News

MU Forage Research Center feeding soy hulls

A lot of Missouri cattle producers are forced to feed alternatives because of the shortage of hay and forage caused by the drought.

Dave Davis, superintendent of the University of Missouri’s Forage Systems Research Center, tells Brownfield Ag Newsthey’ve been feeding soy hulls to their 700 cow-calf herd, “We feed daily the early weaned calves and the spring cows that those cows came off of and they’re getting, based on body weight, so many pounds per head, per day.”

Davis says they went through a local feed distributor in early August to get the soy hulls locked in, “We’re meeting their nutritional requirements. We’re feeding the calves, along with a little protein, to try to get two pounds of gain a day out of those calves. And, the cows, we’re just trying to maintain and let the grass grow around us.”

Davis says the recent rains have helped grass begin greening up. He says if producers can keep their livestock off of their pastures while the grass is growing, they can allocate that later in the year, which is what they’re doing at the research center.

Davis led the annual field day last week at the Forage Systems Research Center in Linneus, Missouri, with a focus on the drought.

AUDIO: Interview with Dave Davis ~