From Lawton Stewart–Extension Animal Science
Some parts of the Southeast are experiencing drought and have began feeding hay. This is due to winter grazing ending sooner than expected due to the warm temperatures a few weeks ago, as well as summer grazing being slow to produce due to subsequent cooler temperatures and dry conditions. Some places around the state received rain this past week, but overall, many are still dry. Hopefully, we’ll see enough rain over the next few days to weeks, and this will not be necessary. BUT, drought is inevitable, so this may be a good exercise to prepare for what may be to come. Here are some resources The Beef Team has worked on and wanted to make available to you:
- Last year, we put together a webpage with several resources for drought. It is broken down into areas. Please use and share as you see fit
UGABeef.com/drought
- A lot of producers need help determining if they should buy hay, or a hay extender, or a replacement ration. Below is a write-up (I sent this out last summer, too) about hay replacement rations. This can be incorporated into newsletters, emails, or however else you see fit. The tables are attached. Also, here is a link to a bulletin with more information on hay replacement rations. Hay Replacement Rations This would be a great time to go through the exercise of pricing a hay replacement ration with producers, especially if they are not efficiently feeding hay. Commodities are relatively inexpensive right now.