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Role of Forage in Tomorrow's Dairy Cattle Feeding Programs¹

Minimizing Cost of Forage in Tomorrow's Dairy Ration^,2

Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48823

ABSTRACT

Changing technology and cost-price relationships will have an impact on forage production and feeding in the future. Increasing input costs, accompanied by prospects for moderate to no increases in milk prices in the years ahead, stress the need for minimizing cost of forages and other inputs. Cost-price relationships between areas often vary considerably, resulting in different economic choices of forage crops to grow and in the optimum combination of forage and grain to feed. The economic optimum in forage feeding will range from 40 to 70% of the total dry matter consumed. It is expected that higher prices for feed grain will encourage increased and more economical production of forage crops. The trend will be toward highly mechanized forage systems based on feeding of complete-feed silage.

A most promising method of reducing cost is to increase both the yields and nutritive value of forage crops. Forage costs per cow can be reduced by $6 to $20 by increasing yields to more economical levels. On highly productive land in the Midwest, yields of 32,200 to 42,800 kg/ha (18 to 24 ton/acre) of 32% DM corn silage and 20,600 to 26,600 kg/ha (6.5 to 8.0 ton/acre) of 90% dry matter alfalfa hay are attainable and cost-reducing. Highly mechanized silage and haylage systems tend to improve quality and reduce labor inputs. The break-even point in costs between medium and highly mechanized systems is at 90 cows, with labor at $2 an hour, and 60 cows when labor costs $4 an hour.

¹ Presented at the Sixty-third Animal Meeting of the American Dairy Science Association and jointly with The American Grassland Council, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

² Published with the approval of the Director of Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station as Journal Article no. 4509.