Last summer’s drought wreaked havoc on Midwestern pastures, but both hay availability and quality varies depending on geography.
State inventory figures in Missouri differ from anecdotal conversations, says Eric Bailey, Extension beef specialist with the University of Missouri. He says state data indicates hay supplies are adequate, which differs from what he is hearing from producers.
“The fact that the state said there is light to moderate demand for hay surprised me,” he says. “The cold snap we had a month or so ago had to be hard for those without much hay, and I’m guessing we went through a lot of our supply to keep cows going.”
Bailey says that following a drought year, it’s common for producers to think about fertilizing pastures to boost spring growth. But he says this year other strategies may be more effective.
“We have seen drought conditions ease up a bit lately with the above-average precipitation we’ve received,” Bailey say. “But if you look at the last 365 days, we are still very short, probably at least 12 inches.
“Pastures that were over-grazed for multiple seasons likely will need something like over-seeding to get them going. We’re more or less past the point where fertilizer will save us.”
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He adds that the recent cold snap may have resulted in some winter kill, particularly with legumes.
Bailey says producers who are short of hay may consider feeding more corn, as those prices have come down recently. He says cows getting 10 pounds of hay per day will likely need an additional 5 pounds of supplemental feed such as corn or ethanol co-products.
“Keep an eye on her body condition score,” he says. “One thin cow is usually not a concern, but look at the entire herd and if you have more than that, you may need to supplement their feed to get them in the right body condition.”
Drought conditions and some harsh winter weather could lead grass stands to be short, making re-seeding a possibility, says Aaron Saeugling, Extension forage agronomist with Iowa State University.
“We may have enough moisture in the ground for frost-seeding, particularly seeding something like clover,” he says. “I would also be very cautious when you turn out your cows. You don’t want to do it too soon as we want to give that grass time to recover.”
Saeugling says to check pastures for any signs of winter kill and address issues accordingly.
He says in his area in southwest Iowa, many producers are in decent shape when it comes to the hay supply. He says others are dealing with a very tight supply as winter slowly moves along.
“We’re definitely still dry from a subsoil perspective, even with all the snow melt we just had,” Saeugling says. “We are definitely way behind with moisture.”