The document discusses methods for feeding calves without traditional feedlots, emphasizing reduced costs, infrastructure needs, and environmental risks through grazing systems. It highlights the benefits of a pivot fence for managing forage intake, as well as trials demonstrating effective grazing techniques using various crops. Key findings indicate that portable fencing allows for efficient cattle management while improving cattle health and minimizing labor costs.

1. Feeding Without the Feedlot
Jason Gross
UNL Extension
Biological System Engineering

2. Feed Calves without the Feedlot
• Reduce costs and infrastructure by not building pens,
bunks, and waste treatment facilities.
• Reduce costs by eliminating baling, hauling, grinding, and
manually spreading manure.
• Reduce mortality and sickness by keeping the cattle out of
muddy or dusty conditions.
• Increase cattle numbers without expanding existing
feeding facilities.
• Reduce environmental risk by having a grazing operation
instead of an AFO or CAFO by having the livestock
naturally spread their manure.

3. To Have All the Comforts of a Feedlot but
Without the Feedlot We Will Have To …
• House the cows or calves using permanent or temporary
fencing.
• Use modern cross-fencing materials (polywire, step-in posts,
TumblewheelTM
, A-Post, or Pivot Fence) can control calf forage
intake.
• Provide a more dust and mud free environment than an open lot.
• Be able to leave residue for erosion control.
• Achieve grazing efficiency in windrow grazing up to 90%.
• Minimize labor costs.
• Rely on UNL research illustrates the advantages of forage based
grazing.

4. UNL Research Shows the Efficiency of Windrow Grazing

5. The Pivot Fence
• Developed by UNL Extension to convert a center pivot
into a moveable cross-fence
• Achieve the advantages of windrow grazing by only giving
the cattle a daily supply of forage to graze.
• Move a quarter mile or longer fence in minutes by the push
of a button or with GPS and wireless control, the fence can
be moved by cell phone or laptop anywhere in the world.
• Have a portable fence without manually picking up and
moving wire and posts.
• Simple and easy to install and remove.
• No alterations to the pivot (drilling or welding).
• Can be used on all makes and models of pivot.
• Works on frozen soils.

7. Pivot Fence Components
• Truss Rod Hangers
• Drive Pipe Clamps
• Automatic Wire Tension System

8. Truss Rod
Hanger
Stabilizes Wire Height In
Between Towers

9. Wire Clamp for Pivot Tower Brace
Pipe with an Insulator

10. Automatic Wire Tension System
Adjusts Automatically
or Manually

11. Grazing Trials
• Two trials in 2011, one fall oats and one cows
on corn stalks.
• Two trials in 2012, one fall oats and another
with feeder calves on corn stalks.

12. 2011 Fall Oats
• Oats planted in irrigated wheat stubble on August
8th
(south half) and August 12th
(north half)
• South half yield – 2.76 ton/ac dry matter
• Cost - $25.09 per ton dry matter
• North half yield – 2.05 ton/ac dry matter
• Cost - $40.67 per ton dry matter
• Quality –
October 2011 – CP 8.5%, TDN 70.4%
January 2012 – CP 6.0%, TDN 59.5%

13. South Half
• 328 feeder calves grazed for 53 days
• Calves grazed oats and volunteer wheat as a
green crop or standing up.
• Calves grazed 47% of crop
• Cost - $53.74 per ton grazed of dry matter
• Cost - $0.36 per head per day (land cost not
included)
• Forage intake 13.46 lb/ hd/ day
• Fence moved every 3 days.

14. Standing Forage

16. North Half
• 328 feeder calves grazed for 52 days
• Forage was windrowed on November 22
• Calves grazed 83% of the crop
• Cost - $40.67 per ton grazed of dry matter
• Cost - $0.39 per head per day (land cost not
included)
• Forage intake 15.91 lb / hd / day
• Fence moved every 2 days

17. Manage Forage Intake and Residue

19. Manure is already spread!

20. 2012 Fall Oats
• Planted on August 1st
• Yield – 1.79 ton / ac
• Producer did not windrow. Grazed standing up.
• Grazing utilization averaged 67%
• Waiting for production costs.
• Moved fence every 2 days
• Quality –
October 2012 - CP 8.4%, TDN 75.5%
January 2013 - CP 8.2%, TDN 73.5%

21. Calves
Grazing
Fall Oat
after
Irrigated
Wheat

22. Corn Stalk Grazing 2011 & 2012
• Pivot Fence was used to demonstrate the
ability of the cross fence to limit grain intake.
• Limiting the daily intake to prevent founder
and to stretch the downed grain to reduce
protein supplement.

23. Corn Stalk 2011
• 90 cows on 130 acres of irrigated corn.
• Start Dec 2nd
and ended on March 6th
.
• Moved cross fence 10 times.
• Maintained cows grazing grain up to March 6th
.
• With enough of a daily intake of grain the
cows didn’t need protein supplement during
this time.

26. Corn Stalk 2012
• 750 head of 600 lb feeder steers.
• Irrigated corn 130 acres with 40 bu/ac of
downed corn.
• Start November 27th
• Pivot Fence cross fencing started out well but
when the pivot moved into some extremely
rough ground, the producer gave up on
maintaining the fence in the first of January.
• The fence proved its worth but showed its
limits on extremely rough ground.

27. What Did We Learn
• We can successfully house cows or calves with portable fencing on
forages.
• If the forage is hayed properly and allowed to cure in the windrow, the
feed quality can remain though out the winter.
• Forage loss usually was where the windrow touches the soil.
Minimize the number of windrows by raking.
• Give daily rations to minimize over consumption.
• Intake improves with dry windrows.
• Manure is naturally spread.
• Introduce calves to grazing system in small groups to keep them
settled down.
• Daily interaction from producer improves calf disposition and
behavior.

28. Question’s ?
Jason Gross
Biological Systems Engineering
UNL Extension
(308) 865 – 1594
jgross3@unl.edu