Most Texas cattle producers do not need to go out and buy extra hay yet, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension beef specialist said this week, though the answer changes for operations that count on stockpiled pasture grass to carry them through winter.
The advice came in AgriLife's Texas Crop and Weather Report released Tuesday, which described a hay year that varied sharply from place to place. Where rain fell, producers cut good hay. Where it did not, or where a pest has damaged pastures, supplies are thinner.
"Depending on location, for those who have had rainfall, we've seen some good hay produced," said Vanessa Corriher, an AgriLife Extension forage specialist based in Overton. Producers with damaged fields, she said, will be leaning on hay left from last year.
Who should buy, and who can wait
Jason Banta, the beef cattle specialist, said that for herds that depend mainly on baled hay in winter, this season looks much like any other. Ranches in drier country that graze stockpiled native range are not expected to see much effect.
The calculation is different for operations that stockpile introduced grasses such as Bermuda grass, Bahia grass or Old World bluestem to cut back on feeding.
For those, Banta said, the grass grown in the eight to 10 weeks before the first frost is what counts, and in many parts of the state drought has already cut that growth enough that some extra hay will be needed regardless. Where pasture mealybug is also expected to shrink the stockpile, he said, buying additional hay would be prudent.
