Providing a feed supplement to cattle that are grazing in certain areas is pretty common and for good reason. Cattle are often not able to get enough from just rangelands to meet their nutritional requirements. Producers have many choices when it comes to feeding supplements. But it is best to be careful when deciding what supplements to use.
Feed costs are the largest on-farm expense that producers have 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, this does not mean that we should try to cut out every expenditure that we can.
The problem with only looking at reducing costs is that it will affect your overall performance. What you want to do is 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 that you can go about getting the most “bang for your buck” when it comes to using the feed.
Look at your forages
Your forage production is the groundwork for any plan involving your operation. It is the very foundation that you will use to build a successful cattle operation. If you do not have it on lock anything else that you do will not be as efficient as it can be.
There are many different ways that you can provide forages to your cattle such as grazing, haymaking, or even silage making. Whichever way you use it is best to have your forages tested. If you have them tested, you will be able to determine their nutritional value. There are many different factors that can impact the nutrient content so it is a good idea to do forage testing over multiple years. This will give you a good ballpark figure to work with when planning your cattle feed supplement needs.
Visual assessment
Though it will not tell you the exact amount that is provided a visual assessment can be a useful tool. There are many visual factors that can assist you in evaluating the nutrient value of your forages:
- Maturity: The stage of growth is the largest factor in determining nutrient content. The plant’s stage of maturity can be determined by assessing the bloom or bud stage and stem size. More abundant blooms or mature seed heads, fewer buds, and larger woody stems indicate more mature forage.
Courtesy of the Beef Cattle Research Council
- Leafiness: About 2/3 of the protein in forage is in the leaves. The ratio of leaves to stems is more important with legume forages than with grass forages.
- Color: Forages that are not bright green may be damaged. Yellowing can indicate overly mature forages.
The key factor here is that in order to be cost-effective your feed supplements should complement your forages and not substitute them. There is a big difference between supplemental feeding and substitution feeding. Hi-Pro feeds has a good video on how to tell the protein content of forages from how they look.
Stage of cattle production
The stage of production that your cattle are in will determine what their nutritional needs will be. A mature cow with no calf will require less than one that has a nursing calf. So it is important to take this into consideration when deciding on your cattle feed supplement plan.
The cow’s body weight is one of the most important factors being the driver of dry matter intake. As the body weight changes so do the nutrient requirements. If the correct body weight is not used in determining nutrient requirements then cattle can be over-or undernourished.
Results from a study done in Nebraska found that when feed supply is limited or environmental stress is present moderate-size cows were more efficient than larger ones. The thing to remember is as the animal gets larger then the amount needing to be consumed to meet its needs will also go up.
Choose your cattle feed supplement plan
Now that you know what nutrients your forages provide and what your cattle’s needs are it is now time to choose what feed supplements to go with. There are many different types of supplements available to producers. It is important to pick one that meets the nutrient requirements of the herd at the most economical price. Also in order to be most cost-effective begin providing a supplement when you first notice that your forages may be lacking. If you wait too long it will cost you more to get the cattle back up to where they need to be.
When looking at which supplement to use you will need to compare them correctly. There are some feeds that are cheaper but in reality, it will require more of it to provide the same amount as another. One way that you can get a better comparison is by looking at the cost per pound of what you are selecting. For example, let us say that you are looking for a protein supplement. What you will do is multiply the Crude Protein percent by 2000lbs which will give you the amount of protein per ton. Then you will divide that by what the feed will cost per ton to give what the cost will be per pound.
Mineral vitamin needs
A good first step in a supplement plan is to provide a good mineral supplement to your cattle year-round. Mineral deficiencies can reduce growth, body condition score, and pregnancy rate. It is a good idea to provide this year-round because by the time a deficiency is visible your cattle are already severely deficient. I go into more detail about the importance of minerals in a previous post “What you don’t know about your mineral can hurt”.
Providing free-choice access to a mineral supplement that contains calcium, salt, phosphorus, and trace minerals is recommended. The consumption of this supplement can vary across different factors like pasture, seasons, and cattle but the average consumption is 2oz per head per day. It may be a good idea to have multiple mineral feeders in order to give the more timid cattle a chance to get what they need.
Protein supplementation
Depending on the condition of your forages supplementing for protein may be the next priority that you should consider. Supplementing with protein can increase both forage intake and digestibility when forages lack protein. A fairly good indicator of a protein supplement is having a high Crude Protein % such as 20-48%. This can be things like range cubes which usually are 20%. Another choice is soybean meal which will reach the 48% mark.
Typically you want to provide a protein supplement if the CP of your forages drops below 7% for dry cows. Also, the percentage needed for your particular production stage. If the forage diet contains less than that percent feeding a protein supplement generally improves the energy and protein status of cattle.
Energy supplementation
The forages may not provide enough energy for your needs. When energy intake is limiting performance, an energy supplement may be the answer. An indicator of an energy supplement is containing low crude protein and high energy or “total digestible nutrients”. A good option for an energy supplement is your grains. Corn and milo are the most common that are fed but oats, wheat, and barley are also suitable.
The cost of energy supplements, like those providing protein, will depend on the supplement along with quantities purchased and labor. It is a good idea to select an energy supplement that has a low cost/lb of TDN consumed so as not to break the bank.
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