RANCHING Business
Oct. 15 at 168 days, weighing 440 pounds. Calves are preconditioned for 60 days at 2 pounds ADG and weigh 560 pounds when sold Dec. 15. Beef basis predicts a cash price of $215.89 on Dec. 15, for a value of $1,209. By moving the calving season forward 30 days, lac-
tating cows need 30 fewer days of supplemental feed, but it costs $85 in calf revenue. Alkire says, “Other variables will come into play
depending on the price and fl exibility of retaining the calves, but the primary question is: Can you feed a lactating cow for 30 days for less than $85? Without putting a pencil to it, you won’t know.”
The First Steps To develop a nutrition program, we have to estimate
the animals’ requirements. These are determined from their weight, stage of production, level of milk pro- duction or growth, Alkire says. From a management standpoint, it is helpful to group cattle by type such as fi rst-calf heifers, dry cows, or lactating cows, and feed to their nutrient requirements. “When you group cattle and feed to their specifi c
needs, it ensures that you are not overfeeding or un- derfeeding any group,” he says.
Regardless of the class of livestock, the 2 major
components of any diet are protein and energy. While there are more sophisticated measures avail-
able good starting points for discussion and evaluation are crude protein and total digestible nutrients (TDN), the crude measure of energy. Another important step is obtaining an accurate
estimate of forage quality, whether that is standing forage or hay. The best way to ascertain the quality of the forage is to test it. Evaluating a “grab test” for for- age or a hay sample costs about $20 and easily pays for itself, Alkire says. “If you guess at forage quality, odds are that you
will guess wrong. An overestimation of quality leads to thin cows while an underestimation of quality will mean that you will pay for more feed than is necessary.” The forage test removes the guesswork, allowing
for the estimation of intake and the calculation of nutrient needs. “Once we know what the forage will provide nu-
tritionally, then it is a matter of determining the least expensive supplemental feeding program to meet the nutritional defi ciencies,” Alkire says.
MORE
112 The Cattleman October 2015
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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