Least Cost Rations for Beef Cows

Winter feeding costs represent between 50 and 60 cents of every dollar spent on keeping a cow a year. Thus, any attempt to control or reduce costs of operating a cow herd must focus on controlling or reducing feed costs. However, attempts at controlling or reducing costs are highly dependent on the forage system that the cow-calf operation uses. Forage systems vary depending on a variety of factors: weather, soil conditions, water availability, forage markets, crop systems operating nearby, calving date, other farm livestock or crop enterprises, farm feeding or feed delivery storage and facilities, to name a few. Many cow-calf operations that exist in or around regions of the country with a high concentration of crop systems rely on more than one forage option. Hay and(or) silages make up most of the winter forage options for cow-calf operators in the upper Midwest. Access to grazing or gleaning crop aftermath depends on the location, but in regions with heavy or early snow falls this option is somewhat limited. Regardless of the option, cow-calf operators must remain flexible to alter their winter feeding programs to operate within a least cost ration. This paper evaluates various least cost option alternatives for producers who base their winter feeding programs on hay or silage.