MAY 2018 | VOLUME 36 | ISSUE 5 A MONTHLY PUBLICATION FROM THE NOBLE RESEARCH INSTITUTE Texoma Cattlemen’s New Fescue Cultivar Pecan Management Conference | 3 | 4 Calendar | 6 NOBLENEWS&VIEWS LIVESTOCK Using Bermudagrass Pastures to Meet Cow Nutrient Requirements by Robert Wells, Ph.D., livestock consultant | GRAPH 1. BERMUDAGRASS: FORAGE CP [email protected] QUALITY AND COW REQUIREMENTS BY MONTH Percent of crude protein inter supplementation for a cow can account 16 Bermudagrass CP for anywhere between Hay CP 40 and 60 percent of 14 Cow requirement Wthe annual cost of maintaining the cow. Therefore, producers should plan 12 Start Calving their winter supplementation strat- 10 egies during the growing season to allow for more options and to reduce 8 winter feed costs when utilizing ber- mudagrass pastures. 6 Bermudagrass is a dominant, introduced forage type 4 in the Southern Great Plains and along the Gulf Coast. This grass species is an excellent warm-season perennial 2 Continued on next page Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 2 | NOBLENEWS&VIEWS grass that stands up to grazing pressure GRAPH 2. BERMUDAGRASS: TABLE 1: POUNDS OF NUTRIENT and responds well to fertility and moisture. FORAGE TDN QUALITY AND REQUIRED BY MONTH Cows can meet their nutrient require- COW REQUIREMENTS BY MONTH Month Crude Protein TDN in ments on bermudagrass during the grow- Percent of total digestible nutrients in Pounds Pounds ing season and with stockpiled forage in November 0.0 0.19 the fall, if calving timing is correct. Graphs 1 70 Hay TDN and 2 demonstrate the relationship of grass Bermudagrass TDN December 0.0 0.0 quality and the cow’s nutrient requirements 60 Cow requirement January 0.0 0.31 to time of year, for crude protein (CP) and Start Calving total digestible nutrients (TDN) of the for- 50 February 0.06 1.04 age, respectively. March 0.31 2.02 In general, it is preferred to time the 40 beginning of the calving season about one *Amounts based on minimum cow month prior to the start of the growing 30 requirements in graphs 1 and 2. season. In doing so, the producer can time the cow’s highest nutrient requirements 20 when forage is at its best quality and suffi- cient quantity. This allows the cow to meet 10 her nutritional demand solely from the pasture with no additional supplementa- Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. tion required. Additionally, in a controlled 60-day calving season, all cows will be done calving before pasture quality dimin- TABLE 2: AMOUNT OF EACH TYPE OF SUPPLEMENT REQUIRED BY MONTH ishes to the point where the cow cannot Pounds per head per day (price per day) meet her nutrient requirements while in Month Byproduct feed 38% Cubes 20% Cubes peak lactation. Peak lactation occurs about 60 days post-calving, which coincides with November 0.75 ($0.08) 0.75 ($0.15) 1.0 ($0.11) the highest nutritional demand of the cow’s December 0.0 0.0 0.0 physiological year. During the hottest part of the summer, January 1.25 ($0.12) 1.25 ($0.25) 1.5 ($0.17) when bermudagrass may go into a sum- February 4.25 ($0.41) 3.5 ($0.70) 4.0 ($0.45) mer dormancy, the grass quality may taper March 8.5 ($0.82) 6.75 ($1.35) 7.0 ($0.78) off to a point that it may not meet the cow’s requirements for either CP or TDN Total 43.02 73.70 45.35 (Graphs 1 and 2). However, the cow may be selective enough to continue to meet her requirement or she may slightly slip in body condition. If a producer anticipates an extended time period of high tempera- tures or decreased moisture that would be It is important to remember that a sufficient enough to affect the forage qual- ity, he or she could feed a small amount bermudagrass grazing system will be (less than 0.5 pound) of a high protein supplement to the cow during the summer dependent on hay feeding once months. This would stimulate forage intake and allow the cow to meet her require- stockpiled forages have been depleted. ments. It is important to remember that a ber- mudagrass grazing system will be depen- dent on hay feeding once stockpiled for- ages have been depleted during the winter and rumen microbes need a set quan- price per ton basis the best feed to use. months. In most areas, hay feeding will tity of each nutrient, not a percentage. This demonstrates that a producer should start around December and continue until Nutrient quality or percentage is only determine the correct amount of feed nec- green-up next spring, around April. Care- necessary to determine the amount that essary to meet a cow’s requirements then ful consideration should be given to the the cow is getting from the pasture and calculate the cost of each feed. Additional hay quality that is either baled on the farm how much is needed in the supplement, consideration should be given to special or bought. It is easy to have hay that can if any. Which feed is the right one to use handling and trough requirements of each satisfy the cow’s nutritional requirements will depend on the supplement cost on a feed type. Byproduct feeds will have about while also supplying supplemental forage. quantity-per-day basis after a calculation a 10 percent greater amount of waste than If high-enough hay quality, both in terms of has been made to determine the correct cubes when fed on the ground, which CP and TDN, can be fed free-choice, then amount for each potential supplement. needs to be accounted for so the cow is additional feed supplementation would not Table 2 lists three example feeds that not shorted on the feed amount she actu- be necessary. Typically, high-quality hay are commonly available for producers and ally consumes. can be purchased at a lower price than any the amount that would be fed on a daily Ultimately, a producer should have a purchased feed on a ton basis. basis (top value in each cell) to meet cow diversity of forage types on the ranch to Table 1 lists the amount of the nutri- requirements. The value in parenthesis in allow for season-long grazing. Utilization ents in pounds rather than percent defi- each cell is the cost on a daily basis for of native grasses as a standing hay crop cient each month during the typical that feed. The last line of Table 2 is the cost during the winter can eliminate the cost winter feeding months. Many produc- of feeding each feed for the winter feeding of hay, but the producer may still have to ers only think in terms of percent of a period assuming the following costs for supplement additional protein to the cow. nutrient required for the cow. However, each feed: Byproduct feed ($192.50 per However, for those producers who are the correct method is to consider the ton, 38 percent Cubes ($403 per ton) and locked into a bermudagrass-only grazing actual amount supplied by the pasture 20 percent cubes ($220 per ton). system, care should be exercised to reduce and the cow’s requirements. The cow Not always is the cheapest feed on a winter feeding costs. A MONTHLY PUBLICATION FROM THE NOBLE RESEARCH INSTITUTE | 3 CONFERENCE What You’ll Gain From the Texoma Cattlemen’s Conference by Hugh Aljoe, director of producer relations | [email protected] reater effi- have moved the conference to June from Feb- value of cattle, from weaning calves to ciency is ruary. In doing so, we hope to have placed the cull cows. always the conference during a time of year that better • Planned pasture management. objective suits regional cattle producers. This has also • Management of pecans as a complemen- Gfor ranch operations, tary enterprise. allowed us to schedule an adjacent field day. although it is seldom We will also provide an open house for a stationary target. producers to observe first-hand the more Ranching efficiency NEW THIS YEAR: PRE-CONFERENCE recent additions and facility enhancements takes on multiple facets FARM TOUR to the Noble Research Institute farm and within an operation: On Thursday, June 14, the day before the ranch operations. reducing costs and conference, you have the opportunity to increasing revenues, eliminating redundan- tour two Noble Research Institute farms. We YOU WILL SEE: will present some of our applied systems cies, enhancing production and marketing, • The state-of-the-art shipping/receiving/ research results as well as demonstrations and optimizing operational activities with processing facility at Oswalt Ranch. and technologies applicable to regional beef accurate timing and execution, all while • GrowSafe beef units, which we use to mea- cattle producers. managing through more variable weather sure and study individual cattle efficiency on conditions and commodity markets. feed and forage on a daily basis. This year’s Texoma Cattlemen’s Confer- FARM TOUR TOPICS INCLUDE: • The newly constructed Red River Graz- ence, which will be held June 15, will focus • The use of synchronization and artificial ing Facility, a 640-acre unit with 16 grazing on “The Road to Ranching Efficiency.” We insemination. pastures that can be further subdivided will address a number of issues and oppor- • EPD selection criteria for both terminal and into 4-acre paddocks to conduct grazing tunities pertaining to ranching efficiency. maternal traits. research with growing cattle using multiple This year’s conference has several new • Herd management systems.