After an unseasonably warm and dry fall, we are facing the consequences of a lack of meaningful precipitation, including dormant pastures and limited forage availability. 

Many beef operations have already started feeding hay. A challenging spring for making hay and limited late summer rain could be leading us to a hay shortage this year.

Hay will be cheaper when stocks are higher, shortly after being made, in comparison to February when stocks have declined.

Inventory your hay stores now. This is as simple as counting the number of bales for each type (round, large square, small square, etc.).

Hopefully, you have a rough idea of how much each weighs. Weight of round bales will depend on size, forage density, forage type and cutting.

Our colleagues at Texas A&M created a nice publication on bale weights. You can find it athayandforage.com/print-article-1767-permanent.html.

From their work, a bale that is 4 feet by 5 feet may weigh 880 pounds while a 5-by-6-feet bale could weigh 1,584 pounds.

How dense or tight bales are when made will impact the weight. Bales that are 5-by-5 with a density of 9.5 pounds per cubic foot may weigh 935 pounds, while the same size bales with a density of 12.3 pounds per cubic foot will be near 1,200 pounds. 

When you can, buy on a weight basis rather than the bale. Also, if you are not certain what your bales weigh when inventorying, estimate on the low end rather than assuming the bales are extremely heavy.

Determining how much hay you will need is your next step. Hay needs are a combination of storage and feeding losses and animal intake. Hay losses during storage can range widely depending on your storage method. Storage in a barn could be 5 percent to 10 percent, while hay stored outside on the ground uncovered may have losses of 25 percenet to 40 percent.

A significant amount of loss from outside storage is because of bale-wicking moisture from the ground and having significant rot on the bottom of the bale. If you set bales on a gravel pad, it will allow precipitation to drain away. 

Feeding losses can be significant as well. When using hay rings, use rings with sheeted bottoms to reduce waste. Hay saver type feeders can reduce feeding losses 5 percent to 10 percent as well.

If unrolling, consider using a temporary electric wire over the top to reduce losses from cattle bedding down and/or fouling hay with feces and urine.

You may estimate animal intake by assuming 3 percent of body weight for hay intake. A 1,000-pound bred heifer would potentially consume 30 pounds of hay each day. Mature cows weighing 1,400 pounds would consume about 42 pounds of hay per day.

Be sure to account for feeding losses when estimating daily hay allocation.

Estimate how many days you will need to feed hay this year. Remember you will need to feed hay longer because of the lack of fall pasture growth.

Plan now to inventory your hay and compare to your predicted needs. If you are short on inventory, procure hay now rather than waiting. If hay is in short supply, you can feed grain as a replacement for hay.

Clay Stamm is a Clark County Cooperative Extension Service agent for agriculture and natural resources.