Feed & Nutrition

Since the advent of the ethanol boom in the Upper Midwest, distillers grains (also known simply as distillers) have become a staple ingredient in cattle rations. Known to enhance both ration palatability and animal performance, distillers are a natural fit for all classes of cattle, from feedlot to cow-calf production.

On this planet, bacteria outnumber every other type of living organism. Researchers estimate the total number of bacteria at any moment in time ranges in the millions of trillions of trillions. (That’s 30 zeros.)

Feed efficiency is highly heritable and can be measured with residual feed intake (RFI). Dr. Randall Raymond, director of research and veterinary services at Simplot Livestock, says most breeders want to make cattle more efficient using less inputs.

Make sure you get more than you spend. This seems like an incredibly basic principle – and, in fact, it is. Stated in a different way, it is also one of the foundational principles of profit maximization in economic theory.

Urea remains one of the most widely used yet mysterious and misunderstood options for beef production. How can we supplement cattle diets with the same product we use to fertilize crops?