Barley shortage

[WiltonRanch]

When is the ETA? And is corn a 1 for 1 substitute for barley, or is energy lower?

Corn is hotter than barley. It puts fat on different places than barley. If you’re feeding show calves a bit of corn in the diet helps in that respect. A touch of corn in a racehorse diet gives them fat and carb energy oats doesn’t provide.

[burnt]

Corn is hotter than barley. It puts fat on different places than barley. If you’re feeding show calves a bit of corn in the diet helps in that respect. A touch of corn in a racehorse diet gives them fat and carb energy oats doesn’t provide.

Interesting that you say corn is hotter than barley. I've been feeding out a few freezer order steers for years now and always fed whole, shelled corn. I don't know anything about marbling differences, though, other than barley makes for a yellow-tinged fat.

But I got stuck with some barley I grew a couple of years ago and have been feeding these guys out on barley.

I sure got an education. Never lost any, but had several go in fairly severe acidosis when they were on free choice, coarse-ground barley.

Gotta keep the sodium bi-carb in the trough all the time and I mean ALL the time. I've also found that their barley consumption does not drop noticeably when they have free choice hay as well.

Another thing I've learned - barley fed beef gives the meat a flavor like we've never had in all the years we raised Ontario Corn Fed beef. Our customers have all given very positive feedback and have brought new customers with them to reorder.

Now, THAT"S hot!! :-)

[shtferbrains]

Was some corn grown to maturity here few yrs ago when the big push was on. Freind had some in bins for some time .
I looked into self feeding it instead of barley. Might be hotter starchier but mabe not as many problems if you screw up with acidosis? Easier to start on and realy push than barley?
Never did do the deal so can't say for sure.
Maybe somebody that used lots can comment?

Edit There' the answer already there!
Thaks burnt

[BFW]

Neighbour is doing barley, it’s going 35. He talked to three feedlots at Lethbridge and they offered him 11.25 picked up. they said they are a week away from running out of feed. One broker told him it will be in the 15-20 range by Xmas. Has anyone else heard these prices P. S. He paid over 100 grand to buy out of a contract which he gladly did .

This smells a bit of bullshit to me unless of course just needs a few loads to get him through to someone delivering on a contract or something. As for talk of 15 -20 per bushel by Christmas, i think it doesn't happen as economics of feeding don't come close to supporting that and corn should be abundant by then at 330-360 per tonne. Clearly not a time to be taking on alot of new cattle until this plays out which may take some time.

[shtferbrains]

Might not get a picture of that cheque after all!

But who knows, cant have a lot full of calves to start all over on the grain.

[6V53]

Going to have to carry a fence picket on the combine around here to poke it out of the hopper this year.

[farming101]

July 30 report says corn at Lethbridge was 425/t

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/fa0eaebe-44ba-4ed6-90d6-6b29eb74be4a/resource/b8abc778-f385-4a1f-a8da-7b9a14c0b849/download/af-itrb-weekly-crop-market-review-2021-07-30.pdf Alberta Weekly Crop Market Review

[WiltonRanch]

Interesting that you say corn is hotter than barley. I've been feeding out a few freezer order steers for years now and always fed whole, shelled corn. I don't know anything about marbling differences, though, other than barley makes for a yellow-tinged fat.

But I got stuck with some barley I grew a couple of years ago and have been feeding these guys out on barley.

I sure got an education. Never lost any, but had several go in fairly severe acidosis when they were on free choice, coarse-ground barley.

Gotta keep the sodium bi-carb in the trough all the time and I mean ALL the time. I've also found that their barley consumption does not drop noticeably when they have free choice hay as well.

Another thing I've learned - barley fed beef gives the meat a flavor like we've never had in all the years we raised Ontario Corn Fed beef. Our customers have all given very positive feedback and have brought new customers with them to reorder.

Now, THAT"S hot!! :-)

Cattle will utilize whole corn better than whole barley. You’d have experience fattening on corn. With rolled or ground barley you have to slowly introduce them over a period of weeks if not months to a full ration. With silage it’s simple compared to pail feeding and dry forage. For us we start calves on full feed of whole oats at weaning and slowly add ground barley till we’re half and half. Then we grind the oats so actual percentage of barley is probably 2/3. Never use rumensin and use more greenfeed than hay. Bloat hasn’t been a problem except if pneumonia is a problem. We are just backgrounding our own calves, and it is easier to feed your own than bought ones. The very seldom time I’ve ever finished a calf then the barley percentage gets pushed to 3/4. As I mentioned before, I don’t like a lot of alfalfa hay in this as we’ve had more bloat issues with it. These are old school methods which probably most anybody who feeds enough calves would probably laugh at. A TMR with silage and rumensin along with better knowledge would blow me away on cog.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

July 30 report says corn at Lethbridge was 425/t

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/fa0eaebe-44ba-4ed6-90d6-6b29eb74be4a/resource/b8abc778-f385-4a1f-a8da-7b9a14c0b849/download/af-itrb-weekly-crop-market-review-2021-07-30.pdf Alberta Weekly Crop Market Review

I'm guessing that the $425 price is trucked in from Manitoba, not railed in from state side.

Central Alberta feedmill has trucks bringing Manitoba corn in regularly, so Lethbridge likely is the same.

Rail would have to be cheaper, not sure about $100/ tonne cheaper though?

[bullshead]

That is what the feedlot told us he could get it for as we feed calves there every year and was finding out what the cost would be this year.