MIDWEST BEEF COW HERD MANAGEMENT

1. MIDWEST BEEF COW HERD MANAGEMENT By David R. Hawkins Michigan State University

2. Principles of Least Cost Feeding Programs • Match the available feeds with the cow’s nutrient requirements. • Overfeeding wastes money but underfeeding results in lower conception rates, lighter calves at weaning and less value on cull cows. • Use high quality feeds during early lactation and rebreeding. • Maximize use of pastures and crop residues that have little or no alternative value and minimize use of harvested feeds.

3. Annual Energy Requirements

4. Divide Herd Into Nutritional Groups • Dry mature cows in good body condition. • Lactating mature cows. • Dry thin cows and two year olds. • Lactating thin cows and two year olds. • Bred heifers. • Weaned heifer calves. • Herd sires (mature vs young)

5. Develop a Feeding Plan for Each Group by Periods • Each period should be no longer than 100 days and have specified targets for each group of cattle. • Maintenance vs. growth vs. lactation. • Maintain BCS versus change BCS.

6. General Guidelines • Fresh clean water should be available at all times. • Minerals including salt are usually provided “free-choice” • Mature cows will usually consume 0.1 lb. per cow per day ( 3 lb/hd/mo) • Pasture will usually provide adequate energy and protein.

7. Macro Minerals • Salt ( Sodium & Chlorine) Required for acid base balance & digestive enzymes. • Calcium – forages are a good source. Required for skeletal growth, blood clotting, muscle contraction, lactation & reproduction. • Phosphorous – grains contain high levels. Required for energy transfer, skeletal growth & reproduction. Could be deficient with all forage diets.

8. Macro Minerals cont. • Potassium – required for muscular contraction & acid base balance. Forages are high and grains tend to be marginal. • Magnesium – related to calcium and phosphorous metabolism.Required for muscle activity. Forages can be low in early spring and fall. Deficiency is “grass tetany”.

9. Trace Minerals • Great Lakes region is deficient in cobalt, iodine & selenium and it is marginal in copper • Usual source is trace mineral [T.M.] salt (red colored). • Some T.M. salt also contains higher levels of selenium. • Sulfur is usually only supplemented when NPN is used in the ration.

10. Vitamins A & D • Vitamin A found as carotene in green growing forages & stored in liver. Poor quality forages and crop residues are low. Required for maintenance of epithelial tissue (vision & reproduction). • Vitamin D is required for Ca & P metabolism. Sunlight irradiates skin oil & absorption occurs.

11. Vitamins E & K • Vitamin E is an antioxidant that facilitates absorption & storage of vitamin A. It is closely linked to selenium status. Deficiency results in “white muscle” disease of newborn calves. • Vitamin K is involved with blood clotting. Deficiency is rare.

12. B Vitamins • These water soluble vitamins are normally synthesized in adequate quantities by the rumen microorganisms. • Calf normally gets adequate levels in milk.

13. Permanent Pasture • Permanent pastures are usually bluegrass or quackgrass. • They vary in productivity. It may require 2 to 10 acres per cow unit for the summer. • They usually grow in the spring, go dormant in July & August and then grow again in September & October.

14. Improved Pasture • Usually grasses & legumes are reseeded every few years. • Grasses include: orchardgrass, bromegrass, timothy, reed canarygrass and tall fescue. • Legumes include: alfalfa, red clover, white clover, ladino clover and birdsfoot trefoil. • Carrying capacity of improved pasture may range from 1 to 3 acres per cow unit.

15. Pasture Management Guidelines • Bluegrass should be 4” high before grazing. • Tall grasses should be 8” to 10” high before grazing & tall legumes should be 10” to 12” high before grazing. • Cattle should be removed from pastures when it is grazed down to 2” in height. • Grasses need 25 to 35 days to recover & legumes require 35 to 45 days to recover.

16. Pasture Mgt. Continued • Soil test to determine nutrient needs. • Clip pastures to remove seed heads and old growth. • Control brush by herbicides or burning. • Manage grazing to maximize yields.

17. Continuous Grazing • Turn cattle into one field for the entire grazing season. • Low labor cost • Up to 40% of forage may be wasted by trampling, etc. • Difficult to keep legumes in stand.

18. Rotational Grazing • Requires several paddocks and cattle are rotated every 10 to 15 days. • Allows plants time to recover between grazing. • More labor and fence required than with continuous grazing, but get about 20% more productivity.

19. Strip Grazing • Use electric fencing to allow cows access to a 10 to 20 ft. strip of new pasture each day. • More labor intensive to move fence each day. • Expect about 35% more productivity than continuous grazing.

20. Harvested Forages • Allows recovery of entire plant minus harvest & storage losses. • Requires more labor and mechanization than grazing. • Hay is most popular forage for beef cows in Michigan, but corn silage and haylage are also utilized. • Quality of forage is highly variable due to stage of maturity at harvest & storage conditions.

21. Hay Guidelines • Some improved pastures will be managed to make 1 cutting of hay and then graze the regrowth when the permanent pastures are dormant. • Average hay yields are 2.5 T. per acre but can be as high as 6 T. per acre if well fertilized and multiple cuttings are made.

22. Land Required Per Cow • This varies according to productivity, length of wintering period, etc. • If a dry cow needs about 25 lb. of hay per day and a lactating cow needs about 35 lb. of hay per day, winter hay needs will vary from 1.9 to 3.2 T. depending on when she calves. • Land for pasture and winter feed ranges from 1.5 to 5 acres per cow with improved pastures and up to 12 acres per cow on permanent pastures.

23. Extending The Grazing Season • Small grains (barley, oats and wheat) can be grazed early without significantly reducing grain yields. • Thousands of stocker cattle graze wheat pastures in Kansas & Oklahoma. • Corn stalks and other crop residues can be grazed after the grain is harvested.

24. Grazing Corn Stalks • One acre of corn stalks will carry one cow for 40 to 50 days, if properly supplemented. • In addition to calcium, phosphorous, protein is critical after the first 30 days. • Some producers will feed hay in addition to the cornstalks. • If hay is worth $50/T., then cornstalks are valued at $12/cow/month.

25. Supplemental Feeding of Cows • If overstocked or drought conditions, supplemental feeding of hay or silage may be required. • Cows prefer green succulent forage to dry hay. • If hay is expensive, grain can be fed (4 to 6 lb./cow/day), but a minimal level of roughage is critical to maintain rumen function.

26. Drylot Feeding of Beef Cows • Increases the # of cows that can be fed per unit of land – 5 T. of corn silage/cow for summer or 8 T./year. If yields are 15 to 16 T per acre, then land required is 0.3 to 0.5 acres per cow unit. • Requires feed storage and mechanization. • Higher labor requirement but lower land cost than pasture system. • Flies and disease challenges are greater with drylot.

27. Summary • There are many options to consider when formulating rations for beef cows. • The goal is to meet the cow’s nutrient requirements for her stage of production as economically as possible.