Livestock Management RANCHING It is important to start with a clear understand-
Energy and protein supply are the greatest concerns to ensuring adequate growth.
country, energy may or may not also become a fac- tor later in the growing season. “There is quite a bit of variation in Texas, depending on whether you are in the eastern or the western part of the state,” says Streeter. “If the cattle need a nutritional supplement, it would typically be late in the growing season when the energy and protein content of the forage is decreas- ing, or when forage is already dormant. In some areas of the country, typically eastern and central, protein supplementation in the face of adequate forage sup- ply can result in improved protein and energy status. However, in western native range conditions, protein supplementation alone has shown mixed results in at- taining the proper energy status to maintain growth rates. Additionally, geography often creates more chal- lenges for supplementation in pastures in the western part of the state, where land mass per animal is quite different than in the east.”
ing of what the heifer’s needs might be, and what is inherently available in the forage resource. “People typically think of an animal’s requirement as being a percentage,” Streeter concedes. “If the forage was 12 to 14 percent protein, one might say that is going to meet a heifer’s protein requirement. However, the heifer’s requirement is actually a physical amount of protein per day, so the challenge is not just what the protein content or percentage is in the grass, but also how much one expects her to eat.” Because it is easier to assess the protein percentage
via testing than to assess the heifer’s daily forage intake, a more practical solution is to evaluate a heifer’s weight and condition to determine whether she is receiving adequate nutrition. If the animal is not meeting those nutritional re-
quirements, she will not attain the weight or condition needed to reach puberty prior to the breeding season. Growth could be limited by a lack of protein, en-
ergy, minerals (phosphorus, copper, zinc), or vitamins (vitamins A, D, E). With forage-based systems where heifers receive a vitamin and mineral supplement, one might expect protein to limit growth rate. If the rancher
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www.centurylivestockfeeders.com 62 The Cattleman September 2015
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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