While there are many parts of the country dealing with flooding and excessive rains right now, others are dealing with drought or dry conditions. Additionally, weather forecasters are saying that the La Niña weather pattern will increase chances for drought in late summer and fall even areas that are wet now. Whether you’re in drought now or preparing for drought later, don’t wait to form a plan.
US Drought Monitor July 26, 2016
Drought Affects Forage Quality
We know that forage quantity and quality decrease in drought conditions. Drought conditions affect nutrient quality in a variety of ways. First, because there is very little new growth, animals only have access to older, less desirable plants in the pasture. Second, the nutritional quality of forages that are available is compromised by the stresses put on the plant by lack of water and high heat.
Drought stress negatively affects plant metabolic functions, resulting in low mineral and vitamin levels. Of these, phosphorus and vitamin A are usually most pronounced. Drought-stressed plants also do not metabolize nitrogen into proteins. Consequently, these plants contain low protein levels.
Watch Out for Nitrates
However, a deadly negative result of drought is the accumulation of nitrates in forages. Excessive levels of nitrates (over 1.5%) are toxic to livestock. Because nitrogen is water soluble, it is immediately taken up by the plant. When growth is high, nitrates are readily converted into protein, but when photosynthesis activity slows or stops, nitrates can accumulate.
Plants that are most susceptible to the accumulation of toxic levels of nitrates include: sudangrass, sorghum-sudan hybrids, pearl millet, corn, wheat and oats. However, when nitrogen is readily available (such as application of animal waste), other grasses like Bermudagrass can accumulate nitrates as well. Some weeds accumulate nitrates as well. These are pigweed, smartweed, ragweed, lambsquarter, goldenrod, nightshades, bindweed, Canada thistle and stinging nettle. Be on the lookout for these weeds in your hay and pastures.
A period of brief intense drought broken by rain, is more dangerous for nitrate accumulation than prolonged, sustained drought conditions. The plants need to be given time to convert built up nitrogen into protein before harvest or grazing. Therefore do not harvest or graze suspected forages within seven days of a drought-ending rain.
Symptoms of nitrate poisoning are labored breathing, staggering gait and sudden death. The membranes of the eyes and gums are bluish due to lack of oxygen and the blood is a chocolate brown color, but turns to bright red when exposed to the air.
If in doubt, have your forages and/or hay tested for nitrate levels. You can request this service as a part of normal forage testing. Contact your local Cooperative Extension agent for more information about how to obtain this forage analysis and the dangers of nitrate toxicity.
Dealing with Drought Conditions
Unfortunately, drought forces producers to make hard decisions. Options include early weaning, moving animals to additional pastures, purchasing supplemental feed, and finally reducing herd numbers. In some cases, a combination of each of these strategies will be necessary.
A lactating cow's nutritional needs can be cut by roughly 1/3 just by weaning. In commercial situations, it may make sense to wean early and sell off light calves rather than pay feed costs required to maintain lactating females and/or creep feeding growing calves. You will need to calculate the value of your market animals in relation to the cost of feeding them to carry them to "normal" market weight to decide if this is a valid option for you.
If the option is available, move livestock to alternate grazing areas, such as hay fields or harvested crop fields. If your hay fields are too stunted to harvest as hay, allow your livestock to harvest what is available instead. In the fall, you may want to consider making use of crop residues.
At some point, you will have to purchase supplemental feed to maintain your cattle. One feedstuff that all cattle need is hay. While high hay prices may lead you to look for alternatives, hay cannot be totally excluded from the diet. Use of feeds and supplement blocks can help to maintain cattle productivity on low quality forages. Remember that it is especially important to provide supplementation to pregnant females under these conditions. Mineral needs are increased due to pregnancy or lactation and drought-stressed forages are more likely to be deficient in these. There are many supplement options available.
In summary, drought conditions this summer and fall will likely result in low quality hay and pastures for many cattle producers. When feeding low quality forages, nutritional supplements are necessary to maintain reproduction and growth. Supplements pay for themselves in added production when used properly in these situations. For more information about CRYSTALYX® supplement products and information to help you decide how they fit into your management situation, visit your local CRYSTALYX® representative or visit us at CRYSTALYX.com.
Tips for Stretching Your Feed Dollar
Here are a few tips that can help everyone to stretch their feed budgets.
- Reduce the amount of wasted feed. If your animals tend to waste a lot of hay or feed, now is the time to remedy this. Solutions may include purchasing or making hay feeders that prevent animals from walking on.
- Deworm all animals and treat for coccidia. Don't let internal parasites place added strain on your livestock.
- Cull unproductive animals. Now is the time to cull those marginal animals that you were going to "keep around for one more year". Any animal that isn't meeting the production goals that you've set isn't paying for its feed.
- Always provide a complete mineral/vitamin supplement to deliver recommended levels of minerals and vitamins, such as CRYSTALYX® Breed-Up® Supplements. Mineral-deficiency lowers feed conversion efficiency. More efficient feed conversion, allows you to stretch your feed resources even farther.
