Beef cow avg daily feed costs?

Dave from MN · Mar 9, 2011

Any one care to share? I try to shoot for $1.50/cow/day or less, but with this past cold winter and foolishly buying misrepresented quality hay, I am a bit higher than that. What are som eof you guys spending to feed them mama's for a year?

Nebraska Cowman · Mar 9, 2011

I've fed right at 80 ton of poor hay ground since Nov 1st. figuring $60 for the hay it comes right about 75¢ + labor. 25¢ should cover that. I figure I have to winter them @ less than a dollar to make any money. But as they start dropping calves from now til grass it will take more and better feed. They will probably be eating $3 a day in April before they get turned out. But if you don't feed them they won't milk. And if you crash them on milk early they will not milk good all summer.

Brokenwrench · Mar 9, 2011

My thinking has always been in my brain around a buck a day. I dont feed much ground feed, unless finishing out a steer in the last month or need to for some other reason. Give em all the mixed hay and alfalfa they want in the winter, pasture/hay the rest of the year.

Now, that figure might be alittle low if I consider the tank heaters running(I dont have any self waterers. yet..) It really goes to crap when I try and figure in the wifes hay burners, so I just like to live happily thinking its about a buck a day..

I only run polled cattle, angus/angus cross. I"ve always heard anything with holstein mixed in doesn"t do well or finish well on primarily pasture/hay. So, Ive never tried it.

BTW I dont buy hay, so I kinda figure off of what the hay I sell goes for. If you"re buying hay and supplimenting with feed or silage, I"d think $1.50 would be pretty good. Especially this long winter

rrlund · Mar 9, 2011

That's more thinking than I want to do. They go out on pasture as soon as they can in the spring and stay out til the pasture's gone in the fall. Then I feed first cutting hay and feed corn stalks for as long as they last in the fall.
All of the good feed goes in to the calves to finish them out.

Tom in TN · Mar 9, 2011

Dave,

I feed all small squares to my 40 head herd. I also supplement 12% cattle feed and free minerals. I only feed hay when the pastures won't support them, but I feed 12% and minerals all year round.

I use mostly my own hay, but this year I've had to buy a bunch more due to the drought and searing heat of last summer.

Small squares are selling for $3.50 each. It is costing me a little over $2.00 per head right now. The pastures have not recovered yet, so I expect to be feeding hay into April.

50 lbs. of Hi-Mag minerals are $19.00 per bag right now.

Tom in TN

GordoSD · Mar 9, 2011

We're producing some great quality alflafa here in SD not too far away. 1400 lb big rounds, net wrapped, preserved. Can set you up with 2-300 2nd and 3rd cutting bales this summer. Contract now?

Gordo

Anonymous-0 · Mar 9, 2011

Dave once a week I get a call from the local bread store - they sell me a pickup load of bread for $2.69. The cattle will leave fresh hay and grain to get that bread so it helps cut costs. Is a little time consuming- have to break the bread out of the plastic wrappers. I put it into barrels and old feed bags to feed out as needed. Gotta be on your toes - got dents in the truck from not getting the bread out fast enough for em!

JayinNY · Mar 9, 2011

My friend has me feeding his 22 cows and 7 calfs cracked corn oat mix the he grinds, hayledge 1 time a day and 10 small square bales a day. I have know idea how you would break that down into feed cost. He grows the hay, corn and oats. I guess you would have to take all that into condersideration. Seems like a nightmare thinking about it.

LAA · Mar 9, 2011

Pasture, winter pasture, supplemented with hay and a little protein if needed, free choice salt and mineral year round. A 1100 lb. non-lactating bred cow needs approximately 2 pounds of digestible protein per day to grow a calf and maintain her conditon, this protein can be supplied in many different ways, 20 pounds of 10% protein hay or 13 pounds of 15% protein hay or hay plus some grain to balance the ration. She also needs a certain amount of roughage just to produce energy and heat so the low quality hay and corn stalks, even a little bright wheat straw are the cheapest alternatives for that. If alfalfa is plentiful in your area you should be able to winter a cow on 10 pounds a day of good alfalfa plus free choice corn stalks or grass hay or what ever is cheap.

Beef cow avg daily feed costs?

Dave from MN

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Nebraska Cowman

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Brokenwrench

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rrlund

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Tom in TN

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GordoSD

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Anonymous-0

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JayinNY

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LAA

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