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Hay testing is always valuable, but it is especially helpful when
using crop residues and developing diets to stretch limited hay
supplies. Before sending a sample in for analysis, it is always good to
visit with a nutritionist to see what labs they recommend and what tests
would be most appropriate for the sample being analyzed.
The keystone to any cow-calf producer or stocker operator in the past was having cattle to graze forages. Allowing cattle to graze pastures and crop fields has traditionally been the cheapest way to feed and maintain these animals.
Cattle will gain weight when nutrient intake meets metabolic requirements for a targeted average daily gain (ADG). This is true regardless of the feeding method, whether in a feedyard with grain and roughage or in a pasture with forage only.
Forty years ago, it was far less common to provide a complete mineral supplement, yet cattle survived. True, they got by, but is “getting by” good enough?
It’s no secret that agricultural costs climbed through 2021. Nitrogen is twice as expensive as it was last year, natural gas is about 50% more expensive than this time last year and the price of gasoline more than doubled as well.
During any given production year on the ranch, cows and heifers are faced with nutritional and environmental stressors. They have periods of high and low nutritional demands.
Beef cattle have been supplemented fat for years. The primary reason being that supplemental fats are a concentrated source of energy containing nearly two to three times the net energy of cereal grains.
Well begun is half done. This old idiom could be restated, “A calf well started is half finished.” If done well, a receiving program sets cattle up for a successful closeout. However, if done poorly, it can set cattle back so there is no catching up.
Methane emissions from ruminants do play a factor in a warming planet. But there are feeding options being researched that could help reduce that impact.
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