1 A forage test to tell you the protein and TDN on your hay, or hay you would like to purchase, runs $18.00. It’s certainly worth the money to let you know if the hay will meet your animal requirements. You can add on nitrates for $5 or get nitrates by themselves for $5.
2 Pregnancy test. A cow can eat around 4 bales of hay through the winter if she eats 25 pounds per day, and you have to feed her for 120 days. All reports are that a bale of any quality is worth about $60 right now. So, it will cost you $240 to keep that cow this winter if she isn’t pregnant. That’s too high. It might cost you $300 if she eats another bale between now and winter.
3 Semen test your bull before you turn him out this fall. These extreme temperatures might take their toll on some bulls this year. When the outside temperature is over 100 degrees, it makes it nearly impossible for the bull to regulate his testicular temperature. The cost of the semen test will certainly pay for itself. Always get a trich test on any purchased bulls if they have ever been with cows before you turn them out.
4 It’s not too late to get ryegrass or other small grains such as wheat, cereal rye, oats or triticale in. At this point, you can’t count on a lot of fall growth, but they will help with earlier grazing next spring. Ryegrass can be established by broadcasting the seed. It would be better to come behind this and drag and roll the field, but you can have good results without it if you hit the rains right.
5 Plan your hay feeding areas for places on your farm which need more fertility. There are over $30 worth of nutrients in an average bale of hay. Plan to take advantage of this. A sacrifice pasture where hay is fed is a great way to build up nutrient levels and organic matter.
6 Once hay feeding starts, be sure to either unroll just enough hay for a couple of days, or use round bale feeders. Hay feeding losses can be around 20 percent or more.
