What Is Agriculture and Natural Resources?

Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) is a program area of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. Extension ANR programs are part of the outreach program of the University Of Kentucky College Of Agriculture. We provide informal education in agricultural production and environmental stewardship.   

Departmental specialists, researchers, and county agents develop and implement ANR programs. In addition to production agriculture, a small staff of Extension Associates provides focused assistance to state and county staff on interdisciplinary and critical-need programs. These programs may deal with the interface between production agriculture and environmental stewardship. Associates also address the relationship between farmers and non-farm rural and urban citizens. Our programs make a difference in the lives of millions of Kentuckians through research-based education.

Working with our other land grant partner, Kentucky State University, we extend the resources of the University to the people in their local communities. County agents serve as the link between people in every Kentucky county and experts in the universities. They coordinate and provide educational programs for the public through meetings and workshops, field days, personal communications, and web or satellite broadcasts. Agents also provide publications, newsletters, computer programs, videos, and other educational materials.

Winter Feeding Check-Up & Using the UK Beef Cow Forage Supplement ToolBy Kevin Laurent, Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky

Winter feeding is in full swing and for operations in the drier regions of the state, hay feeding has been going on for quite some time. Depending on your situation, now is a good time to and fine tune your winter feeding program.

1. Inventory your feed resources. By now you should have an idea of how readily cows are consuming the hay you have offered. With roughly 120 days of feeding left to go, take inventory of hay on hand, and determine if supplies will be adequate. It would be better to purchase hay now than in late winter when you are down to your last rolls. Remember that in most cases, stockpiled fescue holds its nutritive value well throughout the winter and will usually meet the needs of a lactating cow. Spring calving herds may choose to defer grazing on stockpiled pasture until February or March and utilize these acres for a calving pasture or for new pairs. Fall calving herds will want to graze these pastures now since cows are lactating and being bred.

2. Test your hay, weigh a few rolls, and use the UK Beef Cow Forage Supplement Tool Beef Forage Supplement Tool (uky.edu) (http://forage-supplement-tool.ca.uky.edu/). It is not too late to test your hay. With winter feed costs accounting for most of the cow-calf budget, knowing the nutritive value of your hay and how to adequately supplement is imperative. Hay analysis results can be entered in the UK Beef Cow Forage Supplement Tool which is a web-based app that can be loaded on a smart phone. The app uses dry matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and total digestible nutrients (TDN) to estimate intake and supplementation needs for cows in three stages of production (mid-gestation, late gestation, lactation). Calculations are based on a 1250 lb. cow in a body condition score of 5. An example of the input and output screens are shown here. Notice hay in this example would not need supplementation for a cow in late gestation.

There is a difference between hay consumption and hay disappearance. Knowing what your hay weighs and accounting for feeding waste is essential to estimating intake. Weigh a few rolls over truck scales to get an idea of bale weight. In most cases we tend to overestimate what round bales weigh. Once you have an idea of hay consumption, you can adjust the NDF number on the app to match what the cattle are consuming. A lower NDF value will estimate a higher hay intake and a higher NDF value will estimate a lower intake. Knowing the actual hay intake will enable you adjust supplement rates for a more accurate diet.

3. Monitor body condition. Even the best planned feeding program can be affected by adverse weather or other environmental issues. When we see cattle daily, we may become “barn blind” and not be able to see gradual changes in body condition. Monitor conditions by taking smart phone pictures every 2-3 weeks of certain cows or groups. This makes it easier to detect changes in condition and adjust feeding. The goal is body condition score of 5-6 at calving (no backbone, no middle ribs, no sharp hooks) and maintain this condition from calving to breeding.

We are currently in a unique situation with higher than average cattle prices coupled with higher input costs. The successful producers will be the ones that can adequately feed the cowherd to maintain reproductive performance while also keeping a handle on feed and input costs. Here’s to a winter of little mud and favorable weather.