Rules of Thumb for Winter Cow Rations

Jan 22, 2008 11:24 AM

By Jason K. Ahola, Ph.D.

Considerations for feeding cows a least-cost ration in a new era of high forage prices

Without question, feed costs across the entire beef industry have increased substantially over the past 18 months. However, the rise in forage prices during 2007 has contributed to a dramatic increase in winter cow feeding costs.

Feed cost is the highest variable cost on most cow/calf operations. There are methods available to evaluate feedstuffs and create a “least-cost ration” for cows. However, less than 10% of cow/calf producers analyze their forages for nutrient content, based on USDA survey data. And, only about one-quarter of those producers actually develop a least-cost ration. As a result, many U.S. beef cows are receiving excess nutrients and/or a ration that is not least-cost.

Free Ration-Balancing Software
A free and easy-to-use computer ration balancing program is available for producers from Oklahoma State University – COWculator. The software and directions are available at http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/exten/cowculator/.

This Microsoft Excel-based software enables a producer to enter simple information about their cows (pregnancy status, body weight and condition, breed, etc.), along with forage analysis results (protein, energy, etc.). As a bonus, the “feedlist” comes ‘pre-loaded’ with typical feed values for common feedstuffs. The user develops a ration using feeds from the feedlist which are compared to cow requirements. Ultimately, a simple sheet can be printed off and used for daily feeding.

Development and use of a simple ration enables animal requirements to be met while ensuring optimum performance. But, more importantly it can reduce feed costs by avoiding overfeeding (especially protein, which is costly).

Information Needed
Two pieces of information are necessary to create a ration: 1) cow nutrient requirements (examples are in Table 1), and 2) nutrient composition of typical feedstuffs (examples are in Table 2). These tables include estimates for energy via Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) values and protein via Crude Protein (CP) values.

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