This summer has been tough on the Mountain West. With decreased rainfall, we have seen an increase in fire activity. Fire on our rangelands and high mountain forest pastures is nothing new to the West, but it still hurts when it happens. There were two large rangeland fires right near our community, one totaling 187,000 acres and the other 294,000 acres. This is not counting the countless fires rolling through high-elevation pastures, forcing producers to bring cows off the mountain early to pastures that may have been intended for fall or winter grazing.
I have talked with two different local producers whose primary winter pasture is gone now. They are looking for feed alternatives or to destock their herd while prices are high. If you find yourself in this situation, you must perform an inventory of feeds on your operation and calculate how much will be needed.
Most cows will consume 2% to 2.5% of bodyweight per day, on a dry matter basis. Having all the metrics for this equation is essential to make sure you are as accurate as possible. You must know the dry matter percentage in your hay, the average weight of your cows and how many days you will need to feed. For example, a 1,200-pound cow will consume 30 pounds of dry matter per day at 2.5%. If hay is 90% dry matter, that means we will need 33.33 pounds of hay per day. In a 100-day feeding period, she will consume 3,333 pounds of hay not including waste, which can be between 10% to 30% depending on conditions.
With high input costs and additional hay needed, it may be time to evaluate your herd and possibly cull some cows to conserve resources. Culling cows is a task most operations will do every year, primarily on open cows, cows that have lost calves or that have major health concerns. These should be your first options to cull from the herd. After culling these, evaluate udders and cull any with misshapen teats, bad quarters, etc. If this still does not get you below your carrying capacity for winter, the job gets harder. Look at older cows first; these cows are decreasing in productivity and likely have a limited time left on the ranch. This could mean sending 10-year-old Bessie down the road, but she has done her job and is likely the wrong mouth to feed through the winter. If you find yourself still needing to cull, start being more selective about feet and leg structure, and overall conformation.
Unfortunately, there is not much any of us can do about the fire season, and we do not control the forecast. All we can do is take advantage of high cow prices and weather the storm.
