Lack of rain slows growth of forage

With little rainfall, farmers are having to make tough herd management decisions. University of Missouri Extension officials said they can help.
With little rainfall, farmers are having to make tough herd management decisions. University of Missouri Extension officials said they can help.

Even with recent rainfall, the spring fescue crop is done for.

That means cattle farmers are facing hard decisions. How do they get their herds through the next year?

Trying to help them decide what to do are officials from the University of Missouri Extension.

"We've had to give these talks/announcements a lot this summer," said Anita M. Ellis, livestock specialist and Callaway County program director. "Unfortunately, with the lack of rain causing a lack of forage (and projected to continue), producers don't have many options. If food sources are drying up, hay price is going to go up as well."

Cattle producers have few choices. Some will have to sell off some of their herd members.

"The main thing producers have to do is sell off some of their herd," Ellis said. "This happened a lot in 2012 during that drought; many cattle operations downsized."

Rather than spending money on supplies to keep animals well fed and holding out for the weather to improve, Extension officials usually recommend that producers cut down on their herd size, she added.

"You can always buy back and rebuild," she said. "The trick is to develop a plan ahead of time of which cattle go first."

This decision is made even harder because cattle prices are down.

"But that being said, there are some producers who are well stocked on hay supplies or are able to obtain another feed source with minimal input," Ellis said.

According to Eric Bailey, a beef nutritionist with the UM Extension, this year's lack of forage and hay growth was a perfect but bad storm of circumstances that began in the fall of 2017.

"We started feeding hay early last fall," he said. "Producers exhausted their hay supplies. Then we had the coldest April on record in 124 years, followed by the hottest May, according to MU meteorologists."

Bailey said the most common pasture species is fescue. This year, it didn't leaf out and was just stemmy.

"From producers, what I'm hearing now is there's been one-third to one-half of the normal forage production," Bailey added.

With two-third of the growth happening in the spring, the rain coming this week is just too late.

"It's already been though its big forage production," Bailey said. "There's some growth in the fall, but this is a drought year, period. There's no fixing it."

He stressed this is the time for farmers to figure out how to proceed rather than waiting for fall.

"If we stay on the same trajectory as we are on now, the pain will be four or five times more than it is now," he added.

Who stays, who goes

Bailey said identifying cows to sell becomes urgent when dry weather creates short pastures. One way to match cows' needs to available grass is to sell cows.

Farmers should give careful thought as to which grass eaters go first, Bailey said. Under drought stress, identifying those cows becomes urgent.

The first cut is simple, Bailey added. Even the best herds have poor performers that need to go. First, sell cows not pregnant or nursing. There is no feed for freeloaders when forage is short.

"Next, cull lactating cows with bad disposition, bad eyes, bad feet or bad udders," Bailey said. "Now's time to remove cows with blemishes or poor-doing calves."

The goal: Keep best genetics in the herd as long as feasible. Finally, lack of feed or water forces a move, Bailey said.

"Initially consider a 25 percent cut," he said. "If normal rains don't return, consider another 25 percent later."

Downsizing goes beyond simply getting rid of bad cows. Overall, how a farm proceeds depends on forage outlook for summer, fall and winter feeding. Bailey said in typical years, two-thirds of forage yield comes in spring growth. One-third comes in fall growth and that's when winter stockpiling should happen.

Even if rains return, forage yields in 2018 will likely be below normal, according to Bailey. Farmers already see low yields following harsh winter and spring grazing seasons.

Most producers already face hay shortages. Many have no reserves. Also, hay growth this year falls well below normal.

"Producers who last longest in cow-calf businesses are not those who make the most money in good years," he said. "They are those who lose the least in bad years."

MU Extension regional agronomy and livestock specialists can help plan. Ellis can be reached at 573-642-0755.