The combination of unusually warm and dry conditions this summer has left areas of the Northern Plains in the US and Canadian Prairie with reduced and more costly forage supplies. In some cases, this will make feeding the beef herd more challenging and expensive this winter. In such situations, the challenge is often exacerbated by [...]

When cattle are fed quality forages or mixed rations free-choice, changes in nutritional requirements associated with stage of production or weather are generally compensated for by the animal through a change in intake. When a TMR ration is fed, intake is normally adjusted by the feeder; this includes needing to adjust feed delivery for changes [...]

When this column started, we encouraged our readers to forward their comments, questions and suggestions for topics.  We thank-you for the communications received to date, to which we reply directly. We will occasionally share an expanded response that was inspired by a noteworthy question.

The variation in bale size, forage type and moisture content makes it hard to recommend a single procedure for processing and mixing round bales in all cases. The following are general guidelines for processing single and multiple round bales; ultimately some trial and error will be involved. On-farm trials are recommended to fine tune the [...]