What to feed beef cattle during forage shortage

[Sheepykid]

Currently feeding maize, barley soya and straw and urea to beef cattle. But the maize is going fast and im looking at options to bridge the gap til next maize harvest.
Usual options of Hay more straw etc. but is there another cost effective route?
I appreciate different parts of the country have different options due to haulage. But we are in the southwest. So a lot of factory by products are too far away to economical.
we aren’t trying to fatten the cattle just improve them to 450-500kg.

 

[mo!]

Move the cattle not the feed.

 

[Sheepykid]

Move the cattle not the feed.

Buying another farm and relocating the whole family seems an expensive route for just a few months til next maize harvest. I’d of thought a few loads of straights/by products would be the best bet til October.
Should have mentioned the cattle are on a tb restricted holding.

 

[Bangoverthebar]

Feed palm kernel. Im in ireland. Grass based dairy farmer. Palm kernel is a forage relacement for me when 3 to 6kg of dm short in the diet.
Its got fibre, protein and energy. It can be fed in very high rates if needed.
Plenty will give out and say its terrible feed, but usually they have never used it.

 

[NorthumbrianFarmer]

The price of round bale silage being offered id be looking at reducing my numbers until I had my own forage ready again

 

[Sharpy]

As above, the Kiwis don't say they are short of grub, they say they are overstocked.

 

[Nearly]

As above, the Kiwis don't say they are short of grub, they say they are overstocked.

I'm under-capitaled.

 

[Sharpy]

I'm under-capitaled.

Join the club!

 

[goodevans]

Tb restricted dont reach their true value potential until big enough for a finishing unit though do they so possibly feeding them till that weight is achieved is an option

 

[Sheepykid]

Tb restricted dont reach their true value potential until big enough for a finishing unit though do they so possibly feeding them till that weight is achieved is an option

That’s basically what I’ve been caught out with. A animal I’ve sold has been killed and been found with suspected lesions which has now shut me down with tb. Until it’s all resolved one way or another, I’ve got a lot more cattle than I wanted at this point in the year.

 

[Sheepykid]

As above, the Kiwis don't say they are short of grub, they say they are overstocked.

Yeah I’m always well over stocked. That’s just how I operate. Rightly or wrongly it suits me. We all have a different stance on how we should run a farm business.

 

[NorthumbrianFarmer]

That’s basically what I’ve been caught out with. A animal I’ve sold has been killed and been found with suspected lesions which has now shut me down with tb. Until it’s all resolved one way or another, I’ve got a lot more cattle than I wanted at this point in the year.

Could just sell the cattle and the excess feed, have the summer off and let someone else lose money?

 

[Sheepykid]

The price of round bale silage being offered id be looking at reducing my numbers until I had my own forage ready again

Not really an option unless I want to give small tb restricted cattle away.

 

[Sheepykid]

Could just sell the cattle and the excess feed, have the summer off and let someone else lose money?

Yeah. Can’t really assume someone is going to lose money without knowing what they paid for the cattle but I get your point.
Really what I was after is an idea of what is the options others have explored when they’ve been in this position (short of feed). As I explained above tb has put me in this position, normally I’d be at the lowest stocking level now before restocking in the winter. Tb has stopped that happening this year.

 

[Old apprentice]

Could you find some one to sell you some standing winter barley and whole crop it one of two on here with winter barley going down some one may be willing to sell some barley like that good look.

 

[Ross121]

Dynie power mix which is a moist blend, we fed it last winter to replace lack of silage
Turned some medium stores into some lovely big stores,
It’s not cheap but the cattle like it and we found performance was good
Simple to feed just tip bucket full into feeder and give straw as rumen buffer

 

[Sheepykid]

Dynie power mix which is a moist blend, we fed it last winter to replace lack of silage
Turned some medium stores into some lovely big stores,
It’s not cheap but the cattle like it and we found performance was good
Simple to feed just tip bucket full into feeder and give straw as rumen buffer

I think that’s what I’ve on offer from MVF. Or a variation of that. It’s likely what I’ll go for. It’s not cheap but the trouble I find is that things that are cheap are rarely worth feeding. Certainly if you want an animal to grow.

 

[Sheepykid]

Could you find some one to sell you some standing winter barley and whole crop it one of two on here with winter barley going down some one may be willing to sell some barley like that good look.

I’ve plenty offering the grain but few want to offer the crop standing. My part of the world winter barley is probably too close to ripe now. Winter wheat would still be an option. Another year sourcing some wholecrop as gap filler could be the best option.

 

[gone up the hill]

Could just sell the cattle and the excess feed, have the summer off and let someone else lose money?

TB restricted beef cattle unless about 100/150 days off being finished will trade well below their open market value @NorthumbrianFarmer

Dairy calves for example, worth £250/300 on the open market are worth £20/30 quid as TB animals, 12 month old stirks worth £700 on the open market are worth £250/300 as TB cattle..

And that is if you can find a buyer who can get a licence and that is not a given either!

You cannot afford to sell them for that!

As for the OP, if they have cattle 500 kilos plus i would get them on ad lib cake/ corn as soon as possible as fatten them, they will only need a bit of decent barley straw alongside the cake once they are fully ad lib.

 

[HarryB97]

Rolled barley has to be the easy choice as you want a source of energy to replace the maize.