Producers cannot seem to catch a break. Drought for several years has hampered hay production. Also the rains of spring last year hampered hay production. Commodity prices have been high; although corn is down to around $4.25. Now plants will begin to remove most of the oil in co-products. Please see the following link for more information: http://beefmagazine.com/nutrition/nutritional-value-distiller-s-grains-changing
Last year at the Southern IL Beef Day, Dr. Paul Walker from Illinois State University spoke about this very topic. Now it becomes even more important to ask questions to those that are supplying your commodities. If you do not receive a nutritional analysis, take a representative sample and send to a certified lab. By knowing the quality of feedstuffs, you will 1) know whether additional supplementation is required; 2) create a balanced ration based on stage of production; and 3) prevent overfeeding of expensive supplements thus saving you money.
Last year at the Southern IL Beef Day, Dr. Paul Walker from Illinois State University spoke about this very topic. Now it becomes even more important to ask questions to those that are supplying your commodities. If you do not receive a nutritional analysis, take a representative sample and send to a certified lab. By knowing the quality of feedstuffs, you will 1) know whether additional supplementation is required; 2) create a balanced ration based on stage of production; and 3) prevent overfeeding of expensive supplements thus saving you money.