Sell and Weep, but Sell Anyway

WITH much of the Upper Hunter drought declared and record numbers of cattle being sold, local farmers are faced with tough decisions.

Jim Kerr, a district veterinarian with Local Land Services encourages farmers to do their sums rather than hope and feed.

“Once you have taken responsibility for supplying everything the animal needs that is a pathway that you really need to have costed out,

“As far as feeding for maintenance, I understand it, but at the moment with the dry weather we don’t have an end point; so people can end up pouring more feed down their throat than the animal is actually worth,

“There is an alternative strategy and that is feeding for production and that is where you get in touch with the meat works to get a grain assisted grid so you can book them in and you finish them with grain and you know what you are going to be paid per head and you can do your calculations to see whether it would pay you to feed those animals to get them to an increased weight and sell them or sell them in the condition they are in now,” he said.

“We see people get into trouble just hoping something changes,” he said.

“It’s an old saying but sometimes it’s better to sell and weep, but sell anyway,” said Jim Kerr.

If farmers have decided to hand feed their stock Dr Kerr said there are key issues to consider including:

• Grain poisoning – when animals go from pasture to pellets for grain which can cause acidosis if it is introduced too quickly.
• Vaccinating against enterotoxemia – also known as pulpy kidney. “Often when they change feed it’s always the best animals that die, the greediest ones that eat more than their share,” said Dr Kerr. It is important to give the animals five in one not just annually, but as conditions dictate, as it only provides protection for three months.
• Chemical residues in feed – Ask for a commodity vendor declarations and if the person selling the feed isn’t prepared to fill in the form, it could ring alarm bells.
• Check for weeds from feed – Hay from other areas may introduce new weeds to the property. It is important to check what weeds grow after some rain to ensure you get on top of any new weeds early.
• Nitrate rich hay – Hay produced with fertiliser may have a higher nitrate content than the cattle are used to and it should be fed to them gradually. If they suddenly have access to very rich hay it can “kill them in numbers.”
• Watch for communicable diseases – when you hand feed cattle and they crowd together around troughs and pens diseases can be spread in that situation, such as pink-eye.

Dr Kerr recommends the publication Managing Drought on the Department of Primary Industry website and visiting the Drought Hub for more information.

Related stories:

• Small Mercy in Dire Drought – January 18, 2018.