For m

ore

info

rmat

ion

on w

inte

r fee

dyar

d m

anag

emen

t and

on

our b

eef f

eed

prog

ram

s,co

ntac

t you

r loc

al M

aste

rfee

ds o

r Lak

e Co

untr

y D

eale

r.

Tech

nica

l Bee

f Sal

es S

peci

alis

t G

ary

Gru

bb

51

9-88

1-79

29M

aste

rfee

ds B

eef N

utrit

ioni

st

John

Pic

kerin

g 51

9-68

5-16

71 x

1245

Hay

a Li

ttle

Short

Thi

s Yea

r?Ha

y a

Littl

e Sh

ort

Thi

s Yea

r?

CRYS

TALY

X® re

sear

ch h

as

dem

onst

rate

d be

tter

fora

ge fi

ber

utili

zatio

n, g

razi

ng d

istr

ibut

ion,

and

m

aint

enan

ce o

f cow

bod

y co

nditi

on.

In y

ears

like

this

, the

dec

isio

n to

use

CR

YSTA

LYX®

is a

mus

t in

mak

ing

fora

ge

go fu

rthe

r.

to le

arn m

ore v

isit w

ww.crystalyx.com

or ca

ll 800

.727.2

502

to le

arn m

ore v

isit w

ww.crystalyx.com

or ca

ll 800

.727.2

502

Hay

a Li

ttle

HHHaaaa

LLLttl

eeHaHHHHHa

yHHHaaaa

lellllle

lleeeeSh

ort

SSSooo

tSSSSShSSShhh

Thi

s Yea

r?TTTh

sYYYeeaa

??r?rrr?r??

CRCRCRYSYSYS

TATATALYLYLY

X®X®Xrre

seseaea

rcrchhh

hhahass

The

re’s

a C

RYS

TALY

X® B

arr

el f

or

Tha

t.

Whe

n ha

y su

pplie

s are

low

, diff

erin

g ro

ugha

ge o

ptio

ns fo

r win

terin

g th

e co

w h

erd

have

to b

e co

nsid

ered

. Str

aw (o

at,b

arle

y,w

heat

) and

par

ticle

cor

nsto

ver (

just

the

good

stuff

, beh

ind

the

com

bine

) can

be

used

ext

ensi

vely

as r

ough

age

sour

ces t

o w

inte

r ear

ly to

mid

dle

gest

atin

g br

ood

cow

s if e

nerg

y, p

rote

in, m

iner

al a

nd v

itam

in re

quire

men

ts

are

prop

erly

supp

lem

ente

d in

the

diet

to m

eet r

equi

rem

ents

.

It w

ill b

e cr

itica

l to

supp

ly a

ll nu

trie

nts t

he a

nim

als n

eed

in o

rder

to m

aint

ain

good

hea

lth, b

ody

cond

ition

, des

irabl

e ca

lvin

g su

cces

s and

ear

ly c

alf-

hood

vig

or, h

igh

repr

oduc

tive

rate

s and

milk

ing

abili

ty fo

r des

irabl

e w

eani

ng w

eigh

ts. T

he n

utrit

iona

l req

uire

men

ts o

f the

bee

f her

d ch

ange

as t

he a

nim

als p

rogr

ess t

hrou

gh d

iffer

ent

phys

iolo

gica

l sta

ges.

Let’s

Think

in Re

verse

How

man

y da

ys a

re y

ou a

way

from

the

1st d

ay o

f nex

t yea

rs e

xpec

ted

calv

ing

perio

d?

Coun

t bac

kwar

ds 6

0 da

ys

Is B

ody

Cond

ition

Sco

re w

here

it n

eeds

to b

e fo

r cal

ving

?

So a

ll th

e di

et n

eeds

to d

o is

mai

ntai

n th

at c

ondi

tion

with

you

r bet

ter f

orag

es(r

eser

ved

for t

his p

erio

d),

whi

le m

eetin

g th

e in

crea

sed

feta

l dem

and

on th

e co

w in

the

last

trim

este

r of p

regn

ancy

Coun

t bac

kwar

ds a

noth

er 9

0 -1

20 d

ays

Eval

uatio

n Ti

me

Det

erm

ine

feed

inve

ntor

ies a

nd q

ualit

y by

ana

lysi

s, so

rt c

ows/

heife

rs

into

man

agem

ent g

roup

s bas

ed o

n bo

dy c

ondi

tion

scor

e, a

ge a

nd a

vaila

ble

feed

ing

spac

e.

Det

erm

ine

requ

irem

ents

to a

chie

ve B

ody

Cond

ition

Sco

re ta

rget

s by

60 d

ays p

reca

lvin

g.

(1 B

CS g

ain

will

requ

ire ¾

lb to

1 lb

ADG

ove

r 90

days

)

Seek

con

sulta

tion

from

you

supp

ortin

g

Mas

terf

eeds

Dea

ler

on b

alan

cing

a v

iabl

e ra

tion

to m

eet r

equi

rem

ents

with

ava

ilabl

e fe

edst

uffs

Nut

ritio

nal P

oint

s of I

nter

est

A co

w’s

daily

vol

unta

ry in

take

of f

eed

dry

mat

ter c

an b

e pr

edic

ted

base

d on

feed

qua

lity.

Low

qua

lity

roug

hage

s suc

h as

stra

w/s

tove

r dig

est a

t a sl

ower

rate

than

a ty

pica

l

gras

s hay

, so

a co

w c

an c

onsu

me

less

of t

hese

feed

stuff

s dai

ly th

an g

rass

hay

. Typ

ical

dai

ly m

inim

um d

ry m

atte

r int

ake

is 2

% o

f a c

ows b

ody

wei

ght o

n a

dry

mat

ter b

asis

,

good

qua

lity

feed

will

read

ily b

e co

nsum

ed a

t 2 to

2.2

5% o

f her

bod

y w

eigh

t, w

hile

poo

r qua

lity

feed

will

be

cons

umed

at 1

.25%

of h

er b

ody

wei

ght.

The

poor

er q

ualit

y fe

ed

sim

ply

is n

ot d

iges

ted

as q

uick

ly, r

esul

ting

in h

er re

duce

d in

take

. Grin

ding

/pro

cess

ing

stra

w, a

ddin

g Fo

rage

Plu

s mol

asse

s/pr

otei

n su

pple

men

t, w

ill in

crea

se d

aily

inta

kes,

but

supp

lem

entin

g w

ith p

rope

r am

ount

s of p

rote

in, e

nerg

y, m

iner

als a

nd v

itam

ins i

s the

mos

t ess

entia

l pra

ctic

e to

avo

id m

alnu

triti

on fr

om o

ccur

ring.

Ano

ther

fact

or to

take

into

con

side

ratio

n is

that

a c

ow’s

inta

ke d

ecre

ases

in th

e th

e ra

nge

of 1

2-13

% w

hen

she

is in

the

latt

er st

ages

of g

esta

tion.

Her

cap

acit

y to

take

in b

ulky

feed

is re

duce

d du

e

to th

e sp

ace

that

the

deve

lopi

ng c

alf o

ccup

ies i

n he

r abd

omin

al c

avit

y. T

here

fore

, onc

e th

e co

w a

ppro

ache

s cal

ving

, it b

ecom

es n

eces

sary

to p

rovi

de a

mor

e co

ncen

trat

ed

nutr

ient

sour

ce b

y su

bstit

utin

g ro

ugha

ge w

ith so

me

conc

entr

ate

sour

ce su

ch a

s a n

utrie

nt d

ense

( M

F/LC

her

e) C

ow P

elle

t or a

hig

her q

ualit

y ro

ugha

ge.

Bala

ncin

g M

iner

al a

nd V

itam

in R

equi

rem

ents

Impo

rtan

t

Typi

cal a

lfalfa

/gra

ss h

ay p

rogr

ams h

ave

trad

ition

al re

quire

d a

stan

dard

1:1

bro

od c

ow m

iner

al, h

owev

er w

ith ro

ugha

ge so

urce

s suc

h as

stra

w, s

tove

r or c

orns

ilage

a 2

:1 o

r 3:1

Calc

ium

: Pho

spho

rus m

iner

al w

ill b

e re

quire

d. P

ayin

g sp

ecia

l att

entio

n to

ade

quat

e in

take

targ

et m

iner

al in

take

will

ens

ure

prop

er v

itam

in a

nd tr

ace

min

eral

inta

kes a

s wel

l.

Ge

ttin

g T

ho

se C

ow

s T

hro

ug

h t

he

Win

ter

Eco

no

mic

all

y

“W

he

n H

ay

Do

n’t

Gro

w”

The

sum

mer

of 2

012

is o

ver b

ut it

isn’

t. T

he d

roug

ht h

as ra

nsac

ked

our f

eed

supp

lies f

or th

e w

inte

r and

ratio

ning

thes

e w

inte

r sto

res w

ill o

nly

do d

amag

e to

pro

duct

ion.

If

prod

ucer

s are

aw

are

of th

e ec

onom

ics o

f los

ses i

n w

eani

ng %

and

wea

ning

wei

ghts

as w

ell a

s con

cept

ion

rate

s the

n be

tter

dec

isio

ns c

an b

e m

ade.

Read

ers h

ave

cert

ainl

y be

en e

xpos

ed to

ple

nty

of d

ata

on th

e eff

ect p

lane

of n

utrit

ion

has o

n ca

lf w

eani

ng w

eigh

ts a

nd p

erce

ntag

e o

f cal

ves w

eane

d pe

r cow

in th

e he

rd.

To st

art w

ith, t

he b

eef c

ow h

as p

riorit

ies o

n ho

w fe

ed n

utrie

nts a

re u

tiliz

ed w

hich

are

the

exac

t opp

osite

of t

he o

wne

r’s d

esire

s: F

irst p

riorit

y fo

r nut

rient

s: su

rviv

al.

Seco

nd

prio

rity:

Nur

se th

e ca

lf ev

en if

it m

eans

losi

ng b

odyw

eigh

t. Th

ird p

riorit

y: R

epro

duct

ion.

Mos

t pro

duce

rs w

ould

cer

tain

ly li

ke th

e co

w to

focu

s on

the

latt

er.

This

is w

here

unde

rfee

ding

cow

s in

an e

ffor

t to

save

mon

ey o

r to

met

e ou

t sca

rce

win

ter s

uppl

ies c

an e

nd u

p in

fina

ncia

l los

ses.

The

follo

win

g su

mm

ary

show

s tha

t ade

quat

e su

pple

men

tatio

n du

ring

gest

atio

n no

t onl

y ad

ded

14 lb

s to

wea

ning

wei

ghts

but

the

heife

rs w

ent o

n to

bre

ed b

ette

r on

1st

serv

ice

(88%

v 4

5%),

wer

e co

nfirm

ed p

regn

ant (

94%

v 7

3%) a

nd h

ad m

ore

unas

sist

ed c

alvi

ngs (

69%

v 3

8%).

The

se a

re fa

r-re

achi

ng e

ffec

ts w

hen

cons

ider

ing

the

only

diff

eren

ce w

as th

e ad

equa

cy o

f nut

ritio

n of

the

dam

’s di

et.

Ther

e ar

e va

rious

stra

tegi

es t

hat c

an b

e us

ed to

impr

ove

the

nutr

ition

of t

he b

red

cow

at t

his t

ime:

One

exa

mpl

e is

to u

se L

ow M

oist

ure

Mol

asse

s Tub

s whi

ch si

mpl

ify m

anag

emen

t and

boo

st th

e va

lue

of p

oor p

astu

res o

r sto

red

feed

s. T

hese

are

rich

in su

gars

whi

ch h

elp

mai

ntai

n a

viab

le m

icro

bial

pop

ulat

ion

in th

e ru

men

whi

ch w

ill e

nhan

ce th

e di

gest

ion

of in

ferio

r qua

lity

fora

ges.

At t

he sa

me

time

thes

e lic

k tu

bs p

rovi

de p

rote

in, m

iner

als

and

vita

min

s. I

t has

bee

n sh

own

that

tub

feed

ing

incr

ease

s dry

mat

ter i

ntak

e of

dor

man

t gra

ss b

y 20

% a

nd im

prov

es th

e dr

y m

atte

r dig

estib

ility

by

26%

.

Anot

her s

trat

egy

is to

be

open

to a

ltern

ate

feed

stuff

s sim

ilar t

o fe

edlo

t pro

gram

s. T

here

are

of c

ours

e ha

ssle

s inv

olve

d w

ith h

andl

ing

wet

byp

rodu

cts i

n th

e w

inte

r tim

e w

hen

com

pare

d to

fora

ge b

ales

. If f

eed

need

s to

be p

urch

ased

, thi

s may

be

the

right

tim

e fo

r som

e in

nova

tive

thin

king

. A n

ew p

ublic

atio

n ha

s jus

t bee

n re

leas

ed b

y OM

AFRA

whi

ch

outli

nes a

ltern

ativ

e fe

eds,

the

max

imum

incl

usio

n ra

tes a

nd b

reak

even

pur

chas

e pr

ices

bas

ed o

n th

e m

arke

t pric

e fo

r hay

. Fo

r exa

mpl

e, if

hay

cos

ts $

175

per t

onne

then

the

brea

keve

n pu

rcha

se p

rice

for v

ario

us in

gred

ient

s wou

ld b

e as

follo

ws:

Whe

at sh

orts

$30

6, D

ry C

orn

Glut

en fe

ed $

310,

Dis

tille

rs d

ried

grai

ns w

ith so

lubl

es $

414,

Wet

Bre

wer

s

grai

ns $

73, O

ats $

219,

Bar

ley

$241

, She

lled

corn

$21

6, W

heat

$24

0, S

oyam

eal $

438,

Cor

n si

lage

$74

, Whe

at st

raw

$11

2, B

aled

cor

n st

over

$12

2, S

oybe

an st

raw

$11

0,

Soyb

ean

hulls

$22

4. T

hese

are

all

on a

n as

fed

(moi

st) b

asis

. Als

o, th

ere

are

limits

for i

nclu

sion

and

supp

lem

enta

l pro

tein

may

be

nece

ssar

y. G

oogl

e up

the

artic

le ‘A

ltern

ativ

e

Feed

s for

Bee

f Cat

tle’ o

n th

e OM

AFRA

web

site

or s

ee it

in th

e re

cent

‘Ont

ario

Bee

f’ pu

blic

atio

n of

the

Ont

ario

Cat

tlem

en’s

asso

ciat

ion.

Or,

I wou

ld b

e ha

ppy

to e

-mai

l it t

o yo

u.

Even

who

le c

orn

limit

fed

to b

eef c

ows h

as b

een

show

n to

wor

k. W

e ne

ed to

thin

k in

term

s of t

he n

utrie

nts t

hat t

he in

gred

ient

s sup

ply

rath

er th

an fo

cus o

n th

e in

gred

ient

alon

e. M

any

have

bee

n av

erse

to u

sing

cor

n si

lage

in c

ow d

iets

bec

ause

“ co

rn si

lage

mak

es th

em fa

t”. T

he re

alit

y is

that

cor

n si

lage

doe

s not

mak

e co

ws f

at h

owev

er

over

feed

ing

it w

ould

do

just

that

. Fee

ding

who

le c

orn

pres

ents

it’s

chal

leng

es b

ut it

has

bee

n do

ne in

seve

ral t

rials

.

Ther

e ar

e m

any

othe

r opt

ions

ava

ilabl

e in

clud

ing

corn

stal

k gr

azin

g (c

autio

n- c

ontr

ol a

cces

s to

avoi

d gr

ain

over

load

), h

ayfie

lds l

eft

unto

uche

d ov

er th

e su

mm

er to

serv

e as

fall

graz

ing

and

may

be e

ven

vege

tabl

e pr

oces

sing

was

tes.

Use

ratio

n ba

lanc

ing

prog

ram

s

to fi

ne tu

ne th

e ne

eds o

f cow

s dur

ing

the

phas

es o

f the

ir re

prod

uctiv

e cy

cle.

Rem

embe

r, yo

u ca

n’t s

tarv

e a

profi

t out

of a

cow

.

he d

ams d

iet.

dto

impr

ove

the

nutr

ition

ofth

ebr

edco

wat

this

time:

Op

tim

um

Nu

trit

ion

= M

ax

imu

m P

rod

uc

tiv

ity