 more per ton. Selling 10 ton of 20% CP hay as 18% CP hay because the quality was not tested will cost the seller about $160! On the other hand, buying 10 ton 18% CP hay as 20% CP hay cost the buyer $160! A similar relationship between quality and price did not occur at hay auctions when the quality of the hay was unknown. Establishing a “fair” price for hay, if you are buying or selling, involves both parties knowing the quality of the hay.

Spring Pasture Walk

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Spring Pasture Walk

What: Pasture Walk

Mark your Calendar and call (302) 831-2506 to register by Friday, May 10!!

When: Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Where: Whitehead Cattle Company

1303 Dexter Corner Rd, Townsend, DE 19734

Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Credits: Nutrient Management (0.75) Pesticide credit(1.0)

Come and see how Whitehead Cattle Company uses pasture to effectively feed their beef herd.  Learn how to identify weeds and how to control them in a pasture setting. In addition, learn about soil health and how healthy soil is the key to making farms more productive, profitable and resilient—and better prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century.  Learn how to take a hay sample and visually evaluate hay.  The workshop will also feature a talk on Pesticide safety – responsible decision-making and actions to protect pesticide users, public health, plant and animal health, and the environment

The meeting is free and everyone interested in attending is welcome.  If you have special needs in accessing this program, please call the office two weeks in advance.

To register or request more information, please call our office at (302)831-2506.

Thank you and see you there.  Dan Severson

Welcome and Introductions 6:00-6:05

Dan Severson, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension

Tour of Pastures and Pasture Management 6:05-6:20

George and Lynda Whitehead, Whitehead Cattle Company

Weed Identification and Control in Pastures 6:20-6:50

Quintin Johnson, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension

Pesticide Safety 6:50-7:15

Dr. Kerry Richards, University of Delaware Pesticide Safety Education Program

 

Soil Health 7:15-7:40

Jayme Arthurs, NRCS Research Conservationist

Proper Hay Sampling and How to Visually Evaluate Hay 7:40-7:55

Dan Severson, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension

Wrap up and Evaluations 7:55-8:00

Dan Severson, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension

Spring Pasture Walk

Posted on by severson

What: Pasture Walk

Mark your Calendar and call (302) 831-2506 to register by Friday, May 10!!

When: Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Where: Whitehead Cattle Company

1303 Dexter Corner Rd, Townsend, DE 19734

Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Credits: Nutrient Management (0.75) Pesticide credit(1.0)

Come and see how Whitehead Cattle Company uses pasture to effectively feed their beef herd.  Learn how to identify weeds and how to control them in a pasture setting. In addition, learn about soil health and how healthy soil is the key to making farms more productive, profitable and resilient—and better prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century.  Learn how to take a hay sample and visually evaluate hay.  The workshop will also feature a talk on Pesticide safety – responsible decision-making and actions to protect pesticide users, public health, plant and animal health, and the environment

The meeting is free and everyone interested in attending is welcome.  If you have special needs in accessing this program, please call the office two weeks in advance.

To register or request more information, please call our office at (302)831-2506.

Thank you and see you there.  Dan Severson

Welcome and Introductions 6:00-6:05

Dan Severson, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension

Tour of Pastures and Pasture Management 6:05-6:20

George and Lynda Whitehead, Whitehead Cattle Company

Weed Identification and Control in Pastures 6:20-6:50

Quintin Johnson, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension

Pesticide Safety 6:50-7:15

Dr. Kerry Richards, University of Delaware Pesticide Safety Education Program

 

Soil Health 7:15-7:40

Jayme Arthurs, NRCS Research Conservationist

Proper Hay Sampling and How to Visually Evaluate Hay 7:40-7:55

Dan Severson, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension

Wrap up and Evaluations 7:55-8:00

Dan Severson, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension

In The Cattle Markets: Beef Contribution in 2018 from Dairy Cattle

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Dairy cattle continue to be a significant contributor to the commercial U.S. beef supply. Despite growing beef cattle inventories since 2014, dairy animals have been a stable source of beef and continue to play a key role in filling U.S. beef demand. In 2018 the dairy sector contributed 5.6 billion pounds (21.0 %) of beef to the U.S. commercial beef supply from finished steers, finished heifers and cull cows. Although down from the peak of 24% in 2015, the dairy cattle contribution is still significant.

In 2018 total U.S. commercial beef production was 26.9 billion pounds, the highest production since 2002. Between 2002 and 2018 U.S. commercial beef production has ranged from a low of 23.7 billion in 2014 to a high of 27.0 billion in 2002, with dairy animals contributing 22% in 2014 and 18% in 2002. The contribution from dairy cattle varies based on the size of the native cattle herd and its contribution to the beef supply, as well as the number of cull dairy cows. The percentage of dairy beef contribution has ranged from 18% to 24%, while the actual pounds of dairy beef contribution have ranged from 4.7 to 5.7 billion pounds.

Finished dairy steers are the largest beef contributor from the dairy industry followed by cull cows and finished heifers.  In 2018 finished dairy steers contributed 3.37 billion pounds (12.6%) to the total pounds of beef harvested. Since 2002 dairy steers have made up between 10.8% and 14.7% annually.  Cull dairy cows contributed 1.8 billion pounds (7.0%) in 2018, and historically have made up from 5.8% and 8.0% of beef production since 2002. Finished dairy heifers contributed 419 million pounds (1.53%) in 2018, historically ranging from 0.6% to 1.7% of total beef production.

Additionally, dairy animals contribute to the amount of prime beef supply. With 85-90% of dairy animals being Holstein, Holstein steers contribute the largest portion of dairy beef. Between 2002 and 2018, Holstein steers have contributed between 32 and 60% of prime beef harvested in the U.S. In 2018 we saw the lowest percentage of prime beef (21.3%) contributed by Holstein steers since our data set began in 2002. Note though that the overall percentage of beef that graded prime increased to its highest level ever in 2018, at 8.3% of total U.S. beef production.

Dairy animals had a significant impact on U.S. beef production in 2018. With inventories of native cattle increasing the percentage of beef from dairy animals has reduced incrementally from the highs of 2015, but still remain a major part of U.S. beef production.

The Markets

Tuesday saw live cattle futures contracts lower, with June futures seeing the greatest decrease on limited trading. The market is concerned with recent trade reports showing year-over-year decreases in trade for both beef and pork.  Cash markets are also weak and may have posted their spring highs. Feeder cattle futures are weak, with May contract at the low.

Trade talks with Japan will add uncertainty to the market. Beef demand is strong, as can be seen in the Cold Storage Report, which reports beef stocks down 23.3 million pounds from February and 13.3 million pounds lower than March 2018.

    Week of Week of Week of
Data Source: USDA-AMS Market News   4/26/19 4/19/19 4/27/18
5-Area Fed Steer all grades, live weight, $/cwt $126.69 $128.42 $123.73
all grades, dressed weight, $/cwt $204.58 $207.76 $196.21
Boxed Beef Choice Price, 600-900 lb., $/cwt $233.49 $232.50 $218.62
Choice-Select Spread, $/cwt $12.83 $12.00 $15.47
700-800 lb. Feeder Steer Montana 3-market, $/cwt $152.91 $156.80 $148.88
Nebraska 7-market, $/cwt $161.24 $160.26 $154.83
Oklahoma 8-market, $/cwt $149.95 $152.07 $146.32
500-600 lb. Feeder Steer Montana 3-market, $/cwt $184.83 $186.21 $186.67
Nebraska 7-market, $/cwt $191.38 $192.07 $190.72
Oklahoma 8-market, $/cwt $177.08 $180.34 $168.40
Feed Grains Corn, Omaha, NE, $/bu (Thursday) $3.54 $3.58 $3.74
DDGS, Nebraska, $/ton $131.50 $146.00 $170.00

Breeding Cows on Fescue can be Tricky

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By Hay and Forage Grower

For spring calving herds, getting cows bred in the late spring and early to midsummer on toxic tall fescue pastures can be a challenge.

“I personally prefer fall calving, but I also believe that we can have successful breeding performance in the spring,” writes Roy Burris, extension beef specialist with the University of Kentucky in an article published in their Off the Hoof newsletter.

Though there are some obstacles to a spring calving strategy, they can be mostly overcome. In Burris’ opinion, one of the biggest deficiencies he sees is not providing cows adequate nutrition during the winter months to get them in good body condition for spring calving and early rebreeding.

Another issue that Burris points to is the fact that lush, watery grass in the early spring might not support regaining body condition that may have been lost during winter.

“Cows should enter the breeding season in good body condition,” Burris notes. “This means a body condition score of 5, which doesn’t always follow our winter-feeding programs. It seems that we sometimes try to rough cows through the winter and hope that spring grass will straighten them out. That is a sure formula for delayed breeding or open cows,” he adds.

Burris says that spring-calving cows on toxic, high-endophyte tall fescue need to conceive early in the breeding season — before late June.

In one University of Kentucky study, cows that were exposed to bulls from mid-April to early June had an 89 percent pregnancy rate. That compared to cows exposed to bulls from mid-June to early August that had a 59 percent pregnancy rate. Burris surmises that the hot midsummer temperatures coupled with the elevated levels of fescue toxin (ergovaline) contributed to the reduced and unacceptable reproductive performance.

Short of re-establishing tall fescue pastures, it’s difficult to change the inherent toxicity that exists; however, Burris points out that not all fescue pastures possess the same toxic ergovaline levels. He suggests testing and identifying those pastures with the lowest ergovaline concentrations and use these areas during times of heat stress and breeding. Stay away from the really “hot” pastures, he adds.

Consider these spring-planted forage options

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By Kassidy Buse

he challenging growing conditions of 2018 have left many dairy farms short on forage supplies. So, going into the 2019 growing season, what are some options to bolster forage inventories?

Mark Sulc, Ohio State University (OSU) Extension forage specialist, and Bill Weiss, OSU Extension dairy specialist, discuss the options available to farmers and some considerations to keep in mind in an article published in the Buckeye Dairy News newsletter.

Options

The authors emphasize that corn silage is the number one choice for an annual forage in terms of overall yield and nutritive value. The following options are acceptable short-season forages that can be used to make ends meet, especially if alfalfa winterkill is an issue.

  • Oats: Better adapted to cool, wet soils, and there are several forage varieties available.
  • Spring barley: Usually produces tonnage a little lower than oats or triticale and performs best on well-drained soils. Barley is the earliest maturing for small grains planted in the spring.
  • Spring triticale: A cross between wheat and rye. It is well adapted across a variety of soils and tolerates a low soil pH better than wheat but not to the extent of rye.
  • Italian ryegrass: A biennial with a possible second year production, depending on winter conditions. It is quick to establish and provides high yields of high-quality forage. Forage will be ready to harvest 60 days following seeding and then at 25- to 30-day intervals following for the rest of the first year.

“Plant high-quality seed of a named variety to avoid unpleasant surprises,” the authors recommend. For small grain mixes, reduce the seeding rate of each component to 70 percent of the full rate. Forage peas can be added to the mix to raise crude protein levels.

Small grains can be planted 1.5 inches deep as early as soil conditions allow, while Italian ryegrass should be planted between April 1 and May 1 no more than 0.5 inches deep.

“A burn down application of glyphosate is a cost-effective weed control practice prior to planting,” the authors comment. Additional nitrogen may be needed at 30 to 50 pounds per acre at planting, but manure application can reduce some or all of this needed nitrogen. Italian ryegrass will need about 50 pounds per acre after the first or second harvest.

Harvest timing matters

“Maturity affects composition more than species does,” the authors state. The nutritional value of small grain forages declines rapidly with maturity.

When harvested at the preboot stage, small grain forages will have around 20 percent crude protein (CP), which varies with the amount of additional nitrogen applied. It will usually test about 40 percent neutral detergent fiber (NDF), 30 percent acid detergent fiber (ADF), and have an in vitro digestibility of around 80 percent. Dry matter (DM) yields will range between 1.5 and 2.4 tons per acre.

“Small grain forages harvested in the boot stage have energy concentrations similar to corn silage but with greater concentrations of protein,” the authors explain.

At the milk stage, plants have an average of 12 percent CP, 48 percent NDF, 35 percent ADF, and an in vitro digestibility of 62 percent; they have about 10 percent less energy than corn silage. This nutritional content is similar to alfalfa. Dry matter yields generally range from 3 to 4 tons per acre.

According to the authors, Italian ryegrass planted in central Ohio produced 2.5 to 4.6 tons of DM per acre in the first year and 1 to 4.5 tons of DM per acre in the second. An NDF content of around 50 percent and CP concentrations between 12 and 16 percent can be expected.

If Italian ryegrass is fed as the sole source of forage, milk production will be less than what is seen with corn silage. But according to the authors, if it comprises 15 to 20 percent of the diet’s DM, milk production, composition, and feed efficiency are good. The authors do warn that ryegrass is typically high in potassium, so make sure to supplement magnesium.

Above all, the authors recommend testing all harvested forages to provide accurate nutritional values for balancing rations.

Tough to dry

If mechanically harvesting, chopping and ensiling or making baleage are the best options; getting the material to wilt enough for dry bales is a challenge.

Grazing is an effective and affordable alternative to utilizing these forages. Small grains that are young and lush can cause bloat, so feeding a high-quality grass hay, silage, or bloat preventative can help.

To reduce potential problems with off-flavored milk, remove lactating dairy cattle from small grain forages at least two hours prior to milking.