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Bull didn't bat a 1000
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Posted 12/11/2018 13:25 (#7164216 - in reply to #7164072)
Subject: RE: Bull didn't bat a 1000


I live a long ways north of you and live in a colder climate where we are forced to feed 5-6 months out of the year b/c of snow and cold weather. I also used to be like you and keep cows not starving but also not fat and basically fed praire hay and mineral in the winter. As I grew my heard I started not having enough available praire hay of my own, I got together with a good nutritionist and he started to show me rations I could mix up using different sources of feed. Using about 5 lbs of corn and 5-10 lbs of silage mixed in with hay was the cheapest ration he could make (I also deal with -55 to -75 cent basis on corn). I started that program on only half my cows b/c I didn't think it was possible, but after the first year on that program I switched all the cows over.

Most ranchers do not put an accurate dollar figure on the hay that they put up, but if you try to buy hay you soon realize just how expensive it is to feed cows on hay alone. Also after using corn and silage in the TMR we started using a pellet that has mineral/remensin/some protein instead of free choice mineral, which I believe is saving money and the cows just shine, they have such good hair and with a proper balanced diet they also look much more content on some of those cold blizzardy days. I breed for 45 days and then pull the pulls to make it easier on vet while pging, and my conception rate went up when switching and my calves look better than they ever have and are bigger (just how much I can't say b/c I feed my own calves after weaning). I believe that having my cows in better condition going into calving gives them the ability to milk better all summer long while on grass.

Different areas with different climates and prices for different feed sources could make this not work for everyone but letting you know what I experienced.
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