Table 2. Nutrient requirements of yearling, medium frame, bred heifers1 TDN
Body Weight (pound)
Avg. Daily Gain (pound)
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
400 500 600 700 800
2.5 3.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
Last third of pregnancy 700
800
0.9 1.4 1.9 0.9 1.4 1.9
Dry Matter Intake (pound)
Growing and middle third of pregnancy 300
7.8 8.4 8.7 8.9
8.9 8.0 9.7
10.4 10.8 11.0 11.0 10.0 11.5 12.3 12.8 13.1 13.0 11.8 13.2 14.1 14.7 15.0 14.9 13.5 14.8 15.8 16.5 16.8 16.7 15.2 16.4 17.5 18.2 18.6 18.5 16.8
15.3 15.8 15.8 16.8 17.4 17.5
Crude Protein (pound)
0.8 1.0 1.1 1.3
1.5 1.6 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.8
1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.6
Table 3. Nutrient content of various feed grains (NRC, 1996) Corn Barley Wheat Oats Sorghum
TDN, percent 90 88 88 77 82 Crude Protein, percent 9.8 13.2 14.2 13.6 12.6
feed, calculate the price per pound of nutrients in order to determine the most economical choice. A feed tag doesn’t list the amount of TDN, so ask the
dealer to provide this information. As shown in Table 3, corn is approximately 90 percent TDN, so 1.7 pounds with the hay will meet the cow’s requirement. Corn also contains 9.8 percent protein. Any of the feed grains listed in Table 3 can be used to increase TDN values. “It is important to analyze hay for nutrient content
tscra.org (pound)
4.2 4.9 5.5 6.0
6.5 6.8 5.2 6.1 6.8 7.4 8.1 8.5 6.2 7.2 8.1 8.8 9.6
10.0 7.1 8.2 9.3
10.1 11.0 11.5 8.0 9.2
10.4 11.3 12.3 12.9 8.9
10.2 11.5 12.6 13.6 14.3
8.5 9.5
10.6 9.2
10.4 11.6
Calcium (percent)
0.31 0.45 0.58 0.72
0.87 1.13 0.27 0.38 0.47 0.56 0.68 0.86 0.25 0.32 0.40 0.47 0.56 0.69 0.23 0.28 0.35 0.40 0.46 0.57 0.22 0.27 0.31 0.34 0.40 0.49 0.22 0.24 0.28 0.31 0.35 0.42
0.27 0.33 0.33 0.28 0.33 0.35
Phosphorous (percent)
0.20 0.24 0.28 0.32
0.37 0.47 0.18 0.21 0.25 0.26 0.30 0.37 0.17 0.20 0.22 0.24 0.27 0.32 0.18 0.19 0.21 0.22 0.24 0.29 0.18 0.18 0.20 0.21 0.22 0.26 0.17 0.19 0.19 0.20 0.21 0.25
0.20 0.21 0.21 0.20 0.21 0.21
1 Adapted from the National Research Council’s Nutrient Requirement of Beef Cattle, 2000.
regardless of whether it is raised or purchased,” says Randle. “You might be surprised at the low nutrient values in some of the hay offered for sale, especially during periods of drought. The only way to ensure that cattle are getting the nutrients they need is to analyze the forage. “When you raise hay, nutrient analyses provide a
measure of the effectiveness of your fertilizer program,” Randle adds. “Harvested hay takes nutrients from soil and off the land. You will need to replace the nutrients to keep the land productive. As far as I’m concerned, forage analysis is a necessity for any cattle feeding program.”
September 2014 The Cattleman 87
Forage analysis is a necessity for any cattle feeding program.
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