Providing a feed supplement to cattle that are grazing in certain areas is expected, and for good reason. Cattle often cannot get enough from just rangelands to meet their nutritional requirements. Producers have many choices when it comes to feeding supplements. However, it is best to be careful when deciding what supplements to use.
Food costs are producers’ most considerable on-farm expense during the year. According to Oklahoma State, nearly 40% of total operating costs are associated with nutrition. If you are experiencing any type of drought conditions, then this expense can be even higher. However, we should still try to cut out every expenditure we can.
The problem with only looking at reducing costs is that it will affect your overall performance. You want to look at them more like investments and try to get the most return possible. It is more important to be efficient than just to be the cheapest. Here are some ways to obtain the most “bang for your buck” when it comes to using the feed.
Salt, along with other minerals, is necessary to sustain life in cattle. Much like with humans, they are essential building blocks for living beings to perform at their best. It is needed for the body to perform even the most basic of functions.
Roughages are an essential but often overlooked part of a cow’s diet. Most of the time, people only focus on things like crude protein, energy, and possibly even mineral content. While those are vital for the overall production of cattle, roughages play just as important a role. Consuming a certain amount of roughage is essential to keep the rumen functioning, thus allowing the digestion of things like protein, energy, and minerals.
Creep feeding can be an excellent tool for improving the overall weaning weight of your calves. Thus, it can be a good management and economical option for improving your bottom line.
Salt blocks are available to producers in a variety of different colors. This variety is something any trip to your local feed store can tell you. Each color represents different situations in which they are needed.
A feed tag is a very informative but often overlooked item on a commercially produced feed. Other than looking at the Crude protein or the energy content, not many people really look at them. With some of the confusing numbers and such listed on them, it is understandable how that can happen.
Colostrum is one of, if not the most critical thing for newborn calves. It lays the very foundation for their health and well-being throughout the remainder of their life. Through the dam, the calf takes in all the antibodies needed to fight off disease. But what if they are not able to get it from their mother?
Producers tend to have a love/hate relationship regarding supplements. On the one hand, they love how it improves the performance of their cattle, but on the other hand, they hate that it adds to their expenses. It is for this reason that producers tend only to feed supplements if they absolutely have to.
Like any other business, cattle producers are always looking for ways to reduce costs. As any producer will tell you, there is no more significant expense than feed costs. A management tool used quite often to regulate feed intake is using salt. Though it can have some impact, controlling feed intake with salt is not precise and will require some tinkering in order to get it right.
Formulating a ration for cattle is critical to any successful beef operation. There are times when forages alone will not supply what the cows need for the stage they are in. When it comes that time, you will need to provide a supplement that will fill in the gaps to keep them producing.
