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BEEF Cattle questions may be directed to the OSU Extension BEEF Team through Stephen Boyles or Stan Smith, Editor

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Previous issues of the BEEF Cattle letter

Issue # 542

June 20, 2007

Options for Cattle Producers During a Summer Drought - Francis Fluharty, Research Associate Professor; Steven C. Loerch, Professor, The Ohio State University

Drought conditions are intensifying and quickly moving north, progressing over most of Ohio. This, following on the heals of a very poor yielding first cutting of hay is causing many cattle producers to begin to feed next winter's hay supply, and/or consider selling light weight calves at a discounted values.

Researchers at The Ohio State University have several years of data and experience with managing early-weaning calves as well as alternative ways to feed the cow herd. From 100 to 205 days of age, calves that are fed high-concentrate diets convert 3.5 to 4.5 pounds of feed to a pound of gain. With the current price of corn, some may be concerned that it's too expensive to feed. However, our data suggests this is not the case and there is no reason to sell light weight calves at a loss.

With corn at $4.00 per bushel and protein supplement at $250-300 per ton, the feed cost per pound of gain should be around $.40-.50/lb. Research at Wooster has shown that early-weaned steers can be fed from 100 days of age until slaughter weight of 1150-1200 pounds at an average age of 340-360 days. In OSU studies, steers have had a feed efficiency overall of 5.0-5.5 lb feed/lb gain, with approximately 85% of cattle grading choice.

Feeding recommendations for early-weaned calves are as follows: Start 300-400 lb calves on 4 pounds/head of corn/supplement mix. Commercial protein supplements that contain minerals are the best option to feed with whole-shelled corn. For the first 14 days, the diet should be 16-18% protein to take into account low feed intake. After the calves are consuming close to 2% of their body weight, the protein concentration can be decreased to 14-16% protein. Limiting the protein intake on these young calves may seem cost effective, but it will result in their not achieving their potential for growth rate, feed efficiency, or terminal weight.

Give calves hay at 1.0 to 1.5 pounds/head/day, and then top dress the concentrate mix. If hay is not available, pelleted soybean hulls or alfalfa pellets can be used as a source of fiber.

If calves do not eat the mix, weigh back the uneaten concentrate into a large bucket (we use 30 gallon trash cans). If the uneaten feed looks pretty similar to the original mix (no sorting), it can be re-mixed with new concentrate mix so that there is little feed wasted, but be sure that you take into account the pounds of uneaten feed that you are re-feeding.

Don't increase intake by more than 1 pound of concentrate/head/day, even if the feed is cleaned up in a couple of hours. Also, don't feed more than 2 pounds of hay/head/day. The concentrate feed is what allows rapid gains (not hay), but the cattle must be adjusted to the diet slowly.

Keep a feed record book with the daily amounts of concentrate offered, hay offered, concentrate refused, and hay refused. This is the only way to actually know intake. Once the calves are on feed, expect little or no refused feed. In a properly managed feed bunk, the calves should clean up the feed in approximately 18-24 hours.

From 100 to 205 days of age, calves will consume approximately 2.0-2.5% of their body weight in dry feed daily. Following the normal weaning time (205 days of age), calves should be fed typical finishing diets containing approximately 85% concentrate and 12.5-14.0% protein, and intake will fall to around 2.0% of body weight on a dry matter basis. During the entire feeding period, gains should be approximately 3.0-3.5 lb/day.

An aggressive implant strategy works well for early-weaned calves to assure that animals don't finish at light weights. In OSU studies, steers implanted with an estrogen containing implant at 130 days of age followed by androgen containing implants at 200 and 270 days of age reached .50 inches of backfat at 1160 pounds. The carcasses were acceptable, with 85% grading low choice or higher, 35% of the carcasses in the upper 2/3 of choice, and an average carcass weight of 720 pounds.

For information concerning the research referenced or diets for early-weaned calves, contact Francis Fluharty or Steve Loerch.

Feeding the Cow Herd: Rather than buying expensive hay to feed to the cow herd, consider limit-feeding corn and a commercial supplement with limited amounts of hay. Even today, corn grain remains the least expensive harvested feed per unit of digestible energy available to cattle producers in Ohio. Hay has only about half the energy value (calories) as corn grain. When corn is priced at $4.00/bu, it is worth $143/ton. This makes the breakeven price for hay on an energy basis about $72/ton.

Research at OSU has found that a 1300 pound cow's requirements can be met by feeding 12 pounds of whole-shelled corn, 2 pounds of commercial supplement, and 3-4 pounds of hay. This results in a feed cost of $1.30-1.40 per day. In contrast, if hay costs $100 per ton (.05/lb) and a 1300 pound cow eats 30 pounds per day, the cost of hay alone is $1.50. If there is enough pasture to provide roughage to the cow, there is no need for feeding purchased hay, and the cost of feeding concentrate to the cow falls to $1.10-1.20 per day. If the calves are early-weaned, the amount of corn fed to the cow can be dropped to 8-10 pounds per day, because the cow is no longer in lactation and doesn't require as much energy.

NOTE: If distillers grains are fed in place of corn, remember that the upper tolerable limit for sulfur is .4% of diet dry matter. An excellent review of the precautions can be found at: http://www.extension.umn.edu/beef/components/releases/02-28-05-DiCostanzo.htm

Recommendations for starting cows on corn:

1. Take 3-4 days adjusting up the corn and decreasing hay to the 3-4 lb level.

2. Feed intake is being limited, so make sure that cows have enough space so that all cows can eat at once.

3. The protein and mineral supplement should be similar to that used for feedlot cattle fed a high grain diet.

4. Feed corn whole. Our research has shown that whole corn works better than ground corn when daily hay intake is limited to less than 5 pounds.

Contact Steve Loerch for further information on the information and research referenced concerning diets for the cow herd.

Forage Focus: Harvesting Stressed Alfalfa and Other Forages - Mark Sulc, Forage Specialist, OSU Extension

I have received several calls about harvesting alfalfa that appears to be under stress from dry weather. Alfalfa usually has a strong capacity to continue growth under dry conditions, and we would normally expect alfalfa to be growing better than it is at this stage in a dry cycle. The late spring frost injury combined with the first harvest taken before the crop had a chance to replenish taproot reserves has likely contributed to the weak regrowth now being observed.

Many alfalfa stands were cut in mid- to late-May, which in a normal year is ideal timing. Unfortunately, the late killing spring frost this year resulted in alfalfa plants having to initiate new growth all over again. That required a lot of energy from the plant at a time when taproot reserves were low. So the mid- to late-May cutting was actually like an early harvest stress in terms of the physiological condition of the plant. This has likely contributed to the weak regrowth of many alfalfa stands, especially those that were cut last autumn or have additional stress factors such as suboptimal fertility and pH.

Many stands don’t appear to be growing any more, but that does not mean the plants are sitting idle. Alfalfa stems stop elongating during the initial phases of moisture stress, but the plant continues to manufacture carbohydrates and protein that are stored in the root system since they are not being used to produce top growth. Allowing those reserves to accumulate a little longer will benefit alfalfa plant health and longevity. I encourage growers to allow the alfalfa to get close to full bloom stage before taking the second cutting this year. Allow at least a 35-day interval from the first harvest.

Once the alfalfa is well into bloom stage and there is enough harvestable forage to economically justify a hay cutting, then go ahead and harvest it. The forage will probably be higher in quality than normal growth in full bloom because of the stems are short and fine. If fencing is available, controlled grazing of drought-stressed alfalfa stands is a very economical way to utilize the forage that is present, but bloat prevention strategies should be employed.

Other forages are also showing signs of drought stress. Red clover is not as tolerant to the combined effects of drought and heat stress as alfalfa. Cutting during periods of hot and dry weather CAN WEAKEN RED CLOVER PLANTS and may cause stand reductions. If feed is badly needed, red clover stands can be lightly grazed during drought stress.

When cutting or grazing birdsfoot trefoil during periods of heat and drought stress, be extra careful to harvest when plants are at least in mid-bloom stage and leave a full 3-inch stubble. Birdsfoot trefoil maintains relatively low levels of reserve carbohydrates in the roots and crowns during the summer. Cutting or grazing when plants are well into bloom stage and leaving sufficient leaf area will improve its regrowth potential.

Grass growth has also been slowed by dry weather in many areas. Established orchardgrass and tall fescue have better regrowth after first harvest than species like ryegrass or timothy that are less tolerant of dry conditions. Established grass stands can survive through drought conditions and regrow once rains return.

Oats, planted late, aren't your Grandpa's oats! - Stan Smith, PA, Fairfield County OSU Extension

With five years of experience under our belts planting oats after the first of July with the intent of creating as much high quality forage as possible, it's apparent there is not a better alternative. When oats are planted in July or early August, we have consistently experienced production of 4 to 7 tons of dry matter with 18+/-% protein.

To put this into perspective, the average production of hay harvested from perennial forages in Ohio is LESS THAN HALF of that! Without including land or harvest costs, those 5+/- tons of oat forage come at a TOTAL COST of less than $25 per ton even at today's fertilizer prices.

Suffice to say, oats planted after July 1 when the days are growing shorter are not the same oats you used to help your Grandpa plant in March! Even though we are using the same varieties of oats one would plant in early spring for the purpose of harvesting grain, when planted in the summer, oats consistently become a nutrient dense, highly vegetative forage. These late planted oats will remain in the vegetative state until a significant freeze stops them in late November or December, while seldom making a seed head. If they do, the seed hulls are empty with no grain.

As you consider your options to replace the forage production we've already lost this year, consider what we've learned over the past five years about growing oats for forage

* When planted this late, oat variety appears to have little impact on forage yields. In fact, we've used bin run seed, certified seed, treated seed, U.S. grown feed oats and Canadian feed oats and found essentially no difference in the resulting forage production.

* Oats are a "scavenger" for nutrients and require little additional fertilizer. We've applied 18 to 50 units of supplemental nitrogen to July and early August planted oats and experienced similar yields with each rate. While each ton of oats that are removed from the field will take ~14 pounds of phosphorus and ~ 50 pounds of K with it, we have not seen a yield boost when these nutrients were applied at planting.

* No-tilled seeding rates of from 80 pounds to 100 pounds of oats have resulted in optimum forage yields.

* Oats planted into dust, or into significant moisture have both yielded comparably. Oats planted in July/August seem to tolerate dry weather very well. Some of our best yields have been experienced when July, August and September precipitation has been below normal.

* Depending on precipitation and planting date, 60 to 90 days of growth are sufficient to optimize yields.

* While strip grazing is the most efficient method of harvest, baling dry hay and creating ensilage have also been successful.

* When strip grazing or mechanical harvest is delayed, the quality of oat forage is maintained well into winter. On March 11, 2003, we found that August of 2002 planted oats which were still being strip grazed had 11.12% protein. A nearby fescue field that was also being grazed had 8.19% protein on the same day.

* While not experiencing the high yields described earlier, oats have been flown into standing corn and soybean fields in August and September and resulted in yields of from 500 up to 3200 pounds of dry matter per acre without the benefit of any supplemental nitrogen. Seeding rates for aerial seedings have been boosted to 120 pounds per acre. Despite this, total costs for the seed and the aerial application will still be less than $30 per acre. An additional benefit to interseeding oats into standing corn is the high quality (protein) oats will help make the corn residue more palatable when strip grazing harvested corn fields.

With many small grain fields soon to be harvested and likely sitting idle, the opportunity of flying seed into standing row crops, or early harvested silage fields becoming available later this summer, cattlemen still have excellent opportunities to create high quality forages that may be mechanically harvested or grazed well into winter and even next spring. If you've yet to attend any of our field days to see for yourself the results of summer seeded oats, this web link has photos and data of several of the past years' attempts at the alternatives described above: http://fairfield.osu.edu/ag/graze/wntrgraz.htm

A couple of weeks ago in this publication, Jeff McCutcheon mentioned "summer annuals for grazing" including a grass native of Ethiopia called Teff. Below is a photo of Teff the Burnworths from Bremen planted on May 28, 2007. The photo is taken at three weeks after planting "in dust" and having received a total of 0.6 inch rain since planting. Their goal is to harvest it the week of July 4.

Also found at the Burnworth's is the oat/turnip mix you see below. Planted the same day as the Teff, they drilled 50 pounds of oats, spread 2 pounds of turnips, cultipacked it, and spread enough liquid manure from the lagoon over the top of the seeding to provide the equivalent of 15 pounds of nitrogen. The goal is to strip graze the oat/turnip mix beginning July 4.

Complimentary refreshments and dinner will be available. In order to help determine the amount of food needed for dinner, we ask your assistance as advance notice of attendance is appreciated. If you are interested in attending the field day, or you have questions, please contact Bill Doig at bdoig@ohiobeef.org, or call the Ohio Cattlemen's Association office at 614-873-6736.

Visit the OSU Beef Team calendar of meetings and upcoming events

BEEF Cattle is a weekly publication of Ohio State University Extension in Fairfield County and the OSU Beef Team. Contributors include members of the Beef Team and other beef cattle specialists and economists from across the U.S.

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status. Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Admin. and Director, OSU Extension. TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868

Fairfield County Agriculture and Natural Resources