I have never added it up but it seems to me that all the management advise given to us producers adds more costs than it is possible to recover. A favorite of mine is to test my hay, I am not going to buy different hay or supplement anyway so there is no need to spend money on a feed test. Typically I feed the cows only half of what is said to be required, there are many days when I feed only one 900 lb bale of hay and a cornstalk bale. If there were 60 cows that comes to fifteen lbs of hay per cow, and there are more than that. It takes gut capacity to digest rank hay and cornstalks, it is claimed a cow can starve with a full belly. My cows live on a diet that most could not because we have selected for that ability, instead of supplementing with extra feed to keep them fat all winter long.

~ Words to ponder from Nick Wagner