Using Grinders and TMR Mixers for Feed Efficiency
In an ideal world, there would be no waste when it comes to feeding cattle. In the real world, there is waste from the time we cut hay all the way through the feeding cycle. When it comes to feeding livestock, especially with hay, there’s always some hay that goes to waste and it’s just part of the deal. We know hay gets trampled into the mud and hay deteriorates from the elements. Cattle are also selective, meaning they will go for the higher quality hay before they eat the lower quality with dense stems. Historically, getting a precise handle on these losses has been tricky, making it hard to see the real money slipping through the cracks. This is where we look at the value that grinding gives us.
Advantages of Grinders
One of the biggest “pros” of a tub grinder is sheer speed. We know this isn’t a one-size-fits-all scenario; speed varies wildly between models and manufacturers, so be mindful and do your market research across different manufacturers and models. If your goal is to chew through a massive bale in just a few minutes, you absolutely can. You’ll just need a tractor with enough horsepower to match that ambition, and, naturally, be prepared to invest in that kind of efficiency with an upper-end and advanced model.
They are not all created equally, and you need to decide what price you put on your time. If time is a limiting resource for you and you don’t want to spend 45 minutes waiting on a bale to be processed and ground, then you might invest in a higher-end model to re-coup the labor and time cost for you. Different companies and different models vary greatly.
Beyond raw speed, the magic of tub grinders truly shines in increased feed efficiency. Grinding hay isn’t just about making it smaller; it’s about making it better, more digestible, and making
use of the lower-quality hay the best you can. It drastically reduces waste by making more of the hay palatable and accessible to your cattle. Grinding breaks down those less desirable parts,
making the entire bale more appealing. This improves palatability and leads to cattle eating more of the hay.
Furthermore, grinding significantly increases digestibility. By breaking down the forage into smaller particles, you’re essentially increasing the surface area of the feed. This means the digestive enzymes in the cow’s rumen have more “access points” to break down the nutrients, leading to better absorption and digestion for cattle. This improved digestibility can mean better animal performance, whether that’s weight gain, milk production, or overall health. Another major benefit is easier mixing. Ground hay or other processed materials blend much more uniformly within a Total Mixed Ration (TMR) mixer. This is crucial for creating those perfectly balanced feed rations that meet the precise nutritional requirements of your herd. This tailored approach lets you control the specific ratios and nutrients you’re getting to your cattle. It also, cuts down on feed spoilage, all of which directly affects your bottom line of your farm.
Tub grinders are also incredibly versatile. They’re not just for hay. These machines can chew through a wide variety of materials, from cornstalks to other biomass that can have a lot of lignin and fiber. This versatility means you can incorporate different forage sources into your ration, potentially reducing costs and diversifying your feed strategy. It might also open the door and expand your feed resources. We’ve seen how valuable any feed is during the past few years’ droughts. This can mean the difference between selling cattle and being able to keep feeding them.
Disadvantages of Grinders
Tub grinders come with their own set of considerations before you pull the trigger on a purchase. The most obvious concern is the initial cost. A tub grinder, as with any piece of equipment, can make your life a lot easier, but has a significant investment. You’re not just buying the machine; you’re also factoring in the ongoing cost of processing feed, including fuel, labor, and maintenance.
Then there’s the concept of shrinkage. Tub grinding can lead to losses, especially with higher moisture hay. This “shrink” can occur from drift during processing (imagine a windy day blowing away fine particles), further storage losses from weather exposure or spoilage after grinding, and even additional drift when loading the TMR mixers, if you choose to go that route. These losses, while often small individually, can add up and increase your effective feed cost. So, while they help eliminate waste, and use the lower-quality hay, we also lose some the more we handle and process the hay.
Hay quality matters too. While grinding can improve the palatability of lower-quality hay, some hay types might simply be better suited for processing than others. You’ll need to consider the
type of forage you primarily feed. While processing, debris can sometimes get in the grinders. This might seem obvious, but grinding “dirty” hay (hay that’s picked up rocks and compacted
mud from the field) can wreak absolute havoc on your grinder’s internal components, leading to costly repairs and downtime. It’s a reminder that even tough grinders and machinery require careful management and maintenance.
Finally, while many tub grinders are compatible with hefty tractors (think 200 hp to 315 hp for the big ones), there are more economical lines available for smaller ranching operations. For example, some models only require an 80 hp PTO tractor, or ideally a 125 hp tractor for maximum efficiency. These smaller versions might have limited features, like no tub tilt or a lighter- duty hammermill, but they make the benefits of grinding accessible to operations with 50 to 100 head of cattle. So, the advantage of a smaller model would be you don’t need as much PTO horsepower to run it, and it is cheaper than a more advanced model. However, this will not process a bale quickly. It might be worth it to you though.
Partnering with TMR Mixers
While tub grinders are fantastic for processing individual ingredients, the true magic of precision feeding happens in a Total Mixed Ration (TMR) mixer. These machines are specifically designed
to take a wide variety of feed ingredients, including ground hay, silages, concentrates, and supplements, and blend them into a uniformly balanced ration. They can deliver a customized and precise feed formulation.
Alternatively, some operations might use a high-capacity tub grinder to process hay separately, then feed it into a horizontal-style mixer (like a four-auger mixer), which is good for mixing but has limited ability to process long forage. However, the trend is increasingly towards combining these functions using a vertical-auger TMR mixer. While there have been concerns that vertical-auger mixers might require longer processing times per bale, their ability to both process and mix makes them incredibly efficient for many operations.
The economic argument for processing hay and mixing it in a TMR mixer is strong. Research and real-world experience consistently show that this approach significantly
decreases waste and increases animal performance. Allison Kosto, a Montana State University Extension Agent, points out that feeding hay bales directly can lead to as much as 50% waste. This is largely due to livestock picking through the hay, consuming the most palatable parts, and leaving the rest. As we all know, they do not eat the bales clear to the ground, so you have some spoilage and waste too. Grinding or chopping hay, and then incorporating it into a TMR, essentially eliminates this selective feeding. It “forces” the animal to consume the entire ration, ensuring they get all
the intended nutrients.
Beyond reducing physical waste, processing hay and blending it in a TMR can also improve palatability. The ability to blend different types of hay, even mixing in some lower-quality forage with higher-quality ingredients, encourages cattle to eat more of everything, further reducing waste.
The Bottom Line: Economic Payoff
The cost of processing hay depends on several variables such as machine design, energy input, and the time it takes. While a high-capacity tub grinder is often considered the most efficientway to process hay. Ultimately, the economic payoff comes when that processed hay is integrated into a well-managed feeding system.
Research from Kansas State Extension has shed some light on the reduction in waste. A study evaluating three large round bale feeding methods found substantial differences in forage wastage. Unrolling bales on the ground resulted in 22-23% waste, shredding onto the ground yielded 13-16% waste. However, shredding into bunks dramatically reduced waste to a mere 8-11%. These findings clearly demonstrate the potential for significant forage savings. As mentioned earlier, traditional feeding setting a bale on the ground can lead to waste as high as 50%.
The economic benefit becomes even more pronounced when hay prices are high and herd sizes are larger. The Kansas State study showed financial savings for grinding and bunk-feeding wheat
hay to a 300-head cow herd. For herds over 200 head, this study indicated that the producer can come out ahead financially by grinding their hay. This shows that there’s an initial investment, but the long-term savings in feed costs can be substantial.
Furthermore, research at Iowa State University, including a 2001 Beef Research Report by H. Joseph Sellers and Dennis R. Maxwell, indicated that tub grinding hay increased consumption by 10% compared to feeding non-ground hay.
While tub grinders and TMR mixers represent a significant investment, and require a lot of considerations before making a purchase. However, when used strategically, they are powerful tools that greatly reduce feed waste. So, when you’re thinking about feed strategies, consider how grinders can help you get the most out of every bale.
By Jessica Graham
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