It’s Nutrients, Not Ingredients
Take advantage of outside-the-box feedstuffs.
Sometimes, even after an optimistic growing season, Mother Nature will still drain the pot. In August 2014, with barley and wheat crops on the verge of harvest, the Rocky Mountain region received an unseasonable amount of rainfall. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Montana received 276% of its average precipitation, and rainfall records were smashed for parts of Idaho. Unfortunately, much of the grain sprouted while still standing in the field. Farmers experienced steep discounts and rejections from area grain mills.
The rain was a double-edged sword for agriculture. Nearly an entire grain crop was sacrificed, but the brown rangelands were brought back to life, and there existed an untimely greenness from September through December. However, while the dry lands gained in green, the third-crop hay that lay on the ground was lost. Stacks of black hay dotted field corners throughout the region.
Although August 2014 is now long gone, Zak Miller, former ruminant nutritionist and current regional manager for Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, says ranchers can still take advantage of the aftermath.
He described for his audience at the Jan. 30, 2015, Idaho Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers convention in Burley, Idaho, what he called the decision triangle of nutrition. At the bottom left are the animal’s needs. At the bottom right is the availability of the feed/crop, and at the top is the cost.
“We want to feed our animals well," he explained. “We also want to make a little money on the side. Sometimes our availabilities aren’t so hot. We’re always trying to find the middle of those three options,” he explained.
He encouraged his listeners to not shy away from novel feeding opportunities.
“What might be junk, what might be a lost cause on one end, might be an opportunity on another,” he said. Don’t operate on your gut feelings, either, he cautioned. We’re a science-based industry, so use science and math to evaluate and calculate your options.
“We have a lot of barley and a lot of wheat that we can’t mill right now or that they’re (the mill) trying to discount. We know that sprouted grain actually improves the digestibility. If I’m a livestock producer, sprouted grain has no discount to me as far as the value of my animal,” he stated, referencing data from the following tables.
| Table 1: Chemical composition and test weight of soft white winter wheat at various degrees of sprouting | |||||||||
| Percentage of sprouted kernels | |||||||||
| Bushel wt., lb. | 59.3 | 56.2 | 55.8 | 54.2 | |||||
| Crude protein, % | 10.5 | 10.6 | 10.9 | 10.9 | |||||
| Crude fiber, % | 2.60 | 2.70 | 2.70 | 2.70 | |||||
| Nitrogen-free extract, % | 74.8 | 74.4 | 73.7 | 73.8 | |||||
| Ether extract, % | 1.32 | 1.40 | 1.37 | 1.42 | |||||
| Ash, % | 1.33 | 1.53 | 1.54 | 1.60 | |||||
| Source: Murray, G.A., and D.M. Huber. 1968. Sprouted and moldy wheat. Current Information Series 95. Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Idaho, Moscow. | |||||||||
“Test weight on grains is not a great indicator of nutritional value to animals,” he continued. “Low-test-weight grains are higher in fiber because there’s less starch. Protein is going to be higher.”
According to Miller, a 48-pound (lb.)-test wheat was nutritionally comparable to a 56-lb.- or higher-test wheat. Below 48, he said, nutrition will begin to drop off, but before a producer decides to feed more of a low-test-weight grain, Miller advised nutrient-testing the grain.
| Not sprouted
|
Sprouted
|
|
| Bushel wt., lb. | 60.4 | 55.9 |
| Crude protein, % | 12.32 | 13.16 |
| Fat, % | 0.79 | 0.88 |
| Crude fiber, % | 3.22 | 3.57 |
| Source: Murray, G.A., and D.M. Huber. 1968. Sprouted and moldy wheat. Current Information Series 95. Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Idaho, Moscow. | ||
“A $30 test can tell you a lot. A $50 test can tell you even more,” he recommended.
Before casting off heat-damaged or black hay, Miller said, test it and see if it still holds enough value to find a place in the operation.
“A really good thing to look at on a forage test is the ADICP — acid detergent insoluble crude protein. Basically, what that says,” explained Miller, “is your test might come back and say, ‘You have 22% protein, and 5% of that protein is completely unavailable to the animal.’ ”
Looks can be deceiving, said Miller of a photo of a potato straw silage pit. He told of a registered-Angus producer in Teton Valley, Idaho, who was approached by a potato farmer in spring 2014. The farmer’s potato cellar had lost is functionality and the potatoes were going to have to be dumped because they couldn’t be sold on the fresh or processed markets.
Miller said the rancher wanted the spuds, but didn’t want to have to smell them all summer and was concerned about the choking hazard they presented.
The solution the rancher found was to make a layer cake with the potatoes and straw.
“Potatoes are 85% moisture, so when they start to rot, the water runs out. The water pulls enzymes and sugars out, which is what he really wanted to give the cows. He didn’t want to have those issues. He wanted to retain the nutrients,” Miller explained.
The rancher put down a layer of straw, piled potatoes on top and packed it like silage, then repeated the process.
By packing the potatoes in the straw, the choking hazard was reduced and the straw, at 10% moisture, absorbed the nutrients.
“It looks ugly, and it is ugly, but it was cheap, and it was an opportunity,” stated Miller.
According to Miller, in comparison to eastern Idaho corn silage that had been frozen prior to harvest, the potato cake produced a similar feed analysis. Protein content was equal and net energy gained was very close.
“That ugly pile starts to look a little bit better in the bank account because it cost $20 per ton to make it. The potatoes were free, but he had to figure in straw, diesel and labor. This corn silage came in at $45 per ton,” Miller said.
Adding a clarification, he stated, “Sometimes just because it’s available, we don’t feed it to something like a lactating dairy cow, but there might be an opportunity to still feed it.
“Take reasonable chances,” he said, speaking of trying novel feeding options, “don’t bet the farm on anything, ever! But don’t shy away from something just because you have never tried it.
“We have to be thinkers, and we need to feed the world, and we need to feed the world in a more and more challenging environment all the time,” Miller concluded.
Editor’s Note: Paige Nelson is a freelance writer and cattlewoman from Rigby, Idaho.