When it comes to a mineral supplement people tend to focus only on either spring or fall. During these times of the year, cattle go through their highest demands. But just because that is the case doesn’t mean that you should neglect your cows’ mineral needs during the rest of the year.
With summer being the breeding season for most people making sure that your cattle are meeting their mineral requirements is important here too. Studies have shown that cattle that are deficient in minerals are less likely to breed back on time, or at all. So don’t you think it is important that their needs are met?
Summer is what you may call a “transitioning” period. Grasses during this time are starting to mature and move into their seeding stage. As they mature their nutritional value also decreases. As I mentioned it also being breeding season your cow’s nutritional needs are increasing during this time.
So how can you make the most impact with your mineral supplementation? Here are 3 tips that you can follow:
Tip #1: Make sure you are feeding the right types of cattle mineral this summer
If you are not providing the right kind of mineral supplementation or not in the right amounts you could be losing money. This is where knowing what kinds of minerals your forages are providing is important. As with providing any kind of supplementation, the key is to only “fill in the gaps”.
Since we are dealing with different types of forages in different soil types you really can’t find a one-size-fits-all type of solution here. Even with the same types of environments things such as rainfall, grazing patterns, and fertilization can also affect mineral output. Because you are dealing with many different environmental factors you won’t be able to provide all needed nutrients naturally. A study performed by North Dakota State along with South Dakota State found called Mineral Nutrition for Livestock Producers found that every pasture was deficient in at least 1 mineral.
What kinds of minerals are lacking?
A common mineral that is lacking during this time of year is Phosphorus. This mineral is important for growth as well as milk production and fertility. Common symptoms of a deficiency are breeding problems, like reduced conception rates, and reduced average daily gains. You will typically want to supplement this year-round since demand is high during spring calving to breeding season. Once you get past breeding season you will want to continue supplementing because levels in forage decrease as they mature.
In order to know what is being provided at your place, you should have your forages tested. Also, since minerals are also provided by water and other supplements you should have those tested too. Because we can deal with different types of scenarios from one year to the next it would probably be a good idea to test these multiple years in a row so you can know what the average is for your place.
Once you know what it is that you need to provide there are a couple of options that you can go with: one-free-choice mineral or two-free-choice mineral. The one-free-choice-mineral option is where you provide only one type of mineral throughout the entire year. While this may seem to be the easier option on paper it is usually not the best option. You will need to make adjustments based on changing conditions throughout the year. So the two, or more, would actually be the better option honestly.
Tip#2: Make sure your cattle get enough
Ok, so now we have determined what minerals you are needing to provide we can move on to feeding it to them. Simply providing mineral supplements is not enough if not all of your cattle are consuming enough. This part may take a little trial and error to find the sweet spot that you are looking for.
When planning out how to provide a mineral supplement you will need to decide the quantity of what is being put out in your pasture. A good rule of thumb is that you want 1 feeding station for every 20-25 head of cattle. I will say that this is not a hard and fast rule so you may have to make adjustments based on your needs.
Where to put the cattle mineral
A supplement does you no good if your cattle cannot find it. Another step is that you will need to place the feeding station near where cattle typically are. Typically you will be looking at areas that are near a water source, such as a trough or stock tank.
Once they are starting to eat it you will need to monitor the consumption rate. You can figure this out by taking the total amount that is consumed and dividing it by the number of head. Once you have that figured out compare it to the conception rate on the feed tag. If it is too much or too little you will need to move the feeding station to get the correct amount.
Now that your animals are eating the mineral that you are providing good enough you can now use it to better utilize your pastures. You can move the station to parts of the pasture that are not being grazed as much in order to distribute grazing better. I talk about how to do this in a previous article here.
Tip#3 Make sure your cattle are getting the right kind
As you may have guessed not all minerals are created equal. Some may be cheaper. have better absorption and things like that. It is recommended that you do your homework in this area to see what will work best for you.
You will have to put pen to paper to see what kind will work best for your budget and your cattle. The delicate balance between absorbability and price will be a delicate balance that you will need to find. I do not recommend that you go with just the “cheapest” option because that will only end up costing you in the end.
What is absorbability you ask? Well, absorbability is what determines how much of the mineral that is consumed is actually absorbed by the cow. There are a few factors that can affect this, such as the source of the mineral as well as what minerals are provided.
When we talk about the mineral “source” there are generally 2 types: Organic and inorganic. Organic has better absorbability than inorganic but inorganic will be cheaper. Reading the label on your bag of minerals will tell you just where the mineral comes from. Organic minerals will usually have sulfates or chlorides in the name whereas Inorganic will usually be an oxide.
If you are not completely sure which one to go with there is help. I recommend that you talk with a nutritionist to determine what will work best for you. Remember supplementing is an investment in your operation. So you want to do it where you will get the most return on that investment.