Water, Water Everywhere We’re Gonna Get Wet; Such is the refrain in a video that my kids used to watch.  This year we have had plenty of water.  Water is the most important nutrient that we give our animals and the most abundant, cheapest, and least understood of all nutrients required for livestock production.  We usually become concerned with water only when it is in short supply or when flooding results in contamination.  My colleague, Salem County Extension, Melissa Bravo has written previously about flooding and I refer the reader to her comments submitted on September 3rd.

Tropical storm Ida brought extreme flooding to many parts of New Jersey.  In addition to the tornado damage that had devastating effects on many farms, there is the destruction of feed and forage supplies that accompany flooding.

If feed grains or forages stored as hay or silage were flooded and remained underwater during Ida for even a short period, they are probably destroyed.  Feed grains such as corn, oats, or barley will quickly spoil when wet and may result in the production of mycotoxins.  This rotten feed is worthless, may be a risk to animals, and is fit only for the compost pile or other disposal.

How about hay or silage?  These are no different.  They will spoil and may likely produce mycotoxins or other toxins just like feed grains.  They will have to be disposed.

The bottom line, do not feed any spoiled feed grains or purchased feed mixes, or spoiled hay or silage to animals.

What about pasture?   Pasture that has been rained on, even the rain from tropical storm Ida should be edible, provided that flooding did not occur.  Any feed or forage that was in a flood plain, and/or remained under flood waters is a contamination risk.  The risk is not from feed and forage spoilage as described above, but from any toxins that may be associated with the flood waters.

I suggest caution about flood water contamination of pastures.  What was upstream from the flood waters?  Storm water that flooded its banks and ended up on your river bottom land may contain heavy metals or pesticides or dangerous debris, or you or a neighbor may have applied pesticides that resulted in runoff contamination.  Perhaps there was none at all.  How deep was the water?  Was the pasture covered in water?  It may be possible to graze some summer annual forages such as Sudan or Sudan-Sorghum crosses, or Millet.  These are taller growing forages that maybe were not covered in the flood waters.  It may be possible to graze these provided only the top portion of the plants are grazed.  This will require a very short grazing period.  Of course if these were covered in flood waters, caution should be taken.  After a cleansing rain or two on flooded pastures, consumption may possibly continue.  Clipping pastures that have been flooded and waiting for regrowth grazing is perhaps the best suggestion.

Don’t feed “Ditch Hay.”  Ditch hay is feed that has been harvested from roadsides or along major highways such as the Turnpike, Parkway, Route 78, 80, etc.  These may contain pesticides used in roadside weed control and may pose risks for animal consumption.

Contamination of water due to heavy metals, nitrates, and bacterial pathogens, may also be of concern.  Contact your local Extension Office or Public Health officials for assistance.

What feeding options are there?  The purchase of hay or forage from uncontaminated supplies, or feed grains, or available byproducts such as brewer’s grains are all possible feed supplements.

Water requirements; Livestock will suffer more quickly from the lack of water than any other nutrient.  It is essential for a number of physiological functions.  Among these is the transport of nutrients, as a solvent or buffer for chemical reactions in the body, for temperature regulation, and, of course, for milk production, growth, work, or exercise.  The two main sources of water are that which is consumed and the water present in feedstuffs (especially in succulent forages such as silage or grasses).

Often the first sign that water consumption is inadequate is that animals stop eating.  It is essential to maintain adequate feed consumption.  This is most important for animals that are in productive states such as growth, lactation, work, or exercise.  For illustrative purposes, a lactating dairy cow producing 80 pounds of milk per day will require between 30 and 36 gallons of water per day.  Of this amount, approximately 8.4 gallons will appear in the milk, between 15 and 20 gallons in the manure and urine and the remainder as respiratory, evaporative, and metabolic losses.

Water requirements for domestic livestock species are as follows:  lactating dairy cattle will consume on the average between 15 and 35 gallons per day; non-lactating dairy cows and beef cows require approximately 15 gallons per day; an adult horse will consume between 10 and 15 gallons per day; adult sheep between 1.5 and 3 gallons per day; adult swine between 3 and 5 gallons per day; and an adult hen about ½ a quart.  A quick rule of thumb is that for every 2 pounds of dry feed intake, an animal should receive 1 gallon of water.  This will vary with stress, weather conditions, disease, productive state, work, or exercise, as well as the water and salt content of the feed.

Remember, water is the most important nutrient you can supply your animals.  Don’t let them run short.

This is taken from an article appearing in the September 15 article of the New Jersey Farmer.