"Carryover hay is like watermelons after Labor Day and pumpkins after Oct. 31," Robert Seay, Benton County, Ark., Extension staff chair noted.
Hay has a value in today's market, but a producer must know the hay's value based on facts, not just opinion, to achieve that full value.
The Value of Hay
Seay added that this year's hay crop is strong thanks to lots of rain, but the quality is not there like it has been in previous years. Still, he warned, "Producers need to put a value to the hay they are plucking down. If you consider a quality hay's value to be 80 to 85 percent of corn it will change the way you feed it."
He noted that the protein and energy in superior hay will more than take care of a growing animal, but if a producer isn't careful they'll end up with unfertilized, "trashy" hay that will just barely get an animal through the winter.
"For years producers thought just keeping an animal alive through the winter was good. Today, though, we must keep their gains and developmental cycles in place and maintained through the winter. Knowing the quality of what is available allows a producer to keep an upward growth swing in calves, not just keep them surviving."
Seay noted that an extremely strong corn market has caused producers to look at all energy feeds differently, and hay is an energy feed. "A young animal needs 16 to 18 percent protein and 65 percent TDN (Total Digestible Nutrients) or energy."
A Quality Forage Program Seay has run in northwest Arkansas for 10 yeas has tested area producers' hay samples and has found those numbers to be very achievable in Ozarks farmers' pastures.
Fertilizer, Legumes, Inputs
What about this year and in years to come with commercial fertilizer prices increasing exponentially? "We were fortunate for moisture this year," Seay said.
He warned of relying too much on legumes for nitrogen. "Legume nitrogen is a finicky resource. Legume's fixed nitrogen is a delayed reaction. There is no instant response or volume nitrogen return as with commercial fertilizers," he said.
Optimistic producers are seeing the value in marketing hay through their cattle. They are strongly considering rotational grazing. "Grazing is the cheapest way to harvest forage. It is not as efficient in capturing total forage produced per acre, but the cost per pound with input costs of hay eats you up," Seay added. "And, producers may have to adjust to certain numbers of animals they can maintain at today's prices."
