One of the first considerations when feeding hay is that it should be based on individual animal requirements. For optimal production, forage quality should be matched as closely as possible to the nutritional needs of the animal. Low quality forage can result in reduced animal performance and increased supplemental feeding costs. Whereas hay of sufficient quality, little or no supplementation will be necessary to meet the animals’ nutritional needs.
Keep in mind that not all forage or hay is created equal. There is great variation between forages and nutrient content can vary dramatically, even within a particular type of forage. Several factors influence hay quality, such as maturity (time of harvesting), forage species & variety, fertilization, temperature, leaf to stem ratio and weather at harvesting/ baling.
Forage with less than 7 percent crude protein (CP) is considered low in quality due to its low protein and low digestibility— less than 50 percent total digestible nutrients (TDN), which is a measure of energy available to the animal. Since forage quality and consumption are positively related, nutrient deficiencies limit forage consumption. Because both consumption and nutrient content of poor-quality forage are low, supplementation often is needed.
Medium-quality forage (7 to 11 percent CP and 50 to 57 percent TDN) eliminates or markedly reduces need for supplementation, especially among non-lactating and short-bred cows.
High-quality forage (above 12 percent CP and 57 percent TDN, containing more leaf than stem) can be consumed in larger amounts and usually precludes any need for supplement—except for high-milking cows in low body condition (e.g., fatness). However, forage of high quality but limited quantity, a common situation in early spring when cows “chase” short green grass, may require supplementation to balance energy and protein intake.
Daily intake potential ranges from as low as 1.5 percent of body weight for very low-quality forage to near 3.0 percent for very high-quality forage, with 2.0 to 2.5 percent being typical.
Regardless of whether you are buying hay or feeding hay you raised yourself; it is a good idea to test the hay to determine what if any supplementation will be needed when the hay is fed. When collecting samples, a good practice is to sample approximately 10% of the bales from a particular cutting or load using a hay probe. A hay probe can be borrowed from the County Extension Office. Samples should be taken from bales that would represent hay from the entire field. After taking samples from 10% of the bales combine the samples and remove a portion of the composite to send off for analysis.
Crude protein content is the most common thing people think about when testing hay. While crude protein content is important, a good estimate of TDN (total digestible nutrients) is as important and in many cases more important than crude protein. There are a multitude of both commercial and university forage labs around the country. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory does offer forage analysis as a service out of College Station, TX. For additional information on forage testing or available forage labs contact the County Extension Office.
If you haven’t done so already, it’s not too late to get a nutrient analysis of your hay and forage. If possible, sort your cattle based on their nutrient requirements so that you can properly match available forage and hay to the different groups of cattle to make sure their nutrient requirements are met. If sorting into groups is not possible, design your feeding program to meet the nutrient requirements of the cattle with the higher body maintenance requirements. Feeding cattle is never cheap but producers with information about what they are feeding can be more efficient.
This article was adapted from a paper written in September 2024 by Vanessa Corriher- Olson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Forage Specialist in Overton, Texas.
