Heidi Carter, Page County Extension Education Director
Situation
The summer of 2003 was hot and dry, and some producers started feeding harvested
forages in autumn. Roger Brummett, ISU Extension Livestock Field Specialist,
stated, “A severe winter and lower-quality feedstuffs harvested during
the drought could potentially create health and production problems for cow
herds in 2004.” In response to this concern, I scheduled a Winter Cow Nutrition
meeting on December 4, 2003, at Wibholm Hall in Clarinda.
Response
Roger Brummett, and Russ BreDahl, ISU Extension Beef/Forage Field Specialist, were the presenters. The topics were Your Feed Inventory – A Matter of Quantity, Quality, and Cost; Body Condition Scoring as a Tool; Factors that Influence Feed Requirements; Demonstration of ISU’s ProBRaND Beef Rations Software; and Supplementation: The Case of the Missing Nutrients. Eleven producers attended and asked many questions.
Impact
Participants were called on March 19 and asked if the meeting had helped them
make decisions on what to feed their cows. Comments included:
I am using better hay and mixing it with poor hay, which has helped with the
grain. I do use the high-price tubs for cows not at home. The cows look good.
It was an interesting and informative meeting.
Started supplementing CRP hay with corn and protein.
I have redone my hay situation, alternating hay with stocks. I was feeding more
hay than I needed to. The meeting helped me with my beef production goals.
I haven’t been using tubs, because Russ said they were expensive.
Page last updated:
July 8, 2006
Page maintained by Linda Schultz, lschultz@iastate.edu
