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HERE ARE 2 PERIODS DURING THE YEAR WHEN CATTLE PRODUC- ers typically have to tackle the effects of declining pasture. Texas AgriLife Extension beef cattle spe-


cialist Dr. Jason Banta, a Texas A&M associate professor of animal science based at the Research and Extension Center at Overton, says the start of decline should be as- sessed each year, although it generally begins during the latter part of the summer. “When it starts getting a little drier and hotter the


forage just does not grow as well,” Banta says. “We will typically see some decline then, so we may need some supplementation. When we get into the fall and winter, when it starts getting cold, the forage stops growing. With time it will start to decline.” Because pasture declines more rapidly when conditions


are dry, the extent of the second period of decline will depend on whether you are in the western portion or in a higher rainfall portion of Texas or the U.S. The rates of quantity and quality losses vary. Quantity


losses may be minimal, but quality losses can be substan- tial in both introduced and native species, chiefl y in the protein content, he says. With the adjustment occurring so rapidly, there is


Fall forage quantity losses


may be minimal, but quality losses can be substantial in both introduced and native species, chiefl y in protein content.


104 The Cattleman September 2015


a better way to monitor it than by clipping and test- ing forage samples, and it can be found right on the ground. “Watch the fecal patties of your cattle,” Banta says. “When the forage really starts dropping in pro- tein, those fecal patties will start getting fi rm and start stacking up and getting tall. That is usually a very good indication that we have to start providing some protein supplementation.” This is because the fi rmer the patties, the less protein


and more undigested fi ber there is in the stool. Manure that “splats” onto the pasture is high in mois-


ture and low in fi ber. Manure that piles up high and deep is drier and has a higher percentage of fi ber, indicating that the cow is eating less of the degradable protein used by the microorganisms in the rumen. “The cow is actually not able to digest the forage,” he


explains. “What is really digesting the forage is the rumen microbes, and if we do not have a minimum amount of protein in the diet — typically, we talk about 7 percent — those rumen microbes do not grow like they are supposed to, and they will start dying off. So on those low-protein forages, the cow will not eat as much, and cannot digest as much. By giving them a little bit more protein they can eat to the normal level of intake, plus digest that forage a little bit better.” During his cow-calf nutrition supplementation talks, Banta says he always tells producers how to monitor cow


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