Feed & Nutrition

How good is the mineral supplementation program for your ranch? Are there financial benefits that can be gained with a good mineral program? Will an off-the-shelf mineral product satisfy the nutritional demands of your cow herd?

Just like a business that’s only as good as the people and business plan behind it, the same goes for feed formulations and a person’s ability to deliver it to the bunk.

The problem has lots of names: grain overload, founder, laminitis, acute indigestion, acidosis. Some people expand that last term to “rumen acidosis” or “lactic acid acidosis.”

Trace mineral supplementation is imperative for profitable cattle production. Unfortunately, this single aspect of production is complicated by the overwhelming variety of mineral sources, product offerings and formulation strategies available, so livestock research has produced conflicting results.

Why do cows need the right nutrition at the right time? This question was addressed by Dr. Lee Dickerson of Purina during last year’s Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville. This article is taken from Dickerson’s presentation.

As we continue into the winter feeding months, cow-calf producers have additional opportunities to impact their bottom line. Winter feeding costs represent the single largest cost to cattlemen, typically representing 55 to 80 percent of total costs for their cow herd.