Because of the extended drought and reduced supply of hay in many areas of the West, cattle producers must either reduce the size of their herds to fit the available feed supply or obtain supplemental feeds. Drought feeding is not a new problem but present feed prices are, especially hay prices in certain localities. Roughages, especially poor quality hays, are generally thought to be the cheapest feed to maintain beef cattle. This may not be the case at the present time, however.

The following is an updated version of an earlier report that I wrote while I was at the University of Missouri in 1962 during a severe drought in the southern half of Missouri at that time. A cattle producer from the boot-heel of Missouri knocked on my office door one Saturday morning asking if I knew where he could purchase hay to feed his drought stricken cattle. I couldn't answer his question but it did stimulate my thinking as to what I would do in his place. The result (updated) is as follows.

Energy and protein are the major requirements that determine the worth of feed for cattle. Presently corn grain and soybean or cottonseed meal may be the cheapest source of these two requirements. Using current prices (Corn grain at $2.60/bu. and soybean meal at $180/ton.) for corn grain and soybean meal, the following chart shows the most a cattle producer can afford to pay for hays to supply the energy and protein requirements for cattle.

If hay prices in a given locality are higher than the above prices, it will be cheaper to feed corn grain and soybean meal. This will be the case in many areas of the West this fall and winter since current hay prices are ranging from $120 to $200 per ton! The above prices do not include any transportation or handing charges. If corn grain and supplement require transportation, the above hay prices should be increased accordingly.

It may strike many cattle producers as "unheard of" to feed beef cows "expensive" grain and supplement. This may be accomplished, however, with little or no danger. The Australians have done this many times during their drought situations.

Due to the drought across much of the Midwest, pastures are short and hay supplies are low. Feeding cows grain may offer a possible solution to fall and winter feedstuffs.

How much grain and supplement will it take? Table 1 sets forth the daily amounts of grain and supplement required to meet the energy and protein requirements of a pregnant beef cow or heifer. It needs to be stressed at this point that only energy and protein needs will be satisfied. Mineral and vitamin requirements will be discussed later. An ample supply of water must also be available.

Corn grain has been used above in calculating the value of various hays. All feed grains can be used including corn, sorghum grain (milo or maize), barley, oats and even wheat. Barley and oats have a somewhat lower energy value than corn, sorghum grain or wheat and therefore the amounts of these grains will need to be slightly higher than for corn, sorghum grain or wheat.

All grain should be cracked, crimped, rolled, flaked or ground for most effective utilization by beef cows. Ground ear corn would be preferable to ground-shelled corn because of the roughage value of the cob. The amount of ground ear corn would need to be 20 percent more than ground-shelled corn. Cattle should be worked up gradually on the amounts shown in Table 1 during the first two to three weeks. Decreasing amounts of hay should be fed during this adjustment period. If some hay is available, two to three pounds of hay should be fed per head per day and the amount of grain shown in Table 1 decreased 0.7 pounds for every pound of hay that is fed. Ample bunk space will be required for grain plus supplement feeding to prevent a few cows from crowding the others away.

The amounts of grain and supplement indicated in Table 1 may be put out for several days or self-fed by mixing with salt to limit intake. Generally, cattle will not eat more that 0.1 percent of their body weight in salt per day. This means that a 1,000-pound cow will probably eat no more than one pound of salt per day. Thus if 9.5 pounds of grain plus supplement is the desired target consumption per cow per day, a mixture of one pound of salt and 9.5 pounds of grain plus supplement, or a mix containing 9.5 percent salt and 90.5 percent grain plus supplement should be prepared. A cattle producer must monitor the consumption of any salt-grain plus supplement mix and adjust the salt content up or down to achieve the desired consumption of grain plus supplement since the amount of salt that a cow will consume is only a rough estimate. If salt is used to regulate the amount of grain and supplement intake, water must be readily available at all times.

The amount of grain plus supplement indicated in Table 1 should be increased 25-30%, two to three months prior to calving, depending on the condition of the cows or heifers, to allow for the developing calf. A cattle producer should monitor the condition of his cows and heifers and feed them accordingly so that they reach a body condition score of 4 to 5 at calving. Cows and especially heifers that are too thin at calving will not return to estrus soon enough to maintain a yearly calving schedule. Cows too fat (body condition score of 8 or higher) at calving have wasted feed resources and may also have difficulty re-breeding.

Certain mineral and vitamin requirements must also be met to assure proper calf development, adequate immunity in the colostrum and successful re-breeding. Vitamin A (or carotene), calcium, phosphorus, potassium and certain trace minerals, depending on location, will also be required. Most commercial supplements will be formulated to supply vitamin A, calcium and phosphorus and trace minerals. When feeding grain plus supplement as a replacement for hay, potassium may be an important mineral requiring supplementation. To assure that all nutrient requirements are met in a given situation will require consultation for that situation.

Many cattle producers will have fall and winter pastures, stubble, or stalk fields that can supply part of the cow's energy requirement. Also, a certain amount of hay or cottonseed hulls may be available. It is impossible to make specific feeding recommendations for all situations without knowing the amount and nutrient composition of these feed sources. If these feed sources have been reduced due to the drought to say one-half of the quantity normally available, then one-half of the amount of grain, keeping the same amount of protein supplement, shown in Table 1 should be fed. Other adjustments can be made based on a judgment of the available feed supply compared to a normal situation. If poor quality hay or straw is fed, the amount of grain fed can be reduced 0.9 pound for each 2 pounds of poor quality hay or straw that is fed. If the hay is alfalfa or good quality grass-alfalfa hay, each 1.5 pounds of hay replaces:

• 1.0 pound of 20 percent supplement, or
• 0.5 pound 32 percent supplement plus 0.5 pound grain, or
• 0.3 pound 44 percent supplement plus 0.7 pound of grain

It behooves the cattle producer to watch the condition of their cows and heifers and if they are putting on too much condition, obviously too much energy is being fed and therefore the amount of grain should be reduced. ©