Water quality and forage availability focus of drought meeting

Twenty-five livestock producers attended the MSU Extension livestock management during drought meeting on Monday, August 21. Dr. Rachel Endecott, MSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist discussed water quality limitations for livestock consumption. Water sources that are over 10,000 parts per million for (ppm) for Total Dissolves Solids (TDS) is not recommended for any livestock. “What part of TDS that is made up by Sulfates is what really matters for livestock production and the only way to know is through a water test” stated Endecott. Sulfate levels over 3,500 ppm can cause polio like symptoms. Over 4,500 ppm sulfate is not recommended for livestock. Attending producers did get to see some local water test’s that greatly exceeded both TDN and sulfate levels for livestock. High sulfate water can also tie up copper availability as well.

Endecott recommend testing forage for nutrient content as well as potential for nitrate in all forages. Nitrate content is a cumulative effect so if you have elevated nitrate in a small grain hay, the levels in water and other forages can push livestock into a danger area for nitrate toxicity. For producers, abortion of the calf is the most common response to nitrate toxicity but can also range from poor condition to death of the adult animal. Screening for nitrate presence in forages can be done at the Extension office. The office also has a hay probe for sampling forages.

Dr. Megan Van Emon, MSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist discussed management considerations related to the cow and calf. With limited forage, early weaning can save cow body condition and reduce consumption of limited forage. Each cow would consume 660 pounds less over a 100-day period due to reduced lactating requirement. That is an 18% reduction on intake compared to lactation. Early weaned cows will also carry more body condition through the next breeding cycle. Calves can be drylotted and gains of three pounds per day are realistic with simple inexpensive bunk and fence facilities. Van Emon cautioned “that just placing creep in a feeder in a range setting will not reduce calf grass consumptions”. Therefore, if the goal of the producer is to reduce forage consumption, weaning the calf is the most effective option.

When feeding supplements, its also a good idea to test them for at least protein and Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN). That is the best way to make sure livestock are meeting protein requirements as well as enough energy to meet daily gain goals. If you are feeding high diets of grain hay (wheat and hay barley) a complete forage analysis is also warranted to prevent winter tetany. Winter tetany is caused when high levels of potassium (K) are in the diet compared to Calcium (Ca) and Magnesium (Mg) in the forage. To determine the level, use the equation K/(Ca+Mg). Where K is divided by the sum of Ca and Mg. The result should be less than 2.2 to be a safe feed. Dr. Rick Levesque recommended that producers feeding high levels of grain hay should have Cal Phos milk fever treatment on hand if cows should go down due to winter tetany.

The Extension office has a packet of the handouts that were provided during the meeting. Stop by to pick them up.