Forage shortage has potential to cause three year hit
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Last April's freeze and dry weather during the summer will not only affect farmers this year, but could potentially hit pocketbooks for three years, according to a Purdue University expert.
Helping beef producers cope with short forage supplies this winter is the goal of the IP-video conference being held by Purdue University experts November 20.
"Many beef producers in Indiana and in the Eastern part of the United States are facing a short forage supply," said Ron Lemenager, Purdue Extension beef specialist.
The video conference is free and will be held from 7-9 p.m. at Purdue Extension offices around the state. Interested participants should contact their local Extension office to find the nearest site where the program will be offered.
"The most important thing is meeting the requirements of these beef cows this winter," Lemenager said.
Not only will this help the cows, but also the calves. If the cow's nutrition is not met, the calf will be weaker, has a lower survival rate and the quality of milk from the cow will not be adequate to sustain the calf.
"We need to make sure the calves are strong and vigorous when they're born next spring," Lemenager said. "We need to make sure those cows have adequate colostrum quality (in the milk) for the calves. The next critical phase is whether these cows will return to estrous after they calve in a reasonable period of time and conceive."
Lemenager explains that if the cows are nutritionally short changed this winter and leading up to breeding season because of the short forage supply, producers will see a drop in calf vigor and survival, as well as conception rate of the cows.
"If that happens, then these cows will not be pregnant next fall and that means the following year in 2009 we're going to see fewer calves," Lemenager said. "There is real potential of having a three year impact on our profitability."
Topics for the video conference include various management strategies to get through the winter while maintaining a herd. These include:
* Body condition score cows.
* Analyze forages for nutrient profile.
* Inventory hay and other feed resources.
* Pregnancy check more often, as well as cull and market cows.
* Divide cow herd into management groups based on nutrient needs.
* Utilize crop residues.
* Alternative feed strategies using some combination of by-product feeds.
* Limit nutrient dense feeds to meet requirements.
* Minimize hay waste.
* Adjust rations for cold stress.
"When forage supplies are limited, producers must decide how to best use local feed resources," Lemenager said. "Unfortunately, there are no cheap, easy fixes for producers that have both short pastures and limited hay supply and that’s where these management strategies come into play.
For more information about the IP-video conference, contact Lemenager at (765) 494-4817 or rpl@purdue.edu .
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