There is a lot of discussion each year on what to do for roughage.  With grass or alfalfa hay prices ranging from $50-150/ton, many producers look for alternatives. Chopping season is getting closer, and some planning will insure that you get the most beef converted from every acre.

What is the function of forage in the diet? Fiber is needed for proper rumen function - to feed rumen flora, maintain proper pH and provide some "scratch factor". Dry hay is valuable in getting new cattle started on feed, as it buffers and feeds a stressed rumen. With dry hay in limited supply and high in price, this would be a good time to utilize a complete starting ration such as Complete Beef Booster WCS Bov. This product will stretch your hay inventory and give you excellent receiving performance.

Forages also can provide varying amounts of protein, energy, and minerals to the diet. Realize that cattle supplement at $290/ton is a better protein buy than mid-bloom alfalfa at $100/ton. Corn milling by-products such as gluten or distillers grain can help supplement the roughage & protein needs in a diet, but I would avoid using them as the sole roughage source.

Many producers will be using corn silage as their primary roughage source this year. Corn silage is an excellent source of energy and fiber in a diet, and it can add palatability to a ration if properly ensiled. So what can we do to ensure quality silage. Dr. Keith Bolsen at Kansas State University has done over 200 laboratory-scale studies which involved 1,500 silages and 25,000 silos. The bottom line according to Dr. Bolsen is that every ton of silage should have a bacterial inoculant added and that every silage bunker or pile should be covered, period.

Covering bunker silos or silage piles is a big job, I've done it. Without covering, a silage bunker or pile will have about 50% spoilage loss in the top 3 feet - with plastic covering, this loss will be reduced to 20% or less. When Dr. Bolsen calculates the total cost of the plastic and the labor to put it on, compared to the reduced loss of silage valued at $25/ton, he shows a 5 to 1 return from covering silage bunkers or piles.

Bacterial inoculants should cost less than a dollar per ton for the material and their application. Dr. Bolsen's work shows that the return will be about 3.6# more gain per ton of silage (1.4# from better DM preservation, and 2.2# from improved digestibility). Work at South Dakota State confirms an increase in dry matter intake and digestibility when silages are inoculated. This indicates at least a 2.5 to 1 return from using bacterial inoculants. Dr. Bolsen's work also indicates that urea or anhydrous ammonia should never be used as it results in increased dry matter losses and lowered digestibility.

BioMax 5 or Silage Savor from the NutriSave Forage Management System are available from your local Land O'Lakes cooperative; they meet or exceed all of KSU's recommendations for a quality bacterial inoculant.