B
eef cattle nutrition programs require an economical forage base. Whether the for- age is pasture, hay, silage, haylage, or a combination thereof, it’s important to know the protein, total digestible nutrient (TDN), mineral and vitamin content of
the forage to meet the requirements of your beef herd. Other than pasture, hay is the most common type of forage fed to beef cattle, so that will be the focus of this article. “Protein is a critical nutrient in all beef cattle diets,”
says Dr. Jane Parish, Research and Extension profes- sor, Mississippi State University. “Although protein supplementation is often a high-cost item in a beef cattle feeding program, it is sometimes needed to meet the animal’s nutrient requirements.” Parish says signs of protein defi ciency include low-
ered appetite, weight loss, poor growth, depressed re- productive performance and reduced milk production. Protein in beef cattle diets is commonly expressed as crude protein. Digestible energy of forage and feed is shown as
TDN on the test results. TDN is a key value to consider for balancing the ration and determining the energy supplement needs of forage-based diets. When digest- ible energy becomes limited in beef cattle diets, intake and animal performance can suffer. “Minerals and vitamins account for a very small
part of daily dry matter intake in beef cattle diets and can sometimes be overlooked in a herd nutritional program,” Parish continues. “Although minerals and vitamins are needed as a very small percentage of di- etary nutrients, they are very important in beef cattle nutritional programs for proper animal function, such as bone development, immune function, muscle con- tractions and nervous system function. Cattle growth and reproductive performance can be compromised if a good mineral and vitamin program is not in place. Due to fi ne particle size and the need for small quantities of minerals and vitamins, it is usually more practical to consistently supply a separate free-choice loose mix of these supplements.” Providing adequate protein, digestible energy, min-
erals and vitamins in beef cattle diets is important for animal health and productivity as well as ranch profi tability. Murray Randle, beef cattle producer near Gran-
bury, supports this statement, adding, “It’s important to know the nutrient content of your forage so you can determine if you need to feed supplements to your
84 The Cattleman September 2014
Overfeeding nutrients wastes money. Underfeeding nutrients wastes the potential production of your beef herd.
cattle. Overfeeding protein and TDN can waste a lot of money, but if you underfeed these nutrients, it will cost you in reduced animal production. With today’s cattle prices, you want to put all the weight you can on your sale calves.”
How to sample a hay bale Nutrient content of hay can be determined by tak-
ing core samples from bales and sending them to a laboratory for analysis. Instructions on sampling hay bales for forage analysis can be found in Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Bulletin E-148. Visit soiltest-
ing.tamu.edu, scroll down to the bottom of the page
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