Download Determining the Value of Standing Hay

Clippings – June 18, 2012
ALFALFA, GRASS AND LEGUME-GRASS MIXES ARE GOOD SOURCES OF LOW COST TDN
By Bryce Larson, UW Extension, Calumet County
With corn grain and other commodity prices high can forages supply your livestock TDN needs at competitive prices? We
have all read about the increases in corn yield of the last couple decades. Forage yields have trended up but not nearly at
the pace that corn has increased in yield. As a dairy and livestock producer one has to think about the quality and quantity
of dry matter and TDN per acre and the efficiency of harvesting and storing the bulky and wet forages. There are certain
specific dietary fiber needs for ruminants and we need to satisfy those needs. Our forage production practices can and do
influence significantly the amount of forage-based TDN that is in the diets of several classes of ruminants on your farms.
As of March 26, 2012, the local price to buy a bushel of corn from the elevator was $7.15/bu or $255/ton. The corn market
for selling corn that day in our area was $6.04/bu or $216/ton. For this article I will use $235/ton as the cost of corn and
TDN from corn. The price that day was $22.30/cwt to buy 48% soybean oil meal. This equates to $446/ton. The current
price farmers were receiving for soybeans was $13.09/bushel or $436/ton for whole soybeans. I will use the $446/ton of
soybean oil meal for our calculations.
Shell corn is 88% TDN and at $235/ton at 84.5% dry matter/lb. of TDN from corn costs 16¢/lb. of TDN. Soybean oil meal
(48% protein) is 81% TDN and at $446/ton a pound of TDN from 48% SOM is 31¢.
Bud stage alfalfa is selling for $220/ton at our local hay auctions. This quality of alfalfa hay is 66% TDN or 20¢/lb. Midbloom or average quality hay is selling for $140/ton and this hay is about 59% TDN. A pound of TDN from average hay
then costs 14¢/lb. Full bloom or poor quality alfalfa hay is selling for $100/ton. This hay is 54% TDN and thus a pound of
TDN from low quality hay costs 11¢. Boot stage grass is 62% TDN and if priced at $125/ton of hay equivalent a pound of
TDN from good grass costs 12¢. Headed or average grass is 58% TDN and thus at $125/ton hay equivalent a pound of
TDN would cost 13¢. Fully mature or poor quality grass purchased for $90/ton is 54% TDN. A pound of TDN from low
quality grass would cost 10¢. Please note that even though a pound of TDN costs less at current prices for hay we do not
advocate harvesting and managing forages for low quality. These are absolute TDN values and don’t reflect the rumen
time and digestibility of the TDN, however, with several classes of ruminants on a farm there are opportunities to utilize
less than excellent quality forage on many farms.
If excellent quality bud stage hay is selling for $220/ton and has up to $283 of feeding value what does it cost you to raise
a ton of excellent quality forage on your farm? What does it cost to raise a ton of average quality forage on your farm?
What are the rewards for producing large quantities of high quality forage? Let us say that I am using the following
numbers for an acre of legume forage. I am harvesting 7 tons of dry matter/acre with 4 cuttings. My land and fertilizer costs
are $400/acre. It costs me $60/crop to harvest which is ($240/season). I will use $260/acre as my storage and overhead
costs making the total cost of producing this 7 ton of dry matter yield $900/acre. At $900/acre and 7 tons/acre my cost to
produce this bud stage forage crop is $129/ton of dry matter or $151/ton of hay equivalent. If I lose 20% of this forage due
to fermentation, storage/ and feeding losses my cost is $189/ton in the animal. My cost per pound of TDN is 14.3¢, which
is still lower than the corn grain cost for TDN with the prices used in this example.
While 7 tons of legume or legume-grass mixed forage is not always possible, there are several forage producers in
Eastern Wisconsin that are achieving 7 ton yields. The $900/acre cost may be high but I feel realistic in our modern age of
production agriculture. The goal of this article is to remind producers that forages can be a low cost way to raise and feed
TDN and nutrients to our cattle. With high priced land, high commodity and fuel prices, and volatile milk prices raising large
quantities of high quality forage is the best way to maintain profitability for dairy farmers. Dairy and cattle producers with
several classes of livestock on their farm have the capability to utilize a wide range of forage quality to meet the needs of
cattle with varying nutritional needs. Creating storage flexibility is one key component in being able to meet the nutritional
requirements of your cattle.
One could do the calculations with corn silage and those numbers would look very good as well. My goal is not to compare
corn silage with legume and grass forages but rather to show that forages can be a very cost effective way to feed cattle.
Some other benefits of legume and grass based forage crops are that liquid manure can be applied to the stands soon
after a cutting is harvested. Digester leachate can be applied to growing crops as well, increasing tonnage and decreasing
the amount of organic materials that need to be applied in the fall to fields with no nutrient uptake or utilization. Winter
forages such as winter rye, winter barley, etc. can be planted in the fall after crop harvest to lessen erosion and can be
harvested in spring before other crops are planted. The early harvested grass crops can be fed to different classes of cattle
based on nutritional value. Application of nutrients needs to be conducted according to the nutrient management plan for
the farm operation.
Growing, storing, and feeding forages take lots of management and coordination. We all know that good management
replaces dollars or capital investment. Good management can save producers considerable amounts of money in feeding
and raising cattle. Poor management will not reward producers with the cost savings they will realize when doing a good
job of managing and growing forages.
In this article I have focused on the TDN value of the forages and the corn and soybean oil meal I used for price
comparisons. Forages also contribute needed digestible fiber to ruminant rations and many legume and legume-grass
mixed forages also are very good sources of crude protein as well.