The situation leaves cattle producers with a choice of culling their herds, hauling them to locations where there is better feed availability or hauling the feed to the animals. The best option depends on what is most cost-effective for the rancher.
“Every operation needs to do their own math,” said Warren Rusche, South Dakota State University Extension Feedlot Specialist.
Whether to haul the cattle to the feed or the feed to the cattle depends on the cost of the freight and the distance that the cattle or feed will be hauled.
Some western South Dakota ranchers are choosing to haul their cattle to bordering states of Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota, which have feed available, Rusche said.
However, in North Dakota, few ranchers are moving their cattle to a location where there is feed and instead are hauling feed to the cattle, said Karl Hoppe, livestock systems specialist at the Carrington (North Dakota) Research Extension Center. The cost of hauling to and from the feeding location, combined with the cost the feeder is charging, appears to have made that a better option for many North Dakota ranchers, Hoppe said.
“It’s a challenging set of decisions. Either way you’re spending dollars. Some operations are electing to downsize cow numbers to maximize feed resources,” Rusche said.
Alfalfa hay and grass hay prices are high — if the forages are even available — so North Dakota ranchers are stretching their feed supplies by incorporating other roughage, such as corn stover, straw and even cattails into their feed supplies.
Before feeding an option such as cattail hay, its nutritional value should be tested, Hoppe said.
Often because the locations where the cattails are growing have not been hayed for awhile, they have tough, woody stalks that don’t contain many nutrients.
"You just can’t feed cattails and think it is OK,” Hoppe said. “They need to be tested.”
Alternative roughages can be supplemented by adding corn, corn gluten feed or distillers grains to the ration to meet the nutritional needs of the cattle, Hoppe said.
“We have a lot of co-products in North Dakota,” he said. While the majority of the co-products already have been spoken for, ranchers should consider entering into contracts with North Dakota companies in the future, Hoppe said.
In North Dakota, sources include the North Dakota Mill and Elevator in Grand Forks, Dakota Growers Pasta Co. in Carrington, and Golden Growers Cooperative in Wahpeton, he said.
Meanwhile, corn silage and commercial feeds are other feeding options.
“It really comes down to cost of delivery per unit of nutrient,” Rusche said.
Once ranchers have secured the feed, storing it properly to maintain quality is important.
For example, the amount of oxygen exposure to silage should be limited because the chemical allows microbes to metabolize dry matter and affects forage quality, according to University of Minnesota Extension.
The walls, doors and ceilings of silos containing silage should be monitored so they can be repaired if there is moisture or precipitation entering them through cracks. If silage spoilage worsens from year to year, it’s an indication that maintenance is needed, Minnesota Extension said.
Silage stored in bags, bunkers and piles, which rely on plastic to keep air out of them, should be checked for punctures, which people, animals, equipment and weather can cause. If punctures are found, holes should be repaired with oxygen-exuding tape, the organization said.
Livestock producers can take steps such as sealing plastic covers tightly to the silage surface, sloping appropriately to drain water away from silage entry points and storing bags away from areas that increase the likelihood of punctures to maintain the quality of the feed, according to University of Minnesota Extension.
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Ranchers in drought-stricken areas seek alternative feed sources - AG Week
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