Forage
= Beef (1)
A cow’s job is to convert forage into beef. The more forage
a cow harvests, the more and bigger calves she weans. Supplement can help cows
– or really the microbes in their rumen - harvest more forage by providing
nutrients the rumen microbes need.
Not too long ago cattlemen were advised to steer clear of
urea for cows on low quality forage. Research indicated that urea and other
degradable protein sources didn’t perform well compared to natural protein.
They were also told that readily fermentable, high-energy feeds such as
molasses would depress fiber digestion.
However, many of those studies were done without combining
degradable protein and high-energy sources. Recent research has shown that a
combination of the two are as good as, and sometimes better than natural
protein feeds for supplementing cows on winter forage.
One of the most recent studies showing the value of
combining urea and readily available energy appeared on pages 10 – 12 of the
2003 Nebraska Beef Report.
The researchers compared three diets for cows on dormant
winter range:
1.
Control (no supplement)
2.
Corn Gluten Feed
3.
Urea
The supplements were about 20% protein equivalent and cows
were individually fed 2 lb/hd/day. The urea supplement included molasses,
starch, and corn bran to equal the energy in the corn gluten feed.
The most significant finding was that supplemented cows
consumed more forage than the Controls. Forage intake by the Urea + molasses
group was 5 lb/hd/day greater than the natural protein group. As was stated at
the beginning, a beef cow’s job is to convert forage into beef.
Liquid feed is an economical and convenient way to increase
your cows forage capacity.
Bottom Line:
More Forage = More Beef
Forage = Beef (2)
How Sweet It Is
|
Treatment |
Low Protein |
High Protein |
|
Control |
Low protein/
No Sugar |
High Protein/
No Sugar |
|
Sugar |
Low Protein/ Sugar |
High Protein/
Sugar |
The results were as expected – supplement helps.
More importantly, what you supplement with makes the big
difference. Supplying a little protein and a little sugar gave a little
benefit. More protein helped more. More protein + sugar helped the most.
Forage intake by steers supplemented with both sugar and
adequate protein was double that of the unsupplemented group.
Sugar and degradable protein feed the rumen microbes so they
can break down more forage for your cows. Liquid supplement combines sugar and
protein in a package that is available all the time to all cattle, big, little,
old, young, dry, nursing, bred, or hoping to be.
The combination of degradable protein and sugars in liquid
supplements can sweeten up your Bottom Line.
Bottom Line:
More Forage = More Beef
Forage = Beef (3)
supplements on pasture. They
grazed two groups of steers on Bermuda grass pasture starting in August and
continuing though the winter. One group had access to free choice Pro-Lix 32,
and the other had only free choice mineral. Because they equipped the steers
with esophageal and rumen fistulas, plus fecal collection bags, they were able
to evaluate how much forage the steers ate and the true quality of the forage
the steers selected. Here is what happened:
Intake of Pro-Lix 32 varied with pasture quality. When
forage protein was high, intake was lower, and when forage protein declined,
indicating lower forage quality, the steers consumed more Pro-Lix 32.
This is what a good feeder would do if he could know the
daily variation in forage composition, but the steers did it themselves.
The fistulas and fecal collection bags allowed measurement
of actual forage consumption.
The steers fed Pro-Lix 32 consumed 15% more forage than the
unsupplemented group.
The steers were under unusual stress due to the fistulas and
fecal collection bags. However, both groups gained weight during the trial. The
control group gained 51 lbs, and the Pro-Lix supplemented steers gained 161
lbs/hd.
Bottom
Line:
More Forage = More Beef
Auburn University – MS Thesis, Robert Hawkins, 1987
Forage = Beef (4)
The major job of a beef cow is to convert forage into
calves. The more forage a cow can harvest, the more and bigger calves she can
produce.
You might think that feeding supplement would take up intake
capacity you want the cow to use for forage. Not so. Feeding supplement
increases forage intake. Supplement gives rumen bacteria nutrients they
need to convert forage into nutrients the cow can use. When the bacteria work
better, rate of passage is increased, and more forage can be harvested and
converted into calves.
This chart is derived from the most recent NRC publication
on Nutrient Requirements for Beef Cattle. In it we compare the predicted feed
intake of forage qualities from low (example is straw) to high (example is corn
silage). The + Supplement line shows what happens to intake when the
nutritional values from 2 lb Mol-Mix are included.
The chart is based on NRC predictions. What happens in real
life? In a two-year study,
You might think that intake should be higher as forage
quality decreases – if there’s less energy in a feed, they need more of it, so
they should eat more. Well, they’d like to, but they can’t. Lower quality
forages are higher in fiber. Rumen microbes require more time to break down the
fiber, so rate of passage is increased, and intake is lower. Therefore, a cow
on a low quality diet – forages high in fiber – has two strikes against her –
low energy in the diet, and low intake as a result.
Liquid supplement can help you get your cows to the top line
on the graph and improve your Bottom Line.
Bottom
Line:
More
Forage = More Beef
Urea
= Natural Protein?
Cattlemen have sometimes been advised to steer clear of urea
for cows on low quality forage. Research indicated that urea and other
degradable protein sources didn’t perform well compared to natural protein on
high forage rations. It appeared that rumen microbes couldn’t utilize NPN
because the forage had insufficient energy to support microbial synthesis of
protein. They were also told that readily fermentable, high-energy feeds such
as molasses would depress fiber breakdown by rumen microbes.
However, many of those studies were done without combining degradable
protein sources with readily fermentable energy ingredients. Recent research
has shown that a combination of the two can be as good as, and sometimes even
better than natural protein feeds for supplementing cows on winter forage.
One of the most recent studies showing the value of
combining urea and readily available energy appeared on pages 10 – 12 of the
2003 Nebraska Beef Report.
The researchers compared three diets for cows on dormant
winter range:
1.
Control (no supplement)
2.
Corn Gluten Feed
3.
Urea
The supplements were about 20% protein equivalent and 2 lb/hd/day were fed. The urea
supplement also included molasses, starch, and corn bran to
equal the energy in the corn gluten feed.
The Urea supplement supported more microbial protein
synthesis than either the control or the natural protein treatments.
In this study, microbial protein synthesis was 0.32
lb/hd/day greater than that produced on natural protein ration. The excess was
equal to the protein in more than 0.7 lb of cottonseed or soybean meal/hd/day.
Compare the cost of dry (natural protein – no sugar) vs.
liquid supplements. Your microbes can use urea and sugars and will thank you by
improving your Bottom Line.
Bottom
Line:
Urea = Natural
Protein = $