Beef Cattle

cow-calf production

relies heavily on grazed forages to supply nutrients for cows and calves

production cycle for cow-calf production

for much of the production cycle, protein and energy needs can be met with low to medium-quality forages

dominant range forage on cow-calf

usually high in fiber and may be deficient in both protein and energy, especially for cows during late gestation and lactation, limited quantity or quality may require forage supplementation

what is the most important factor influencing beef cattle performance

dry matter intake

why is dry matter intake important

• actual physical volume the forage occupies in the rumen can limit intake

• clearance of feed residues from the rumen

  • primary process determining forage intake and nutritive value

kinetics of digestion and passage

• kinetics of digestion and passage in beef cattle affect intake

  • determine the speed which forages are broken down

    • nutrients are made available and indigestible residues leave the rumen

4 periods of cow biological cycle

• first trimester

• second trimester

• third trimester

• postpartum

how long is first trimester

95 days

how long is second trimester

95 days

how long is third trimester

95 days

how long is postpartum

80 days

feeding the breeding herd

• fed primarily roughages

  • supplemented as needed

  • should be fed for optimum production

• requirements should be expressed on an amount per day basis

feeding during first trimester

• cow requires nutrients for lactation and maintenance

• fetal growth minor

• maintenance requirements are greater for cows with greater body weight

• milk production is declining

• spring-born calves are consuming more forage

feeding during second trimester

• This year’s calf is weaned from weaning to the start of the third trimester

  • Lowest nutrient requirements for beef cow

• Non-lactating cow in adequate body condition can be fed minimally during this time

• Easiest time to add BCS (body condition score) in thin cows

feeding during third trimester

• Nutrient requirements are increasing rapidly due to rapid fetal growth

• Cows too thin at calving greater incidence of dystocia, weak calves, sick calves, and decreased milk production

• Watch BCS (body condition score)

Get cows through the winter (cows bred in late spring!) bc in third trimester

• Cows should not lose more than 15% of body weight during the winter and thru calving

• Forage quality is critical

  • Best quality hay saved for the 60 days prepartum and the 90 days postpartum

what is the post-partum interval

• Nutritionally critical period

• Requirements are approximately 50% higher during this period of the biological cycle

• Intake 30-50% higher than when non-lactating

• Goal- BCS good enough to resume estrous cycle

energy needs for free-grazing cows

• May have 30-50% greater energy needs

maintenance energy requirement

• Amount of dietary energy needed to maintain an animal with no loss or gain in body weight

• Larger mature size breeds have greater maintenance energy requirements

• Due to a greater metabolic mass to support

• Physiologically younger at a given age than smaller mature size breeds

energy and environment

Energy reqs are also increased if the effective environmental temps is above or below the cow’s thermoneutral zone

Protein requirements

• Microbial protein synthesis supplies 50%of protein

• Most common nutrient deficient for cows grazing mature forage or consuming low-quality hays

• Positive responses in digestibility and intake of low-quality forages ar often seen when protein supplements are supplied

mineral requirement

• Young cattle have relatively higher Ca and P

• High levels of milk production and pregnancy also increase req of Ca and P

• Parturient paresis or milk fever

  • Acute Ca deficiency

  • May occur in high-milk-producing cows shortly after the start of lactation

• Forage legumes are high in C and low in P

• Dicalcium phosphate and monocalcium phosphate are good

water requirements

• Non-lactating cows consume approximately 3 parts water for each 1 part dry-matter intake

• Lactating cows need an additional 0.1 gallon water per day for each 1 lb of milk produced

• A diet high in protein or salt content or high environmental temperatures increases the need for water intake

• A restriction in water intake reduces total dry-matter intake, resulting in decreased production

not enough prior to breeding

• May result in a longer internal from calving to first estrus

• Low fertility, silent estrus, or failure to conceive

not enough during growth

• Results in delayed sexual maturity

not enough after calving

• After calving (or underfeeding energy) results in reduced fertility

body reserves during gestation

• Fetal tissues have priority

  • Body reserves may be depleted if nutrition is not adequate during gestation 

boding condition scoring

• Management tool used to estimate the body fat reserves

  • Monitor effectiveness of nutritional programs

  • Cows may lose body weight and condition and calving and during early lactation

  • May gain body weight and condition during late lactation and first or second trimester of gestation

• Cyclic weight loss and gain does not reduce productivity, as long as cows are not losing during late gestation and postpartum period

  • Manage the weight loss and gain

• Relationship between BCS and reproductive performance

nutrition and cold temps

• Maintenance energy requirements increase

  • Especially with cold environmental temperatures

• Low environmental temps increase intake by up to 30%

nutrition and warm temps

• High environmental temps depress intake by up to 30% depending on severity of the temperature

grazing management

• Challenge facing the beef cow producer

  • Reducing purchased feed costs and increasing profitability/cow

• First step

  • Maximize use of inexpensive forages when demands are greatest

  • Use of improved pastures early or later in the growing season

    • One of the best methods to match forage quality and animal demands

  • Determine optimum stocking intensity

  • Match biological cycle of the pasture to the biological cycle of the cow

what increases when there is too high of intensity

• Increase gain/acre

• Increase time and energy spend grazing

• Increase nutrient deficiencies

• Increase loss due to poisonous plants

what decreases when there is too high of intensity

• Decrease gain/animals

• Decrease DMI

• Decrease nutrient quality of forage

• Decrease pregnancy rate

• Decrease calf crop

when are supplements used

• Provide nutrients not available in sufficiently quantity or adequate balance

  • When forage is limited in quantity and/or quality, supplementation may be necessary to maintain desired level of productivity

classification of supplements

• Classified broadly as protein supplements or energy supplements

  • Difference is the relative concentration of protein

  • 25% CP (protein supplement) or <18% (energy supplement)

  • But usually contain both energy and protein

what is the first limiting nutrient for cows grazing range forages

protein

why is protein the first limiting nutrient for cows grazing range forages and not energy

Energy available in range forage is of little use without protein to support microbial digestio

how to supplement protein when crude protein forage falls below 6% or 7%

intake can be stimulated by supplementation with protein or non-protein nitrogen (NPN)

limitation of supplementation

• Inability to control individual animal consumption of supplement

  • Results in a mismatch between animal nutrient requirement and nutrient supply

feeding behavior and dominance

• Graze in early morning and late evening

• Form linear dominance hierarchies

• Larger older consume more supplement than smaller, younger, less dominant

  • Inefficient use of self-fed supplements because larger animals in better larger body condition get supplement and those that are smaller and need the supplements cause those who need it not to get it

• Young cows therefore should be separated

creep feeding

• Practice of providing suckling calves with supplemental feed

  • Can be hay, grain, or mixed rations

  • Can add 25 to 50 lb to a calf’s weaning weight

  • Not always profitable

    • Cals require a lot per gain

  • Require 7-10 lb of creep feed for each pound of gain

  • Calculate break-even costs of creep feeding

    • Weight cost of feed versus gain versus profit

feeding calves

• Milk production declines after the first 100 days postpartum

• When most producers creep feed

• May be profitable when calf prices are high relative to feed prices

• Feeders should be located where cows bed down and rest and shade and water are available

weaning calves

• Normalled weaned from 6-9 months

  • 205 days

  • Kept out of sight and sound of the dams

• Functional ruminants at 45 to 60 days of age

• Should be consuming 2% of body weight

• Calves usually shrink 3% to 5% due to weaning

  • Should gain 30 to 50 lb during a month-long preconditioning period 

why do you not creep feed heifers

• Masks effects of cow milk production

• Increased gain is not marketed (sold) and does not increase the value of replacement heifers

heifer development

• Post-weaning gain depends on the breed type and environmental conditions

  • 50-60% of mature body weight by 15 months of age

  • Slower rate of gain may delay puberty

  • Faster rate may impair reproduction and lactation

  • Manage separately from the main herd

heifers first calf

• Nutritional management during postpartum is critical for first-calf heifers

  • Need nutrients for lactation, rebreeding, and her growth

  • During their third winter, pregnant 3-year-old should not lose over 5% to 10% of fall weight

    • Maintaining adequate body condition is essential for pregnant heifers

growing finishing systems

• With most cow-calf production systems, calves are sold at weaning to go to the feedlot or to a back-grounding (growing phase) operation

  • In the US, most beef cattle go through a back-grounding period after weaning, before feedlot placement on a finishing diet

    • For small to medium cattle

finishing cattle extensive

• Use roughage-based diets

• Grow cattle at low to moderate rates

• Cattle are generally older

• Yield heavier carcasses

• Costs can be decreased

  • Being able to graze instead of being fed harvested forages

finishing cattle: intensive

• Requires complex, economically critical decisions

• Need a thorough understanding of basic and applied nutrition and feeding management practices

• Approximately 91% of all feedlot operations use the services of a nutritionist to assist in nutritional and feed management decision-making processes 

• Feedlot consultants are responsible for approximately 69% of the cattle on feed each year

cattle sorting

• Sorting systems sort cattle into outcome (slaughter) groups

  • Matching feeding programs and cattle types

  • Body weight is the most common method

  • Ultrasound is the second most common

• Arrival is the most common time to sort

transitioning diets

• Transition between the receiving or growing diet and the final, high-grain finishing diet

• Avoid excessive concentrate consumption– acidosis

• Start with relatively low concentrate diet 

• Free-choice hay

• Transition to high-concentrate diet

  • Typically made in steps of 10% to 20% concentrate over a period of 21 to 28 days

ionophores

• Often added to receiving diets

• Increase FE and body weight gain

• Control coccidiosis

• Function by selecting against or negatively affecting the metabolism of bacteria that decrease the energy produced from the ruminal digestion of feedstuffs

• Monensin (Rumensin)

• Lasalocid (Bovatec)

managing the feed bunk

• Consultants often devote a large share of their time with feedlot clients dealing with bunk management issue

  • Once cattle have been started on feed, bunk management changes from that used during diet step-up periods

    • Achieve a relatively constant intake across time

  • Careful attention is critical to ensure

    • Cattle are not short on feed and thereby hungry

    • Feed does not remain in the bunk and become tale

  • Net effect of intensive bunk management is to allow the cow to have maximum feed intake with minimal day-to-day variance 

anabolic agents (implants)

• Most effective non-nutritive management tool

• Increase average daily gain by 15-25%

• Increase feed efficiency by 10-15% 

• Classified as estrogenic or androgenic or both (25+ options)

• Implants

  • Examples: Ralgro, Revalor

beta-adrenergic agonists

• Fed during final days of finishing

• Increase ADG and FE, leanness

• Mode of action is to bind to receptors on fat cells in the animals’ body and redirect and reduce the metabolism of fat

• Examples: Optaflexx, Zilmax 

  • Animal welfare concerns

antibiotics

• Increase weight gain and improved feed efficiency

• Decrease incidence of liver abscesses (Tylan)

• Prevent coccidiosis - ionophores

• Inhibiting estrus in heifers (MGA)

DFM

• Microbial cultures

• Yeast

from USDA

• Cattle feedlots produce high-quality beef, grade select or higher, by feeding garin and other concentrates for about 140 days

• Depending on weight at placement, feeding conditions, and desired finish, the feeding period can be from 90 to as long as 300 days

• Average gain is 2.5-4 pounds per day on about 6 pounds of dry-weight feed per pound of gain

• While more of a calf’s nutrient inputs until it is weaned are from grass, feedlot rations are generally 70-90 percent grain and protein concentrates

• Feedlots with less than 1,000 head of capacity compose the vast majority of US feedlots, but market a relatively small share of fed cattle

• In contrast, lots with 1,000 of head or more of capacity compose less than 5percent of total feedlots, but market 80 to 90 percent of fed cattle

• Feedlots with 32000 head or more of capacity market around 40 percent of fed cattle

• The industry continues to shift toward a small number of very large specialized feedlots, which are increasingly vertically integrated with the cow-calf and processing sectors to produce high-quality fed beef