Green feed or grain?

[charliep]

Just a note to get everyone (including those in better areas) to include green feed in the decision mix when you are crop scouting. Look at the value of grain you will get off the crop (plus straw if you can bale) minus the cost of harvesting (maybe only at the variable cost level). This should provide the value of the crop that you could sell crop as green feed to a neighbor for.

Realizing that a lot of you don't like to sell straw (want the organic matter), baling straw is something else that needs to be looked at as well.

Realizing that the grain industry is also in trouble, taking appropriate steps to look after one of your most important customers - local livestock industry - is critical this year. Between imported corn and grain pulled from export markets, livestock energy and protein needs can be met. Fibre needs are the most critical.

Any other issues that need to thought about in this decision. Just to help me, rotary combines don't work with putting up straw?

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie,

On straw, it looks like 30/t in the windrow will be easy to acheive in a 100 mile radius of Edmonton, if anyone has wheat straw for sale, give me a call at 1-866-Tom4CWB toll free.

Rotor straw can be used, in processors, as well as for bedding it works ok, but there is less yeild compared to a conventional combine... maybe 50% if it is real dry when grain combined.

Normally rotary straw is not as desirable, but this year anything goes, as choice is not avaliable...

[melvill]

Tom, just curious and no experience with "rotor" straw. In your opinion, why isn't it as desirable as straw from conventional combines?

[rodbradshaw]

Rotary Straw
The only problem with rotary combined straw is the fact that you have to be right behind the combine or you can't bale it as well as straw from a conventional combine. We prefered rotary straw as we could spread it much easier.

[TOM4CWB]

Lee,

For some applications straw length is important, the longer the straw the better, ie. mushroom composting.

Certainly straw yield is much higher with a conventional, and therefore much easier to bale... many round balers won't start a bale on skimpy ground up straw, and therefore a big square baler needs to be used instead.

[cowman]

Rotary straw is a real pain. It is chewed up so much a lot of it falls through the belts and pickup on the baler. You have to use a lot more twine. It is so chopped up cows tend to bloat or get impacted if they eat too much. Avoid it if at all possible...unfortunately beggars can't be choosers in this drought.

[sewen]

At $30/ton on the ground this would put a round bale at approximately $60 to $70 per bale. Nothing like sticking it to your neighbour in their time of need.

[TOM4CWB]

Sewen,

I guess it is the rationing process it looks like $65-75/t in central AB could be reasonable, considering hay at $135/t.

Since there is about 2 big as you can get stuffed round bales in a tonne, this is $35/1100 lb. bale, which is not out of line at all considering all the extra work to get the bales this year...

I went to Taber tonite, looks like lots of poorer quality cow hay will be avaliable that has rain on it...

I couldn't believe the number of hay semis going north on 36, maybe a hundred on my trip I met or past!!!

[cowman]

I don't think $60/ton is unreasonable for straw this year. You might have to run the baler a mile to get one bale! Are you sticking it to your neighbor? Don't forget the grain farmer in the drought areas is not going to be getting rich on his grain this year. I doubt he will get his costs back. If $60/ton straw helps him break even is this so bad? No one forces you to pay this price. There are alternatives like selling your cows? I think a lot of people need to sit down and really do some deep soul searching. Look at it from a business sense and realize that the cow/calf business is a big time loser. If you can stand the loss(and maybe continue to stand the loss for a long time) then go for it, if that is your desire.
Another thing to consider is this: Say a farmer has some barley or might get a crop. The price is rising and he might just be able to break even or make a little profit. Then what happens...in comes the corn...end of the rising prices! It happened last fall and it's happening again. Is this fair? I know we need the corn if the feeding industry is to survive but make no mistake, it is at the expense of our feed grain producer. I have a friend who was in a very dry area last year. Poor yields but he had some decent barley. Needed about $3.50/bu. to break even due to the low yield. When the price got to about $3.20 in came the subsidized corn! The price pretty well stayed right there and he didn't break even. Now was that fair to him?

[sewen]

Sorry TOM4CWB got my numbers a bit mixed up there, must be the heat. 30 dollars a tonne on the ground plus the cost of baling this year would peg a bale at $25 to $30. Not quite as bad.

But I still don't think the concept of farmers helping farmers would be such a bad idea. Especially anyone with crop insurance who is covered for the crop could still sell his straw but maybe at resonable prices. The cattle industry in north central Alta & Sask has one or two feet in the grave maybe we should reach out and pull them out instead of throwing dirt on them.