Traditionally, grazed forages provide beef cows the majority of their nutrients during the spring and summer months. However, during droughts when forage production stops, alternative feeds and feeding programs need to be used utilized until forages are growing again. When deciding on and alternative feeding program there are several options to consider. The goal is to get the cows re-bred, maintain pounds produced per cow, and minimize feed cost per pound of calf sold. Daily feed costs are going to increase during a drought. Options to consider are feed availability, equipment needs and storage. The ideal alternative feeding program will meet the cows’ requirements as close to normal pasture costs as possible. Keeping cows in good body condition is very important for getting them re-bred. When body condition scores drop below 4, reproduction efficiency drops resulting in more open cows, longer calving intervals and less value in calf crop due to younger, lighter calves next year. In most herds, weaning weight drops 45-60 pounds for each heat cycle the cow does not calve. Based on $1.25/lb calf prices, the calf’s value will decrease $60.00 for each heat period the cow is not bred. In addition, fetal programming information shows that starving cows or “roughing them through” the drought will have lifetime lasting effects on the developing the fetus. We have to feed these cows to maintain body condition and production.

As forage availability becomes more limited, it may be necessary to cull some of the older or lower producing cows. Cows that are least likely to make a profit or will produce the fewest calves once the drought is over should be culled. Culling cows early will enable the ranch to concentrate on more intensive management strategies and maintain the productive cows though out the drought.

As forages become limiting, the first strategy to reduce forage consumption is to wean the calves. This strategy will decrease the nutrient requirements for the cows, help conserve cow body condition, and reduce forage demand. When early weaning (calves less than 150 days of age) it is important to provide access to a palatable high quality starter. Accuration Starter LW and SteakMaker IM Starter LW are designed to get young calves on feed quickly, reduce health issues and allow them to grow at their genetic potential. Once calves are started on feed and over the stresses of weaning, the calves should be moved to the one of the Accuration/Cattle Limiter or Grow Gest feeds along with small amounts of forages. If no forages are available then the calves should be fed Impact Beef Grower or the IM Finisher diets.

Once the calves are weaned, reducing cow requirements as much as possible, we need to look at forage availability and quality. If adequate amounts of low quality forage are available, choosing the correct supplement is critical. The free choice IM Technology products including Accuration Range 33, Accuration Cattle Limiters, Accuration Forage Extender, Sup-R-Blocks, Sup-R-Lix, RangeLand Ration Manager, or RangeLand and Purina Lix low moisture blocks can all be used to supplement low quality forages. These supplements are designed to increase forage utilization and digestibility to allow the cows to get more nutrients from the low quality forages. They will enable cows to maintain body condition on low quality forages in a convenient, cost effective manner. However, care must be taken to ensure there is adequate forage available for these products.

If forage is not available or is to be fed in limited supply, a different feeding strategy must be used. The most common method of getting a cow herd through a period of very limited forage availability is to hand feed energy supplements. Lower protein cow cubes fed at 7 to 10 pounds is a common method to get cows through a drought period in herds with few feeding facilities. In addition, if feeding facilities are available high energy grain mixes can also be used. For example cracked corn can be fed at 0.5 to 1.0% of body weight along with1-2 pounds of protein supplement (>30% CP) and hay at roughly 0.5% of body weight. Use of STEAKMAKER 40-20 R 400 or Cattle Finisher 40 which contain protein from NPN sources in addition to Rumensin to fortify grain-based rations will help increase rumen efficiency of limit-fed cows. When starting a limit feeding program the cows need to be stepped up over a minimum of one week and stay on the same feed delivery schedule every day, just like feedlot cattle. If no forages are available, producers can use stocker/grower or shipping conditioner/hay stretcher products along with a free choice mineral to try and keep the cows in body condition. When corn is priced at $7.00 per bushel, 40% protein supplement around $350/ton and hay at $150 per ton, a limit-fed diet would be priced around $2.15 per cow/day. This will increase feed costs over a 4-month period around $200 per cow over that of a traditional grazing program with free choice mineral.

If no forages are available, the use of commodity feeds can also help to reduce feeding costs during a drought. The following feedstuffs can be used to decrease the dependency on forages and can be considered depending on local availability.

Cottonseed Hulls: Cottonseed hulls have been used as an excellent alternative to feeding hay in many parts of the country. Unlike most by-products they can be used as the only source of roughage.  Cottonseed hulls are low in protein (3.5%), but are equal in energy to late cut hay.

Soybean hulls: The crude protein in soybean hulls ranges from 10 to 16 percent. They are an excellent energy source in the form of highly digestible fiber.

Wheat middlings: Midds are a good source of protein (18%) and energy. The energy available in middlings is in the form of both starch and highly digestible fiber. Because of the starch in midds, it is not a good idea to feed midds without any additional roughage.

Corn gluten feed: Corn gluten feed is high in protein (25%), with 2/3 of the protein being rumen degradable. When corn gluten feed is fed at 0.5 percent of body weight with forage, the energy value is equivalent to or greater than that of corn grain. Corn gluten feed is available in wet (30-60 percent dry matter) or dry form (90 percent dry matter). The dry form is preferred because it is easier to transport, handle and store for cow-calf operations. The wet form can mold and rot in 3-14 days, depending on temperature and storage conditions.

Corn Distillers grains: Distillers grains are high in digestible fiber, protein and energy. Like gluten feed, it is available in wet or dry forms, with dry being the preferred method due to storage limitations. It can be successfully added to cow diets to replace most of forage. However, because distiller’s grains are a product of a fermentation process, it is relatively low in degradable protein, so care must be taken to ensure rumen protein requirements are met.

When feeding cattle during a drought, here are a few items to keep in mind:

1. Lack of adequate water. During a drought be sure to watch natural water sources such as ponds and tanks, to be sure there is adequate quality water available.
2. Type and source of forage supplement is critical. If using low inclusion rate supplements, like IM Technology or low moisture blocks, make sure forage supplies are adequate. Remember, these types of feeds are designed to be forage supplements. If forage supply is limited, these products cannot work as designed.
3. Hay cut under moisture stress conditions, especially sorghum type hays, may contain high levels of nitrate and prussic acid. If in doubt, it would be good to test for nitrate before feeding such hays, especially before feeding large amounts. Producers who cut drought corn or sorghum for hay are encouraged to check nitrate levels before feeding. Be sure to take a good representative sample when sending to the laboratory for analysis.
4. Cattle grazing short pasture are more likely to consume toxic plants. Talk to your local extension agent or forage specialist for toxic plant potential in your area.
5. Low diet digestibility and reduced intake may result when cattle receive inadequate protein (less than 7% to 8% CP in total diet) from low quality forage such as drought pasture or forage substitutes such as peanut hulls, straws or gin trash.
6. Feed only the most productive cows in the herd. When forages are limited and feed costs increase, feeding fewer more productive cows is a sound economic strategy.

When evaluating any alternative feeds proper nutrient balance is important. For example, many byproducts are high in phosphorus and care should be taken to ensure that the mineral needs are met as well as properly balanced in the total diet. Consult your Land O’ Lakes Purina Feed representative for help in balancing rations and considering the best solution for your feeding program.
Ted Perry, Beef Nutritionist
Land O Lakes Purina Feed
Example Rations for Drought Feeding

Now is the time to map out your fly control program. Horn flies normally begin showing up in spring when average daily temperatures reach 65º F for a period of two weeks.  They remain a nuisance until cool weather in late fall or early winter.  Here are four quick tips to help you develop an integrated management program for controlling horn flies in your cattle enterprise:

1. Clean and remove fly breeding media in confined areas.
2. Use premise sprays to kill flies in shelter and shade areas.
3. Use pour-on, spray-on, or rub-on insecticides, insecticide dusts, or ear tags to control adult flies on animals.
4. Use feed or supplemental mineral products containing an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) such as Altosid® (brand name for methoprene).  This type of feed additive passes through an animal’s digestive system relatively unchanged.  It remains effective in the manure, where it stops development of immature horn flies before they emerge as adult flies.

Altosid is available in select Purina products with the MTH designation.

These products are available as both free-choice minerals and Cattle Chow products.

Feed and supplemental mineral products that contain Altosid work best if they are fed in spring prior to the appearance of flies and continued until cold weather restricts fly activity in late fall.

Source:  Purina Mills

Good nutrition management is a key to reproductive efficiency in heifers.  Animal scientists at the university of Georgia Cooperative extension Service say heifers must be bred to calve at two years of age, and it is critical that they reach 65 percent of estimated mature weight prior to breeding.1  Nutrition management during this development period can have a great impact on lifetime productivity.

Because heifers require a higher quality diet, they must be fed separate from the mature cow herd.  the Georgia animal scientists offer these additional thoughts about proper nutrition for heifer development:

Hay
Heifers are often developed using hay-based diets, but because grass hay will not provide enough energy for them to gain at optimal rates, their diets need to be supplemented with grains, by-product feeds, and/or high quality winter annual pasture.  Feeding hay that is greater than 12 percent protein will require an energy supplement that is at least 9 percent or higher in crude protein.  High quality hay fed with approximately 0.75 to 1 percent body weight of a dry grain supplement should provide acceptable gains.  Because hay quality has such a dramatic impact on daily gains, it should be tested for nutrient content prior to feeding.

Winter annual Pastures
Winter annual pastures such as wheat, rye, oats, and ryegrass can provide sufficient nutrients for developing heifers with only a mineral supplement required.  Begin supplementation as soon as grazing becomes limited.  High levels of protein in winter annual forages can reduce reproductive efficiency.  To counter this, cows can be limit-grazed for only a few hours each day; then supplemented with hay.
Corn silage
Corn silage may need a protein supplement to provide adequate gains for heifers.  Commonly used feeds to supply additional protein are soybean meal, cottonseed meal, commercial supplements or a high protein by-product feed.

Limit Fed grain/by-Products
Typical grain-based diets can be limit-fed to develop replacement heifers, but be cautious because heifers will gain too rapidly if allowed free-choice access to a grain-based diet without ingredients to control intake. Limit-fed diets generally consist of 80 percent concentrate, including grain, by-product feeds, and protein supplements.  The remainder consists of a roughage source and a mineral supplement.

Accuration Cattle Limiters, with intake modifying technology to control intake, are an excellent choice to develop heifers, and to get first-calf heifers re-bred.

IonoPHores
Ionophores have been shown to reduce age at puberty in replacement heifers by 14 to 28 days.  Heifers that reach puberty earlier are more likely to breed early in the breeding season and continue producing a calf every 12 months.

In most herds, first-calf heifers are the most difficult group to get re-bred. Supplementing to improve body condition scores (BCS) for acceptable pregnancy rates may be necessary.  First-calf heifers with a BCS of four at breeding will have pregnancy rates of approximately 50 percent, while those with a BCS of six will have about a 90 percent pregnancy rate.
Even in well-developed heifers, body weight and condition can be rapidly lost after calving.  To maintain a high re-breeding rate, you can supplement existing forages or hay, graze winter annual pasture, or early wean the calf.

The total best nutritional solution for your replacement heifers is the culmination of more than 80 years of Purina research.  Purina has developed two product lines to specifically meet the needs of your heifers. You can select from either Controlled Intake Systems with IM Intake Modifyingtechnology® or hand-fed 4-Square® Stocker/Grower Chow products.

Call our store to discuss how we can help you develop the proper nutrition program for your situation and production goals.

Source:  Purina Cattle

Body condition scores (BCS) are an excellent means of monitoring the effectiveness of your beef-cow-nutrition program. Here are 10 management tips to help ensure your cows are at a target BCS of 6.0 by calving:

• Late summer – Evaluate your cows while still on grass. If they score thin to borderline moderate during this time and forage availability is still sufficient, provide a balanced protein and energy supplement to improve forage intake and increase forage digestibility.
• Weaning season – Sort cows by body condition and age. Feed according to target body condition scores desired by calving.
• Late lactation (2 months prior to weaning) – Depending upon current forage availability, supplementation and/or a modified weaning strategy may be necessary. Wean thin cows.
• Weaning – Pay particular attention to young cows weaning their first calf and cows beyond their prime age. They are most likely to be thin at this time.
• 100 days before calving-This is the last opportunity to gain body condition and is a good time to separate thin cows from cows in good condition and increase feed to thin cows.
• Calving – Thin cows are an indication that a change in the feeding program is needed.
• Breeding season – If cows are thin, additional supplementation and/or implementation of an early weaning strategy may be necessary.
• Feedstuffs – Always ensure availability of quality feedstuffs containing ample nutrient levels to meet elevated nutrient requirements of cows during important production periods.
• BCS fluctuation – Be aware that cow body condition ebbs and flows over time in relation to productivity and climatic conditions. Try to accurately evaluate the status of your cows’ BCS in relation to future levels necessary for key production periods.
• Supplements – Use supplement programs which correct for nutritional deficiencies and also complement and improve utilization of the base forage.

There are unfortunately many examples to draw upon from our history, especially during wartime, of maternal nutritional deprivation and the long term effects on
the lives of their children, and their children’s children. The list includes: diabetes; hypertension; glucose intolerance; insulin resistance; renal failure; cardiovascular
disease; and hyperlipidemia.

The word “Epigenetics” has emerged as “the idea that environmental factors (to include nutrition, weather, or any outside stressors on the genetic pool), which
cause the gene pool to behave differently even though the genes do not change”. These changes are permanent; last through life; and can be passed on to future
generations.

What about cattle? Our paradigm has been that we have primarily been concerned about the calf and cow after birth. However, the norm has been maternal hunger
during conception, where we actually plan for cows to loose weight at and following conception. This is generally due to energy/protein shortages at first forage green-up
when forages are limiting in volume; or during drought; or during winter periods of shortage. Maternal malnutrition may be the norm.

More and more research is validating that not only is the last 1/3rd of pregnancy important when over 2/3rd’s of calf growth occurs in utero, but the 1st and 2nd
trimester are equally important as numerous growth functions are occurring. These include: placenta development; organ development and growth, as well as muscle
cell initiation, development and proliferation. These needs must be added to our historical concerns for the cow to rebreed and the calf to grow post calving.

Looking at the reproductive and economic value of the entire life stage process must include not on the post calving but the pre calving need as well. Let’s evaluate the
need to have a cow in the right shape at calving and then work backwards to the importance of right or “sustained nutrition” from conception through weaning.
The Research data “hands down” suggests the value of having cows in a 6 body condition score at calving (Slide 2 – BCS 6 cow). Condition score 6 cows will come
back in heat quicker and breed quicker (Slide 3), and milk heavier resulting in increased weaning weight (Slide 4). Cows in a higher plane of nutrition will also
sustain peak milk production longer and producer more milk per day and per 210 cycle (Slide 5). Cows in a 6 score at calving stand sooner allowing the calf to
suck quicker receiving “first milk”, colostrum, with enhanced immunoglobulins availability for enhanced disease resistance. Bottomline, cows fed to meet their
nutrient requirements versus those restricted had 12% more calves weaned per cows exposed (Slide 7)!

Maternal nutrition in utero also programs the developing fetus. Maternal undernutrition has an effect on:

• The developing vascular system
• Reduces nutrition and oxygen to the fetus
• Fetal organogenesis
• Progeny structure, physiology, and structure
• Lung growth and function
• Response to respiratory challenge
• Skeletal cell muscle development

Effect of cow supplementation vs. no supplementation during the last trimester on heifer reproduction and calving indicate a substantial improvement not only in final
pregnancy rate but the number of subsequent calves that are then born to these 1st calf heifers in the 1st 21 days and reduced levels of assistance at birth (Slide 8). In
addition, the effect of cows on a winter program with and without supplementation in the last trimester indicates less steer calves treated if the cows were supplemented
and increased hot carcass weights, in the winter range supplemented group, and improved marbling in all supplemented groups as well as increased net return per
steer calf (Slide 9).

Land O’Lakes Purina Feed has been working on means of providing “Sustained Nutrition” for the cowherd for over 12 years, using Intake Modifying Technology.
This technology allows the cow to be supplemented 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. Intake of the supplement is directly correlated to forage
quality, forage quantity, and cow need. Slides 10 and 11 show increasing supplement intake from June to January and decreasing intake as we then move into the
spring and summer due to changing forage quality. Cow performance improved in both conception rate and weaning weights when the IM Technology product was
provided 24/7/365.

Slides 12-14, in a second ranching location, indicate when the IM Technology product was left out on a year round basis, providing Sustained Nutrition to the
cow herd versus placed out for 150 days of supplementation, that actual supplement intake was reduced, pregnancy rate increased, and weaning weights improved. The
final slide shows 18 pasture summary on another ranching location, over a 2 year period were the average intake per cow ranged from 1.36 lbs/hd/day in year 2 to
1.81 lbs/hd/day in year 1 during a drought. Cow body condition scores were at least 5.5 at bull turn-in averaging 86% to 91% with respective breed backs of 95.8% and
94.5%.

We sure don’t have all the answers but supplying “Sustained Nutrition” for the cow herd while controlling intake based on forage quality sure seems to make sense. As
was so appropriately said in a recent Beef Magazine Article, 2/24/2010, “They Are What Mama Eats”!

Doc:SUSTAINED NUTRITION FOR LIFETIME PERFORMANCE

One of the things beef producers dread most about the coming warm weather is the advent of troublesome horn flies.

These insects are annoying, to be sure.  But, they are more than just pests, they are really “obligate parasites,”  who must stay with –and live off of- their host in order to survive.  They feed on cattle by cutting through the skin and sucking blood.  This is not only painful and distressing for the animal, but also has a direct impact on body condition, and consequently, on the producer’s bottom line.

“Making blood is an expensive process,” according to Scott Boutilier, vice president of sales and marketing for Central Life Sciences (CLS) professional businesses.  “All that blood is lost body mass, weight, meat and muscle that could have been going on someone’s plate.”
As a result, Boutilier says, an estimated $800 million are lost each year to horn flies.
The gold standard in controlling these pests is S-Methoprene, the generic name for Altosid® IGR, which is registered to a subsidiary of CLS.

The product, originally developed in the late 1960’s for mosquito control, was registered by the EPA in 1975 as a cattle feed-through product.  Incorporated into cattle feed, Altosid passes through the animals without affecting them, remaining in manure to control horn flies.  It does this by mimicking a juvenile fly hormone that inhibits fly larvae from maturing.

“Methoprene by nature is very similar to juvenile insect hormones,” said Boutilier, who studied entomology, chemistry and insect physiology in undergraduate and graduate school.   “It’s very complex chemically but environmentally benign.  It breaks out into very simple compounds, so it doesn’t have negative effects on the environment.”

In fact, the EPA has determined that the use of methoprene is exempt from tolerance.  And, insects have not developed a resistance to Altosid, unlike many other insect control products that kill the adult.

“At the same time,” he explained, “the product is sensitive to sunlight, so delivery and formulation is critical to its performance.  And, you have to make sure you deliver the correct amount to achieve the right effect.”

As a result, CLS has created a variety of formulations, all very specific to their intended uses.  In the cattle market, for instance, they created a formula that will pass through and remain in manure.  The dosage is low enough that it affects horn flies, but doesn’t inhibit dung beetles’ ability to break down manure.  The dosage is typically about 1.1 mg per hundredweight of animal, per day.

Boutilier described the work Purina has done on consumption and intake management as “elegant”.  It’s a method they use in their Wind and Rain® Fly Control Mineral tubs, in which Altosid is incorporated.  Through taste and physical properties, the method actually controls how much the animal consumes, thereby keeping the nutrients at appropriate levels for the desired effect.

“They’ve made the product attractive, so that cattle will eat it, but only eat so much,” he explained.  “Then after a while, they will come back for more.  It’s an amazing level of sophistication tht has evolved with Purina’s IM Tech (Intake Modifying Technology®) program.”  Boutilier says such methods of incorporating Altosid with preexisting feeding programs constitute a very cost-efficient way of controlling horn flies.

“If you are going to feed an animal anyway, you have no additional labor cost to deliver the horn fly control with feed,” he pointed out.  “Plus, this method is so much easier than an ear tag or back rubber.  And, every dollar you spend yields 6-10 dollars in increased weight gain and faster weight gain, so it is a high value solution for cattle producers.”

Boutilier said producers should start administering the product about a month before horn flies start maturing until about 30 days after the first hard frost.  That way they can virtually eliminate the horn fly season.  He stressed that administering Altosid 30 days after the first frost is needed to make sure the insect doesn’t go into pupae.

“Most cattle producers who start on the program stay on it, because it is effective and delivers a good return,” he concluded. “Customer satisfaction is very high.”

For more information about options for controlling horn flies through mineral supplements, contact us.

Article:  Purina Mills Cattle

Having nutritional supplements always available for your cattle to utilize during critical times, can pay dividends.

Not meeting nutritional requirements of heifers and cows during the last third of pregnancy and the first 60 days of lactation, for example, can cost producers great economic loss, according to an Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet on winter supplementation of beef cows1.

“Breeding animals not fed properly during these stages of production can be expected to exhibit low birth-weight calves, poor conception rates, greater calf death loss, longer intervals between calving and re-breeding, and depressed weaning weights of calves.  “Maintaining an acceptable body condition score throughout the year will help to minimize these losses.”

Results of University of Nebraska research, reported in the Journal of Animal Science in 2007, showed that strategically supplementing cows with protein while grazing dormant winter range late gestation not only positively affects the cow, but has lasting affects on their heifer calves weight and reproductive performance.

The three-year Nebraska study showed that 88 percent of heifer calves from cows supplemented with protein during the last trimester achieved first-service pregnancy, compared with 45 percent of heifers out of cows that received no supplementation.

“Protein supplementation of cows grazing dormant Sandhills range during late gestation resulted in heifer progeny with increased body weight from weaning through 3 years of age,” the research showed. “Perhaps more importantly, heifers from protein-supplemented cows had greater pregnancy rates and were more likely to calve in the initial 21 days of their first calving season.”

Source material for this blog article was provided by Purina Mils, Inc. © 2008