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SPA 8: Feed Records By LORIE WOODWARD CANTU Editor's Note: This is the eighth installment in a 12-part series on cow-calf Standardized Production Analysis (SPA) that was developed by the IRM Committee of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. This series has been created in partnership with Dr. Damona Doye, Regents Professor and Extension Economist at Oklahoma State University/Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, and Stan Bevers, Professor and Extension Economist at Texas AgriLife Extension Service/Texas A&M University. The monthly articles are supplemented by monthly "homework" assignments and links to related educational publications that are posted on The Cattleman's website, www.texascattleraisers.org. According to the media, feed costs are the No. 1 expense for ranches. But actually, feed costs are in the top three costs along with labor and depreciation, says Stan Bevers, Professor and Extension Economist at Texas AgriLife Extension Service. The rankings change depending on weather conditions, but regardless, feed is a major expense. "While feed may not be the heart of a cow-calf operation, it is definitely a primary artery and its importance cannot be overlooked," says Bevers. Feed records are generally one area where accurate information is scarce, he says. "When it comes to feed, ranchers think they know how much they've fed, so they don't write it down," Bevers says. "And while most people have a pretty good idea of their feed totals, they usually haven’t considered the implications of these expenditures on a per cow basis." As part of SPA, producers are trying to determine the total amount of feed -- including hay and supplements such as salt and mineral -- provided to the breeding herd over a 12-month period. Calves are included with the cows until weaning. If the calves are retained, they become a separate enterprise and that feed would be allocated to the retained enterprise. Because ranchers generally begin feeding intensively as early as December and continue through the end of March, the record-keeping span crosses two calendar years. This makes it difficult to establish feed records based on a calendar year, Bevers says. To overcome this, producers can establish the 12-month period of their choice and then keep that consistent from year to year, he says. For simplicity, he recommends Jan. 1–Jan. 1. When ranchers begin to gather the information, they are often startled by the numbers, Bevers says. For operators who run their cows on improved pasture, the total amount of feed per cow in a 12-month period is usually 3,000 to 6,000 pounds per year. "It may seem like an astronomical amount of feed, but when you consider that round bales can weigh up to 1,500 pounds and producers average one to two round bales per cow per year, it's easy to see how that number can climb," Bevers says. (For those producers who operate on improved pasture, the example also highlights the importance of calculating the cost of hay production, he says. In some cases, producers have discovered it is less expensive to purchase their hay than to produce it themselves, although this raises other issues such as a consistent supply, quality and convenience.) By comparison, cows run on predominantly native pasture generally consume 350 to 650 pounds of supplemental protein feed per year, he says. Trend spotter As is the case with SPA, the feed data become even more valuable over time because they allow producers to spot trends. "A one-time spike in feed costs isn’t worrisome if it is a result of drought, but continuously rising feed consumption is another matter," Bevers says. "If it takes more feed to maintain the cow herd each year, it’s a clear signal that the range is deteriorating. Range degradation can destroy an operation's bottom line, because there is no way that you can feed a breeding female out-of-hand as cheaply as she can feed herself on grass. "If you continuously have to feed your females into breeding condition, you can feed yourself right out of business," Bevers says. To breed efficiently, a female needs to achieve a body condition score of at least 4.5, on a scale of 1 (emaciated) to 9 (obese). If the females are not on that nutritional plane, then the herd's conception rate will fall into the 80 percent range, he says. When an operation starts with 80 percent conception, the weaning rate will be in the low 70 percent range, which is economically devastating, he says. "When it comes down to it, the purpose of a cow-calf operation is to produce calves," Bevers says. "If you're not doing that efficiently, nothing else matters. Feed should supplement and help maintain a herd's nutritional plane, not completely sustain it. To stay in business, you need to know what you're feeding, why you're feeding and whether you're achieving your objective. SPA can help you do this."
"SPA 8: Feed Records" is from the August 2009 issue of The Cattleman magazine.
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