47 



The differences among the various practices in cost of winter feed per 

 cow -unit are relatively small. Perhaps a result more important to the ranch 

 operator is that the various practices will permit him to produce various 

 quantities of feed and thereby potentially vary numbers of cow -units in winter. 

 In the long run, the average ranch operator must balance his winter feed 

 (that produced, purchased, and sold) with the spring, summer, and fall 

 forage he has available. Therefore, an operator who has excess winter feed, 

 which he usually sells, is interested only in practices that will produce 

 additional feed at less than the price he receives for his hay when it is sold. 

 Other operators who have shortages of winter feed, but who normally can 

 buy sufficient quantities of feed nearby, are interested only in those practices 

 that will produce additional feed at less than the cost of buying it. Operators 

 short of winter relative to summer feed and who have access to limited 

 supplies of purchased feed, may be more interested in increasing the number 

 of cow -units their meadows will "feed" during the winter. 



Certain necessary but minor overhead feed requirements were not in- 

 cluded in table 17. For example, no feed for bulls or horses was included. 

 While these are relatively minor overhead feed requirements, ranchers 

 must take them into account. 



APPENDIX 



GUIDE FOR DETERMINING RATE OF APPLICATION OF NITROGEN 

 FERTILIZER TO PRODUCE HAY 



As indicated in the analysis of feed for the base herd of cattle, the average 

 Colorado meadow that is amenable to nitrogen application can utilize pro- 

 fitably approximately 50 pounds of available nitrogen. Because very few 

 meadows are average, a relatively simple method of determining the approx- 

 imate "most profitable rate" is presented. 



To determine the most profitable rate, a rancher needs to know three 

 things : 



1. The nature of the nitrogen response curve for the 

 meadow or meadow type in the area. This can be 

 obtained by ranchers working with their county 

 agents, or the ranchers can conduct their own 

 nitrogen fertilizer trials; 



2. The cost per pound of available nitrogen applied. 

 This can be found by calculating the price of 

 available nitrogen and adding to this the esti- 



