Five steps to winter savings

摘要

Whether you're out feeding in the cold or just looking out your window at cows eating hay at a cost of $2/cow/day, it should be a wake-up call for all of us. With out-of-control hay prices and prospects for even higher costs in 2008, getting serious about extending the grazing season has never been more important. Another pressure is hitting ranchers in the West. Increasing pressure on public-lands grazing is forcing many herds off rangeland earlier in the season and delaying spring turnout. Along with reduced numbers on many allotments, this trend means increased days of hay feeding for many ranchers. Coupled with increasing hay prices, this may be a crippling blow for many mid-scale operations.