Oklahoma

Winter often is thought of as a time for family, snow angels and snowball fights, but cattle producers know it as a time to keep a closer eye on herd nutrition.

"One of the more frequent questions we get from producers this time of year is how much they should rely on hay as a major winter feed source," said Kent Barnes, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension area livestock specialist.

Barnes said answers almost always come down to a producer's specific situation.

"Many hays are of sufficient quality and no additional supplement is necessary," Barnes said. "Producers should invest in a forage analysis to know exactly what they have, which might potentially save them dollars invested in unneeded supplements."

Weather conditions and other factors may result in producers having hay stocks that are too poor in quality to be efficiently used without some type of supplemental feed.

"OSU research indicates mature spring-calving cows in good condition can lose up to 20 percent of their fall weight," Barnes said. "That's important to know."

As a rule of thumb, Barnes said producers should be aware of an OSU study that showed cows can be successfully wintered with hay as the primary feed source, provided certain nutritional standards are met.

The study was conducted using 26 spring-calving Hereford and Hereford X Angus females and 11 fall-calving Hereford and Hereford X Angus females at the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station system's Eastern Research Station, located outside of Muskogee.

"All cows were in good body condition at the start of winter," Barnes said.

From Nov. 4 to March 31, the spring-calving females were fed free choice bermuda hay in large round bales that contained 7 percent to 8.5 percent crude protein. The females also were fed one pound of cottonseed meal per head per day until Feb. 4, then were fed two pounds of cottonseed meal until March 31.

"The Bermuda hay that contained 7 percent to 8.5 percent crude protein was adequate for both mature spring-calving cows and the first-calf heifers, when properly supplemented with small amounts of cottonseed meal," Barnes said. "Cows lost 15.5 percent of their fall weight during the winter, while first-calf heifers lost 9 percent."

Fall-calving cows also were fed free choice Bermuda hay in large round bales that contained 5 percent to 6.5 percent crude protein from Nov. 8 to March 31. The cows were allowed to graze Wheat pasture on Monday, Wednesday and Friday but were not fed any supplements.

"The fall-calving cows lost 11 percent of their fall weight during the winter while consuming 26.5 pounds of hay per day and limited grazing on Wheat pasture three days each week," Barnes said.

Barnes said some weight loss is unavoidable with lactating cows during winter unless high levels of feeding are employed.

"In most circumstances, it is most economically feasible to allow some weight loss since performance is not affected and the weight will be regained during the following summer," Barnes said.

For more information about wintering cows on hay, visit www.osuextra.com and search for OSU Extension Facts F-3019, "Wintering Cows on Hay: Eastern Oklahoma Winter Feeding Demonstration."