Sulfur for cattle tends to be a bit of a dividing subject for most producers. When it comes to this subject it generates a love/hate relationship with cattlemen. There are ones who love them as well as swear by them, then there are others who feel they are a waste of money.
The ones that love them say that it helps with external parasite control. While putting sulfur powder has been shown to help in that area there is no, as far as I’m aware. no evidence that the block does that.
As with everything there are pros and cons to using them. While there is some benefit to feeding sulfur one must be careful. You need to weigh the options yourself and decide if it could be something that will work for you.
Breeding season puts a lot of demands on cows. During this time she is expected to provide adequate nutrition for her calf while her body recovers from giving birth. Then she is expected to get back into estrus just before she is bred again. All of this is expected to occur within 90 days after calving to maintain a yearly calving interval.
Drought is a normal part of the livestock production cycle. Dealing with dry periods and decreased feed supplies should be part of an overall management plan. The time to be making a decision on this is not when all of the hay is gone.
A protein tub is a very good way to provide extra nutrition when needed. One benefit is that once you have placed it in the pasture you don’t need to check it every day. This is helpful for those that may have a job back in town.
Using a mineral supplement is one of the most important yet overlooked parts of cattle management. Sure, we all are concerned with the amount of protein or energy they are getting but what about meeting their mineral needs?
Providing feed supplements to cattle grazing in certain areas is pretty common and for good reason. Cattle are often not able to get enough nutrients from just rangelands to meet their nutritional requirements. Producers have many choices when it comes to feeding supplements.
When it comes to ruminant nutrition most people think of things like crude protein, energy, and possibly mineral content. Although these factors are important, roughage intake can often be overlooked. A minimum amount of roughage is important to keep the rumen functioning as it should.
