Pasture and Forage Minute: Final Hay Inventory, 1099s for Taxes

By Ben Beckman and Shannon Sand

Final Hay Inventory

How much feed or hay do you have going into winter? Will you have enough feed to provide for current cattle numbers? An inventory now before winter hits full swing could be helpful.

First, get a final idea of what is available. Count bales, measure silage, evaluate remaining fall and winter pasture, and estimate crop residue grazing opportunities. Consider best- and worst-case scenarios. While keeping an eye on the weather outlook is helpful, consider what happens if conditions turn cold and snowy and pasture or residue grazing won’t be as effective.

We also need to get an idea of how many animals need to be fed and what quality that feed needs to be. Keeping May calving cows through the winter is different than growing stockers. Factor storage and feeding losses into your planning as well. Silage uncovered outside or improperly stored hay can easily have over 25% dry matter losses in storage. How you feed will also add to the amount of loss you can expect.

After we make a final assessment, it’s time to plan. Some may have too much feed laying around that is getting old. Selling some may generate a premium. If we come up short, consider options. Do you have the fixability to sell off some animals if feed is getting tight or do we need to pad our reserves? If so, is buying feeds that are cheaper now and storing them through the winter a possibility? Or do we roll the dice on needing to purchase later when availability is lower and costs might jump?

Planning is indispensable. Having a feed inventory and checking prices and availability now will go a long way to reducing the anxiety of what we will feed our cows this winter.