November 21, 2002

Producers May Need to Supplement CRP Hay

The 2002 crop of CRP hay was greatly needed by many North Dakota producers because of this summer’s drought. The nutritive value of the hay, however, varies greatly across the state, according to Greg Lardy, North Dakota State University Extension beef specialist. Consequently producers need to implement a forage testing and supplementation program with the feeding of CRP hay.

Lardy reminds producers that the ultimate goal of fall and winter-feeding is to have cows at a body condition score of five and heifers at a body condition score of six for calving in the spring. Feeding programs should include supplement if the quality of the hay is not adequate to reach this goal. "Currently cows are late in the second trimester or moving into the third trimester of pregnancy. Requirements are beginning to increase for both energy and protein," Lardy says.

"Producers should get their CRP hay tested to determine what their values are. This will aid in determining what supplementation program to recommend. In order to implement the most effective program, producers need to know if the hay is protein or energy deficient and to what extent the deficiency exists," Lardy says. A commercial protein supplement, coproducts or a grain supplement may be recommended depending on the nutritional quality of the hay. Coproducts may include sunflower meal, dried distillers grains, wheat middlings or condensed distillers solubles. A grain supplement may include corn or barley.

Lardy and Kevin Sedevic, NDSU Extension range specialist, conducted a study analyzing the nutritive value of 120 different CRP hay samples from across North Dakota. They found that the crude protein of the samples varied from 5 to 13 percent. Total digestible energy ranged from 42 to 60 percent.

According to Lardy, location did not have a large influence on the nutritive value of the hay. There were two factors that seemed to affect the quality. Generally, the more alfalfa that was in the hay, the higher the protein and energy values were. Harvesting date also appeared to have an effect on the nutritional value. Lardy and Sedevic found that the later the hay was cut, the poorer quality it was.

For more information on this topic visit www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/beef.htm, contact your local extension office or Greg Lardy at (701) 231-7660 or glardy@ndsuext.nodak.edu.

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Source: Greg Lardy (701) 231-7660, glardy@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Writer: Deana Oe (701) 231-8371, deana.oe@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu