Stocktaking the paddock & pantry.
What’s in your paddock, in terms of stock and grass? And what’s in your livestock pantry i.e., the grain silos, hay sheds and pits?
We’re all unsure if we’re in our normal late summer/early autumn feed gap, or if it’s the start of a dry spell. Either way, it’s worth doing a mini-stocktake of what animals are on your farm, what feed is available to the stock, whether it’s meeting their needs, and what’s in the pantry in case we don’t get that autumn break. Everywhere I go, I see the slightly drier conditions playing out in different ways - here are some of the scenarios that might help you do your stocktake.
Some producers have got ample dry standing feed in the paddocks. The quality of this is poor, and licks are in use on many cattle farms (we talked about this in the last AHN newsletter). Have a think about how low you want to graze your dry feed. Grazing too low might mean that you’re not as “rain ready” when we do get rain. It also might mean there is less dry summer feed left to balance out any lush medic growth we might get later in the year. If you decide you do want to make use of this dry feed, you are best to supplement with a lick or a “complementary” feed, rather than a “supplementary feed”.
Some producers are going to wean calves to lighten the load on cows. It is more energetically efficient (and friendlier to your pocket!) to feed a cow and calf separately rather than as a unit, and there are good productivity gains to be made from doing this. Weaning is a good opportunity to identify cows that are poorer performers - such as those that have worn teeth, have bottle teats or that didn’t rear a calf. These can be on the next on the truck if it stays dry.
Some producers recognise that their carrying capacity does not match their stocking rate. This sounds confusing but put simply the carrying capacity is the amount of grass you’ve got, and the stocking rate is the number of animals you wish to put on that grass. Producers are selling animals, or confining animals for short-term feeding programs prior to selling as a result. Your plants and soil will thank you!
The economics of feedlotting lambs has bounced around in recent months. Many producers have fired up their drought lots again and are feedlotting to turn off fat lambs. Do your sums and consider locking in a price if you’re considering buying stock in for finishing.
Some producers are trail feeding grain to improve condition score. This could be for joining - sheep should be at least CS 3 at joining. The Lifetime Wool project showed an increase of about 20% extra lambs for each rise in condition score at joining. The response varies from 7% to 36%, depending on genetics and time of lambing, with later lambing likely to be more responsive. Interestingly, some new research published in September 2022 showed that ewes can safely be fed high grain rations every second day, compared to every day, during joining without a reduction in reproductive performance or wool quality traits.
Autumn lambers are also paying particular attention to the ewe’s nutritional needs in late gestation. We know how important ewe condition score and nutrition is to lamb survival, and this has been further emphasised in the latest research out of Argentina, published just this month. Researchers studied Merino ewes under extensive grazing conditions, over three non-consecutive years. Some of the ewes were unsupplemented, others were fed 250g corn and 250g oats per head per day. They found that the supplemented ewes returned to their offspring more quickly after they were eartagged and weighed than those that weren’t supplemented. Lambs from supplemented ewes sucked quicker, the supplemented ewes udders had 25% larger volume than unsupplemented and colostrum volume was higher. Lamb birthweight was also higher in the supplemented ewes. This is further evidence that meeting the nutritional needs of ewes far outweighs the perceived issues with mis-mothering!
Finally, many producers are buying commodities, to fill silos and hay sheds, or to fatten stock such as cull cows, to meet weaner needs or to fatten lambs. If the weather remains dry, commodity prices are likely to rise. A feedtest is always a good investment, especially for things like hay, pellets or weather damaged grain, and a feeding budget will tell you if feeding the livestock is worthwhile.
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