Cold spring leaves some livestock producers facing hay shortage

With unusually cold temperatures hindering the growth of cool-season pasture grasses throughout the state, two Purdue Extension specialists are offering management tips to Hoosier livestock producers looking to conserve their dwindling hay supplies.

“When spring temperatures are too low to generate much forage growth in the pasture then more hay needs to be fed,” said Keith Johnson, Purdue Extension forage specialist. “If pasture growth doesn’t get started soon, some producers are going to start running out of hay.”

Unseasonably cool temperatures in late March and April have delayed the development of pasture grasses and legumes - which are grazed by livestock - by as much as two weeks, Johnson noted.

“It is early spring and producers are tired of feeding hay to their animals. There have been reports of livestock producers running out of hay to feed. It is tempting to turn out on pasture even though the amount of growth is low yielding,” Johnson said. “It is not in the best interest of the forage to graze too early as it can set back plant growth for the entire season. The soil has also been wet and hoof action while grazing could do even more damage.”

Ron Lemenager, Purdue Extension beef nutrition management specialist, added that since early season forages are high in moisture content, the rate of passage through the animals’ gastrointestinal system is very rapid, resulting in lower forage digestibility and less nutrients available to meet animal requirements.

Lemenager said producers running low on hay should consider three alternatives.

Purchasing hay from a reliable source is typically the easiest option, but could be expensive at this time of year, Lemenager said, especially when stored forage supplies are limited. Johnson recommended that producers carefully inspect purchased hay for signs of invasive plant material before putting it out in their fields.

“It could create a long-term weed problem you’ll be dealing with for years,” he said.

Lemenager said purchasing hay by the ton is typically the best deal for producers based on a nutrient analysis. Producers also need to factor in cost of transportation when purchasing hay.

Limiting hay feeding access time and supplementing the animals’ diet with high-fiber feed such as pelleted soybean hulls, or a pelleted soybean hull-corn gluten combination, is another solution. Purdue studies have shown that reducing access time to eight hours a day could reduce hay inventory disappearance, in the form of hay wastage, by 17 to 18 percent, while still providing all the dry matter intake for a 24 hour period.

Reducing herd size is another option for producers who need to stretch their hay supplies.

“You can consider culling low-performing or unproductive animals,” Lemenager said. “As the grass begins to green-up each spring, there is usually a good market for cow-calf pairs.”

Johnson and Lemenager have produced a video addressing questions producers might have about the hay supply and pasture conditions.

Featured Stories

Yellow flowers against a leafy green background

April Showers Bring May Flowers to Jules Janick Horticulture Garden

The sweet smell of hundreds of blossoms draws pollinators and people alike to the Jules Janick...

Dr. Rob Swihart, Bob Burke and others at an HTIRC meeting in 2016.

FNR Remembers Alumnus, HTIRC Advisory Committee Member Bob Burke

Robert Dean “Bob” Burke, who received his bachelor’s degree from Purdue...

John Couture in Martell Greenhouse at the Wright Center.

John Couture named University Faculty Scholar for multifaceted research in plant and insect ecology

John Couture has been chosen as a 2024 University Faculty Scholar for his exceptional research...

Bob Auber presents from a screen titled "A Day in the Life." In the foreground, there are two graduate students watching.

‘Plants to people:’ Bob Auber’s path from the Center for Plant Biology to oncology

On Friday March 22, Bob Auber returned to Room 116 in Whistler Hall to stand behind a podium in...

New Indiana Organic Network to engage farmers in statewide soil health census

A Purdue University interdisciplinary team is establishing a network of organic farmers to...

Bob and Karen Thompson walking side-by-side while smiling at each other and holding hands

Funding endowed chair in agricultural economics reflects couple’s global vision brought home: “Purdue is special in our lives”

Bob and Karen Thompson have operated as a team, both throughout their 55-year marriage and in...