Salt, along with other minerals, are necessary to sustain life in cows. Much like humans they are the essential building blocks for a living being to perform at best.
The interesting thing about salt is that cattle have a natural “urge” for it. This means that unlike the other minerals they will actually seek it out. If they can not find it then they will try to ingest it from other sources, such as tree bark, dirt, and even urine.
As I mentioned earlier salt is very important for the overall function of a cow. Along with aiding with milk production it will assist with other functions. These functions are things like reproduction, blood flow and even sweating, which I think that one should be obvious.
Creep feeding can be a very useful tool for producers with young calves. This will improve both your bottom line and your overall profitability.
Nutrition management of your cow herd is very important during late pregnancy and early lactation. What happens during this time can not only affect your current calf crop but your future one as well. Having the cow’s nutrition needs met can reduce dystocia for the cow and improve the overall performance of the calf.
Producers tend to have a love/hate relationship when it comes to supplements. On the one hand they love how it improves the performance of their cattle but on the other they hate that it adds to their expenses. It is for this reason that producers tend to not feed supplements unless they absolutely have to.
Though just one part, minerals are important to your cattle. The proper balance of protein, energy, and minerals is needed for your livestock to perform at their best. Putting out a lot of mineral will not do you any good if the other areas are lacking. Selecting the right mineral program is essential for the production of your cattle.
Beef calf producers are always on the look for ways that they can improve their operation and their bottom line. They are always searching for ways to both improve their calf crop’s well being as well as their revenue. Creep feeding their calves to increase weaning weight is one strategy that has been used.
In order to produce beef efficiently cattle producers know it is important what you feed your cows. A nutritionally balanced diet will allow the cattle to perform at their best. Sometimes forages alone are not gonna meet the demands of your herd, sometimes you will need to feed a supplement.
As with most of the country we had a fairly wet winter here in Texas. The grass has begun to grow better than it has for a few years. It may be tempting to turn the cows out on what looks like a lush green field. Though that may not be the smart thing to do. With a rapidly growing forage the chance of grass tetany is also very high.
If you were to ask any producer about which nutrients they are concerned with chances are they would tell you protein, energy, and minerals. Now while these are important there is another that is just as important: water. Ensuring that cattle have an adequate amount of clean water is necessary for them to function.
Imagine an ideal scenario: just one type of mineral would solve all of your problems. You could just put it out, forget it and your cows would be at the peak of health.
