Hard to believe that we are already in September; summer is over, temperatures are getting cooler (somewhat) and the days are getting shorter. With this time of year most people are focused on weaning and getting their cows rebred for next year’s calf crop. It is also important to have a supplement program in place during this time as well.
Tag: nutrition (Page 7 of 7)
With fall and cooler weather right around the corner it is important to give your cows their best chance going into winter. As with other seasons a cow’s nutrition requirements are different during this time of year. Here are some things you can do to help your cows going into the later part of the year:
With weaning right around the corner for most operations it is a good time to define what you can do to help being successful at weaning. Weaning is one of the most important times because it shows how successful the producer was all year. It shows if all those late nights pulling calves or working in the hot summer sun was worth it. Here are 4 steps you can take to determine if it was a successful year.
No matter what type of operation you are, whether cow/calf or stocker, utilizing your pasture as efficiently as possible is critical. Correct pasture management is necessary to ensure that pounds produced will overcome your costs. One way to boast grazing efficiency is to achieve better grazing distribution.
How confident are you that your animals are getting their fair share? Many producers wonder if they are feeding enough to get any benefit from their animals. With the social structure of the herd some more timid animals may not be able to consume enough to get any benefit. The space each animal has to eat can play a factor. When cows are given 36″ of trough space per cow all were able to eat. But giving them too much space could cause the opposite effect. When individual trough space was increased to 71″ more fighting took place.
Any trip to the local feed store and you will many different types to feed your animals: meal, pellet, block, or textured. With many different choices deciding what the “best” feed is depends on many different factors. What type of livestock are you feeding? Will there be more than one species of animal being fed? The production goals of those animals? The equipment you have available? What is the topography of the pasture? In truth any of those forms can work for you. You may even know people who use the different types, and each type has it’s pros and cons.
Whether or not to use creep feed is a question that many producers ask themselves. There are many advantages as well as disadvantages so producers must assess financial variables with production goals to determine if it is a valuable option for them. Creep feeding has been shown to be beneficial when high quality pastures is either inadequate or not available. Here are 3 factors to consider when making your decision:
Continue reading
A common occurrence during the first part of spring is when the grass starts turning green ranchers turn the cows out. This time of year should be approached with caution because early spring grass could be limited on growth or volume. When it is like that your cows can use more protein and energy than they’ll take in.
When it comes to your cow’s nutritional needs protein, energy, and minerals are usually first on the list. However ruminants also need roughage in their diets as well. A minimum level of roughage is necessary in order to keep their rumen working like it should.