Effect of winter feeding system on beef cow performance, reproductive efficiency, and system cost

A 3-yr study was conducted to evaluate the effects of winter feeding systems on beef cow performance, reproductive efficiency, and system cost. Winter feeding systems were (i) swath grazing (SG) windrowed whole-plant barley TDN = 62.4, CP = 13.4 (% DM) in field paddocks; (ii) bale grazing (BG) barley hay round bales TDN = 66.6, CP = 13.1 (% DM) in field paddocks; (iii) straw-chaff grazing (STCH) barley crop residue piles TDN = 46.8, CP = 9.8 (% DM) in field; and (iv) drylot feeding (DL) barley hay round bales TDN = 67.9, CP = 13.0 (% DM) in bale feeders in pens. The study was conducted over 3 production cycles with spring-calving beef cows yr 1 (78 d), n = 180, BW = 630.5 ± 3.9 kg; yr 2 (21 d), n = 180, BW = 598.6 ± 7.7 kg; yr 3 (36 d), n = 120, BW = 644.0 ± 5.0 kg. Cows were allocated swaths, bales, and crop residue piles on a 3-d basis to manage DMI and feed waste. Dry matter and TDN intakes were 17 and 23% lower (P 0.05) on cow reproductive performance. In yr 1, in the first 21 d, cows maintained BW and BCS with DL compared with SG, BG, and STCH cows. However, SG, BG, and STCH cows gained BW linearly (r = 0.58, P = 0.09) from d 22 to 76 of the feeding trial. Cows in drylot pens fed round bale hay gained more BW than did cows in field paddocks grazing either round bales (P < 0.05; yr 3) or swaths (P < 0.05; yr 2, yr 3). In yr 1 after 78 d, SG cows had lower BW and BCS (P < 0.05) than did DL cows; however, cows in all systems gained BW in yr 2 and 3. Averaged over 3 yr, winter feeding system costs were 8 and 29% lower for BG and SG, respectively, compared with the DL system. This research indicates that bale grazing or swath grazing systems can be effective alternatives to reduce winter feeding costs.