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What Is A Bale Of Hay Worth To A Beef Cattle Producer?

published: June 7th 2007
by: Ted McCollum III, PhD, Dipl. ACAN Extens

Hay, a common forage commodity in the state, is often sold by the bale or roll and oftentimes with little other information describing the hay. The value of a roll or bale of hay should be based, at least, on weight. Information on nutrient composition in addition to weight allows a buyer to compare different sources of hay and determine whether they are priced appropriately.

Weight

All hay bales are not equal in weight. A large group of bales may average a certain weight but the weight of individual bales will vary. Likewise, bale weights can vary from producer to producer. Hay should be priced on a ton basis so that price truly reflects the quantity being purchased.

As illustrated in table 1, bale weight has a large impact on ton price when the bale price is similar. At $60/bale, a buyer may be paying $133/ton or $100/ton depending on the weight of the bale.

Also, differences in bale price do not necessarily mean that one source is better buy than another. For instance in table 1, the ton price of hay offered at $70/bale with bales weighing 1200 lbs is the same as $60/bale hay with bales weighing 1000 lbs.

Nutrient content

Hay is fed to provide energy to cattle. The exception to this is alfalfa hay that contains a high enough protein content that it also supplements protein. Therefore the energy density of the hay should impact the price of the hay. Hay also provides protein to cattle. If the protein value in the hay is too low, it will be necessary to supplement the hay with a protein source. Therefore the protein concentration in the hay should impact the price of the hay. A laboratory analysis can provide estimates of the energy density and protein concentration in hay and therefore help in comparing the relative $ value of hay from different sources.

The TDN (Total Digestible Nutri-ents) value of hay is an index of its energy value. In forages, the digestibility of the forage is the primary factor that will affect energy availability. The fiber concentration and digestibility of the fiber are the two primary factors affecting forage digestibility and forage intake.

A laboratory analyses should include fiber analyses. The analyses to request are Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) and Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF). The NDF fraction can be viewed as the total fiber content of the forage and is negatively correlated to forage intake. In general, as the concentration of NDF increases, potential forage intake (and energy intake) decreases. Acid Detergent Fiber is the fraction of the NDF that contains cellulose and lignin. Lignin is considered indigestible and cellulose digestion varies depending on plant maturity and lignin content. So, the ADF concentration is negatively correlated with forage digestibility; as the ADF concentration increases, forage digestibility (and TDN content) decreases. The ADF concentration in forages is often used to calculate the TDN concentration in the forage. Most forage laboratories will provide an estimate of TDN when an ADF analysis is conducted.

Some laboratories will conduct an In Vitro Digestibility analysis. This is more costly than the routine fiber analyses but provides a better estimation of digestibility.

An analyses should also include Crude Protein (CP). Crude protein is actually estimated from the total nitrogen concentration in the forage by assuming that protein contains 16% nitrogen.

Forage intake and digestibility can be affected by crude protein concentration in the forage. In general, as crude protein declines below about 7-8% (dry matter basis), forage intake and digestibility will decline and energy intake by the cattle will decline. To correct this it will be necessary to supplement protein to the cattle. Also, the cattle have requirements for crude protein. If the concentration in the forage is below their requirements, it will be necessary to supplement protein to the cattle. Hence hay with inadequate CP are worth less because they will require the producer to spend money to purchase supplemental CP.

Relative $ value and nutrient content

Using the nutrient content, a relative value ($/ton) can be derived and used to compare with other hays that are available for purchase. Either %TDN or %CP or both can be used to derive the relative values.

Table 2 shows the relative value of hays based on TDN content. In this case, corn grain priced at $90 or $110/ton was used as a referee feed to set the value of a unit of TDN. The value of TDN ($/%) is then multiplied by the TDN content of the hay to establish a relative value.

Dry corn price ($/ton) = corn price ($/ton)/% dry matter

Value of TDN ($/% unit) = dry corn price/%TDN corn Relative value of hay ($/ton dry matter) =

Value of TDN ($/%) * TDN content of hay

Relative value of hay ($/ton as-is) =

Relative value ($/ton dry matter) * % dry matter

The values in table 2 should not be interpreted to mean that if corn is $90 or $110.00/ton the hay should necessarily be priced at the prices in the table. Supply and demand for hay and/or corn will affect the prevailing price relationship. Rather, information such as that in table 2 provides a means to (1) compare the value of hays with different TDN contents and (2) determine if the price of hay is relatively high compared to other potential feed energy sources such as corn.

Based on table 2, if a buyer has access to hay with 55%/TDN or 60%/TDN, asking price for the 55% TDN hay should be $5.20-6.40/ton lower than the 60% TDN hay.

The previous example only accounted for differences in TDN content. However as discussed previously, the CP content should also be considered. The calculations become a bit more complex. Spreadsheet programs and other tools are available that make these calculations and comparisons easy. One such program is called FEEDVAL developed at the University of Wiscon-sin. This spreadsheet can be downloaded at no charge from www.wisc.edu/ dysci/uwex/nutritn/nutritn.htm.

Table 3 contains relative values of hays with different combinations of CP and TDN contents. The relative values were determined using the FEEDVAL spreadsheet. Corn ($110/ton as-is) and cottonseed meal ($170/ton as-is) were used as referee feeds to establish the values of TDN and CP.

At the price used for cottonseed meal, every 2% change in hay %CP increased or decreased the relative value by $4/ton. These changes are the same regardless of TDN content. At the price used for corn, every 5% change in TDN increased or decreased the relative value of hay by $5-6/ton (rounding to whole numbers accounts for the $1 variation) and the change was the same regardless of CP content. Comparing these values to those in table 2 (under the $110/ton corn), one can see that considering CP and MN content added value to the hay. The values in table 2 essentially assume there is 0% CP in the hay.

With this type of information and bale weights, a buyer can more easily discern which hays are of more or less value and whether they are priced appropriately.

Summary

Purchasing bales or rolls of hay on the simple basis of $/roll does not appropriately value the hay. Weight varies among rolls and this variation changes the actual ton price. Nutrient content should also be a consideration in comparing and pricing hay. Forage analyses and calculated relative value of hay will improve the “buy” and help control feeding costs.

SLS