Feeding Forages
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November 11, 2020
By Savannah Gambel,
ANR & 4-H Lewis County
Extension Agent
As cold weather approaches, it is important that you have a winter feeding plan for your livestock animals. Feeding high quality forages is a great place to start, and it can save you money in the long run. A high quality forage is one that is palatable, easily digested, and meets the animal’s nutritional needs.
A great way to know if you are feeding a high quality forage (hay, silage, or haylage) is to send a sample to UT’s Soil, Plant, and Pest Center for a forage analysis. Once you know the quality of your yield is high, you can now follow extension feeding guidelines without hesitation. A horse should consume 1.5 to 2 percent of their body weight in hay or forage daily (on a dry matter basis).
A great way to determine how much of a forage supply you will need for cattle is by using the “Cow Unit” method. The “Cow Unit” Method gives each cow (1 unit), bull (2 units) and calf (0.5 unit) a unit, and simply uses the following equation: Cow units x lbs. of hay per cow unit = A; A x # of days you will feed the forage = how much forage you will need for the season. It is recommended that producers allow 25 to 30 pounds of hay per cow unit, and feed forages for at least 120 to 150 days.
Due to health reasons, it is principal to know the quality of the forages you are feeding to small ruminants since many low quality forages can off balance their needs. A great way to physically determine if your livestock animal’s nutritional needs are being fulfilled is by evaluating their body condition score (BCS).
If you are interested in checking the quality of your forage, call the Lewis County extension office for further instructions. The University of Tennessee offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion or veteran status and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. UT extension offers equal opportunities in programs and employment
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