Small Grains Stocker Cattle
Don’t forget to supply a balanced mineral supplement for stockers grazing small grains pasture
Below is an excellent resource for stocker cattle producers. Information was provided by Dr. Ted McCollum, Texas AgriLife Beef Cattle Specialist in Amarillo.
– A balanced mineral supplement will significantly improve performance of stocker cattle on small grains pasture
– Well-designed trials demonstrated that stocker cattle consuming a balanced mineral supplement while grazing small grains pasture gained on 0.19 to 0.24 lb/d (Ave. 0.22 lb/d)
This equates to an additional 22 lb gain for every 100 days of grazing
Using a $10/cwt slide and deferred feeder cattle futures prices, the additional gain is worth about $1.00/lb or $22/hd/100 d grazing
At the targeted 0.25 lb (4 oz)/d intake and $1.00 value of added gain, then the breakeven (maximum) cost of the supplement $1760/ton
– In these same trials, adding the ionophore Rumensin to the mineral supplement increased daily gains another 0.19 to 0.23 lb/d (Ave. 0.21 lb/d) compared to mineral only
This equates to an additional 21 lb gain for every 100 days of grazing
Using a $10/cwt slide and deferred feeder cattle futures prices, the additional gain is worth about $1.00/lb or $21/hd/100 d grazing
At the targeted 0.25 lb (4 oz)/d intake and $1.00 value of added gain, then the mineral supplement containing Rumensin could cost as much as $1680/ton more than the mineral without Rumensin
– The cattle consuming the balanced mineral with Rumensin gained 0.38-0.47 lb/d (ave. 0.43/lb/d) more than the calves receiving salt only
This equates to an additional 43 lb gain for every 100 days of grazing
Using a $10/cwt slide and deferred feeder cattle futures prices, the additional gain is worth about $1.00/lb or $43/hd/100 d grazing
At the targeted 0.25 lb (4 oz)/d intake and $1.00 value of added gain, then the breakeven (maximum) cost of the supplement $3440/ton
– In all cases, the actual cost of the balanced mineral supplements (with or without Rumensin) on today’s market are 25 to 50% of the breakeven price
– What is a balanced mineral supplement for stockers on small grains pasture?
Contains macro- as well as trace minerals
Mineral supplements already contain salt so no additional white salt is required
Some guidelines:
Calcium level is a focus – Minimum 12%, 13-14% better
Low phosphorus – 2 to 5%
Magnesium – 1 to 3% maximum
Salt – 10 to 16%
Zinc – 3000 to 3750 ppm
Copper – 750-850 ppm
For additional information go to: Mineral supplements for stockers grazing small grains pasture at http://amarillo.tamu.edu/facultystaff/tmc/nutritional-management-section/
