Feed Lot Magazine Online, Windrow Grazing Cheaper Than Baling According to Research

Allowing weaned calves to graze windrowed hay in the meadow costs half as much as baling that same hay and feeding it in the feedlot, University of Nebraska research shows.

In either case, the expense of feeding these calves and selling them in February instead of December appears to pay off, said Richard Clark, farm management specialist at NU's West Central Research and Extension Center.

The Trial

During the first year of the trial, calves grazing windrowed hay in subirrigated Sandhills meadows gained 1.17 pounds per day, compared to the .85 pounds per day gained by the feedlot calves, said Jerry Volesky, NU Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources forage scientist. At the end of 70 days, the calves grazing windrow hay averaged 531 pounds, compared with 507 pounds for calves eating baled hay. During the second year of the trial, calf gains were similar, averaging .60 pounds per day.

The cost of feeding windrowed hay was 16 cents per head per day, compared to 34 cents per day for feeding the baled hay. These costs were estimated for a working ranch example rather than for the small paddocks and confined area used for the bale-fed calves, Clark noted.

The trials took place from mid-November through January in 1997-98 and again in 1998-99. The windrow group gained more weight during the first year of the trial, Volesky said, because the hay was cut about three weeks earlier that year. That, in turn, allowed time for high-quality regrowth to occur through a relatively mild fall, which the windrow-grazing calves also grazed. During the second year of the trial, minimal regrowth occurred after haying and the calves had only windrow hay to consume.

Hay in the trials was harvested from cool-season dominated meadow and included smooth brome, redtop, Kentucky bluegrass, slender wheatgrass, sedges and clover. In May, the meadow was heavily grazed for two weeks, which delayed maturity. After the cattle were removed, the meadow was fertilized and allowed to grow until late August. Hay was cut by mid-September and raked into windrows 30 feet apart. Alternate windrows were baled into 1,000-pound bales. The trials involved 48 450-pound calves in two groups. Twenty-four calves grazed windrowed hay, eight per acre. Calves grazed for up to two weeks on one acre, then the fence was moved to graze another acre.

Calves eating baled hay were in drylot pens and fed hay from alternate windrows.

Analysis

The total expense of feeding the windrow calves was $12 per head for the 72-day period, compared to $24 per head for the bale-fed calves. The cost for windrow grazing includes moving electric fence and fenceposts every couple of weeks. This took considerably less time than baling, hauling bales and feeding the hay to the feedlot calves, Volesky said.

Water wasn't accounted for in the expenses, Clark said, since these costs would not be large and would be similar between methods. Both sets of calves had supplemental minerals and salt. Although calves grazing windrow hay gained more weight, twice as much hay was wasted. Drylot calves wasted 12 percent of the hay, while the windrow grazers wasted 26 percent. Mature cows grazed windrow-trampled hay after the calves were removed, with final waste estimated at a more acceptable 18 percent.

There are some drawbacks.

"Some people don't like to have hay on their meadows," Clark said, as manure dropped during grazing concentrates weed seed. Another potential drawback would be if enough snow fell to cover up the windrowed hay.

Many producers sell their calves at weaning in October or November. These trials showed that keeping the calves another two months would pay off in most years, given the weight gained, relatively low costs of weight gain, and the usually higher price of calves in February compared to October and November.