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Photo submitted by a local producer to our feed department manager.  It's great to see how our local coop is reaching out to the next generation of producers!  It's about more than just making feed.

Body Condition

By Brooke Brunsvig, Nutritional Consultant

I can’t believe it’s January, but it sure is and that means most cows are somewhere in their 3^rd trimester of gestation; some not far from calving already and some just finished or will soon finish their 2^nd trimester. We’ve been able to get a lot of use out of our corn stalks; some still are. With pregnancy advancing and declining amount and quality of stalks, it’s likely about time for supplemental feed. It would be a good idea to move the cows’ concentrated time around the field using rolled out hay at this time. A couple numbers to know are 3% and 20%. Cows will eat 3% of their body weight, pounds per head per day on a dry matter basis, and, if feeding dry hay, you should factor in 20% waste. Keep in mind it’ll take a couple months to notice a body condition change, and this is the wrong time of year and stage of production to drop condition.

As for stored forage quality, hay put up earlier in the year is higher quality than later hay in the summer. Protein supplementation will help the digestibility of any stored or low-quality forage, and I’d recommend it early on in grazing residue, but is especially important in the third trimester of gestation when most fetal growth is happening. Dry and high piling manure is a key indicator you need protein for improved forage digestion. Poor condition can also indicate protein deficiency.

1/3/2025

Lice

By Shannon Voegele, Nutritional Consultant

Lice are more common in cattle during the winter because of the cold weather, long hair, and close quarters, which create ideal conditions for the insects to thrive. While you may have treated for lice in the fall, there is a good chance you could see them begin to reemerge depending upon the product you used and when you timed your application. It’s important for cattle producers to understand there are two types of lice of concern: blood sucking and chewing. When it comes to blood sucking lice, systemic treatments work to kill these pests and, while topical treatments will kill both blood sucking and chewing lice, in either case, only the adults are killed, leaving the eggs to hatch and reinfest the herd. Injectable formulations are effective primarily against bloodsucking lice. Pour-on formulations are effective against biting and bloodsucking lice.  Because application is easy and less stressful for the treated animal, the pour-on method has become a popular way to apply insecticides. Lice can cause anemia, poor feed efficiency, and lower weight gain and milk production. 

12/20/2024

Cattle Management

By Brooke Brunsvig, Nutritional Consultant

This week, I’m thinking about a couple of cattle management things to keep in mind. It’s post-harvest, mostly post-weaning, not yet the dead of winter, so what should we be thinking about?

External parasites are one. If you applied pour-on in the recent past, when temperatures were still not very cold, you may have applied it too early to be effective. Lice hibernate in skin folds in warm weather and become active when they get cold. If you generally see a lice problem in February, you should apply product in January or February. Taking care of internal parasites is best done during fall processing. Using the right product at the right time saves money and keeps parasites from stealing precious feed resources from the critter. Follow label instructions and be careful not to underdose or misapply.

Many are receiving, or hearing, preg-rates. The earlier it works to schedule a preg-check for your herd, the more economical. Even with good summer haying season and early pasture, feed stuffs put through cattle who won’t provide a return for you are expensive. While we want to utilize crop residue and cover crop as long as we can, we should also be mindful of body condition score and protein supplementation to ensure max forage utilization. Now is the easiest, most economical time to return to an optimal body condition for a great breeding season.

11/27/2024

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 Feed Staff