haying

[grassfarmer]

Sean, feeding the silage out again certainly has a cost but I think that's part of a broader "systems" discussion. We typically feed for 100 days and even if the cows are on silage all that time (which they often aren't) we have the bunk capacity to feed every 2nd day so you could say only 50 days actually hauling feed to cows.

I still maintain the difference between poor hay and silage quality hay made from the same field could be 2c/lb dry. So on a 1250lb bale of hay I think you risk wasting $25 a bale, then if you bale graze how much is not consumed at that stage and is the hay good enough to keep the cows in the condition they need to be in?

kato, I'd love to graze corn but it ain't happening here with our sub 1700 CHUs.

[smcgrath76]

Thanks GF. This kind of systems thinking is interesting to me.
When we look at it, I know that one of the issues for us to go that way would be the need to upgrade our feeding equipment, although as our numbers have grown we certainly keep exploring silage just for the issue of risk management alone.

[grassfarmer]

We don't have a lot of money tied up in silage feeding infrastructure. An older fwa tractor with loader/grapple we already own, a used scholar bunk feeder that you can get on kijijji for $4000 and then some big 30" bunk feeders made from oilfield pipe and wood. I think they are a great buy - $600 buys new and allows for a replacement set of wooden boards. Depreciate to zero over 20 years (although they will last longer) that gives you an annual cost of $30 divided by 30 cows divided by 100 days comes out to 1c/day/cow and it essentially eliminates wastage. That's something to consider when comparing to bale grazing.

[kato]

Hubby cut three rounds yesterday, and got chased home by rain. Oh well, at least he knows the hay binge works.