Feed & Nutrition

Many beef producers may need a plan B when it comes to winter forages due to dry conditions, says Dr. Jason Banta, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service beef cattle specialist, Overton.

Nitrates in forages can sometimes be a problem for cattle, says Rachel Endecott, extension beef cattle specialist, Montana State University. All plants contain nitrates, but they utilize it during normal metabolism and growth.

Where I come from, most people feed hay during the winter. Lots and lots of hay. Feeding hay requires harvesting it or buying and increasing feed costs to the point of loss of profitability in many cases.

Most of us know using a pour-on product requires safety measures; obviously, we aren’t strapping on our backpack of pour-on, raising our arms in the air and liberally drenching everything around us.

How many of you consider cottonseed hulls (CSH) to be a good roughage source for mixed livestock diets? Are you crazy or have you just not read the nutrient and digestibility analysis of CSH?

A beef producer’s ultimate goal is to find a beneficial, cost-effective feed that will meet the needs of their herd. That’s why discovering a feed that is economically and nutritionally sound is a win for any operation.