SPRING HILL, Tenn. – Although grain prices continue to climb, cattle and hog producers have feed alternatives to help offset input costs.

In fact, cattle producers already utilize most available feed resources, whether that be feed grains, co-products/by-products, and forages, said Andrew P. Griffith, University of Tennessee assistant professor of agricultural economics.

“The issue is that all of these feed resources are expensive,” he said. “Forage is typically thought to be relatively inexpensive, but high fertilizer prices have made forage prices higher.

“There are operations that use food waste, including spoiled/old fruits and vegetables, and there is probably more available,” he added. “However, there is not enough to feed large quantities of cattle.”

Dan Loy, Iowa State University professor of animal science and director of the Iowa Beef Center, said corn is typically the low-cost energy source in cattle; however, that is no longer the case in many instances.

“There are adjustments that can be made to rations, including higher inclusion levels of distillers grains (DDGs), or other corn co-products, and commodity feeds such as soy hulls, wheat midds and oat byproducts, or even higher levels of forages,” he said.

He said hay stocks are in tight supply nationally due to drought issues.

“The best option may be different for each producer, and each production situation,” he said. “I would encourage producers to work closely with their nutritionist to explore options.”

Laura Greiner, Iowa State University assistant professor of animal science, who specializes in swine nutrition, said producers have a variety of feed options.

“The first steps should be to review activities within the barn,” she said. “Feeder adjustments should be evaluated to make sure feed is not being wasted; micron size of the feed should be set up appropriately, and regularly evaluated; feed budgets should be closely followed; feeder space should be adequate, based on the energy level in the feed; and the number of waterers and water pressure should also be appropriate.”

She said pelleting of the feed could also be considered to improve feed efficiency and reduce total pounds of feed needed for growth.

“Hog producers can certainly consider alternative ingredients such as DDGs, bakery, wheat and other potential by-products to satisfy the energy requirements,” she said. “Hog producers should also work with their veterinarians to ensure that herd health is optimized to improve feed efficiency.”

Derrell Peel, University of Oklahoma professor of agricultural economics, said feed prices are elevated across the board – and likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future.

“Hay prices are expected to reach record levels, with drought and high fertilizer prices reducing forage production in much of the country,” he said. “Feed grain prices are high due to global demand and geopolitical events.

“Producers should evaluate alternative feed sources, including by-product feeds,” he added, “but all feed markets adjust pretty quickly. There really are no good alternatives to higher feed costs this year.”

Griffith agreed, saying the near-term outlook is prices are expected to remain elevated.

“The drivers of higher prices include the Russia/Ukraine crisis, inflation, higher energy prices, and slow planting of corn and soybeans,” he said.

“There is no reason to expect prices to move lower in the near term,” he added. “The likelihood of prices moving much higher is small, but it is more likely feed prices (will) strengthen than decline.”

He said most producers are expecting prices to remain elevated.

“There is no available information to suggest prices will moderate during or following the current growing season,” he said. “I think most producers are preparing for higher prices to persist the next 12-plus months.”

Loy also agreed, saying in the near term, any relief from high grain prices is unlikely.

“Other feeds such as corn co-products tend to lag corn prices, but are likely to continue to increase,” he said. “Good corn-growing conditions could take some of the pressure off of feed prices if they continue through the summer. Global uncertainty is a factor as well.”

Peel said the current situation will persist or potentially get worse – because of drought – through the remainder of the year.

“It’s uncertain what the 2022 feed grain crop will look like, but under the best of circumstances, supplement prices are expected to remain elevated.”