Cows Don't Eat Wheat

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

"If your corn is too high priced, I'll feed wheat to my cows."  Ever heard that argument used by feeders?  Do they mean it, or is it just a way to jawbone the corn price/

This blog quotes a Kansas State economist in saying it ain't necessarily so.  There is less wheat fed than some would have us believe.

http://www.farmgateblog.com/article/1674/does-wheat-ever-really-get-fed-to-livestock-or-is-that-just...

"Summary:

 When market analysts look at the tight supply-demand relationship for corn, they frequently water down the bullishness with a projection for increased wheat feeding. But no matter how tight the corn supply is, there does not seem to have been an increase in wheat feeding in the past couple years, and that casts doubt on the future as well. If tight stocks of wheat remain in the Black Sea region, global wheat prices will remain strong, and that means a lesser chance of wheat being an attractively priced feed for livestock."

[Mizzou_Tiger]

World course grain supplies are a time bomb.....

[rightone]

don't know how your study refers to winter wheat grazing, but a LOT of cattle graze wheat in the S / SW mid Nov thru June.

Keep in mind a fair amount of operators take the graze out option every year vs combining.

For feedlots, wheat goes 10% farther than equal corn bu.

Upper limits for rations is 40% wheat total.

Might be as much or more wheat fed in the Pacific NW as comped to other areas.

$230 p ton millrun wheat in Portland is plenty cheap feed as comped to other products.

Even in the Midwestern cornbelt there's a pile of cattle feeders who grow corn and feed some sileage.

However a lot of those feed NO corn grain, and have not for 3 to 4 years now.

Granted ddgs / wdgs filled a bunch of the corn use.

However, once folks get used to feeding alternatives of any type, they are very likey to keep using alternative feeds.

That simple.

ddgs or wdgs get to high, they'll feed something else.

Just takes a good feed broker to save most the freight too.

[Canuck_2]

Don't know about 'cows' but a grain buyer that I deal with says there has been no let up in demand for wheat at local feed mills for the last 2-3 years.

He says they found out how to use wheat in chicken and swine rations and they like it.

Mostly soft red winter wheat grown in these parts and a lot of it feeds livestock not people.

[Palouser]

... to cattle. Britain doesn't grow that much wheat for miling. It's mainly feed - and cattle too.