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.
Forage = Beef (2) How Sweet It Is Kansas researchers reported the interaction between degradable intake protein and sugars in cattle on high forage diets in the 1999 Journal of Animal Science, pp 2793-2802. They fed 4 groups of steers free choice low quality tall-grass prairie hay. The steers weighed 980-1000 lbs. They were supplemented with or without sugar, and with either low or high protein as shown in this table: Treatment Low Protein High Protein Control Low protein/ No SugarHigh 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.
Forage = Beef (3) Auburn University in Alabama did one of the most complete studies ever done with liquid 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. 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, Oklahoma State cows were fed stockpiled winter forage with protein contents ranging from 11.0 to 15.3%. Control cows received only free choice mineral. Treatment cows were fed 2 lbs of a protein/energy supplement with 64% degradable protein. The control cows ate 26.5 lbs of forage dry matter. Treatment cows consumed an average of 29 lb forage dry matter, verifying the NRC prediction (Journal of Animal Science, 2002, v. 80, pp 780-789. 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.
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. meal/hd/day. 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 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. Urea = Natural Protein = $ 2013 Westway Feed Products, 14015 Park Dr. Ste. 217, Tomball TX 77377