High Quality Hay After Calving
Good cow nutrition is crucial following calving to get cows rebred. Today, let's look at the reason for using our top tier hay after calves hit the ground.
Because cows experience a lot of stress after calving, they need good feed. Not only is the cow producing milk for her calf, she is also preparing her reproductive system to rebreed. As a result, nutrient demands are high. Energy requirements increase about 30% and protein needs nearly double after calving. Underfeeding reduces the amount of milk a cow provides her calf, and it can delay or even prevent rebreeding. If it gets cold, wet or icy again, nutrient demands can sky-rocket.
If animals can get to them, winter grass, cornstalks and other crop residues are low quality right now as these feeds have weathered and are well picked over. It is critical that the hay or silage you feed will provide the extra nutrients your cows need.
Because of this, not just any hay or silage will do. Your cow needs 10% to 12% crude protein and 60% to 65% TDN in her total diet. If she is grazing poor quality feeds or eating grass hay, your other forages and supplements must make up any deficiencies.
Make sure your forage has adequate nutrients; if you haven't done so yet, get it tested now for protein and energy content. Compare this to the nutrient requirements of your cows. Then feed your cows a ration that will meet their requirements. Use supplements if needed. But don't overfeed either. That is wasteful and expensive.
Calving and the months after are a stressful time for cows. If we underfeed, it can delay rebreeding and slow down calf growth. Use your best quality forages with any needed supplements to provide adequate nutrition. By meeting nutrient requirements, your cows will milk well, rebreed on time, and produce healthy calves year after year.
What is IRS Section 180
With recent land purchases, some individuals are asking questions to learn more about IRS Section 180 and how it may provide tax deductions in the year of purchase. Let’s explore more about this tax code.
What is this code and what may it have to do with the purchased ground?
Section 180 states, “In general: a taxpayer engaged in the business of farming may elect to treat expenses, which are usually not chargeable to capital account expenditures, as chargeable to the capital account, which are paid or incurred during the taxable year. Qualified purchases or acquisitions include fertilizer, lime, ground limestone, marl or other materials to enrich, neutralize or condition land used in farming, or for the application of such materials to such land. The expenditures so treated shall be allowed as a deduction.”
This means that Section 180 can potentially allow landowners of newly acquired land to treat the residual fertility present in the soil at the time of purchase as a deductible cost. Typically, an IRS Section 180 tax deduction must be filed in the same year the land is purchased. However, opportunities may exist to file an amended tax return up to three years after the land was purchased.
A couple of important things to note if considering talking to your accountant about Section 180:
- If the owner was previously the renter (i.e. the land was rented by you prior to purchasing) there is no deduction since they already deducted the cost.
- The owner is deducting “excess” fertility and cannot deduct all nutrients present but just what is more than “normal”. Ideally, a producer should conduct soil sampling before or shortly after the land is acquired and before additional fertilizer application.
Landowners may realize some tax savings by deducting the value of pre-existing soil fertility. The value of the residual fertility load and the applicable landowner tax rate determine the savings. The landowner must determine deductions with support from their CPA or tax advisor.
