Gaining Ground

By Becky Mills
Progressive Farmer Contributing Editor

To put 350 to 400 pounds on his stocker cattle in just five months, John Shore has to get the nutrition right. That generally means a 14.7% protein ration of primarily soy hull and corn gluten pellets, along with either rice hulls or cottonseed hulls.

Grazing, when it's good, on Shore's Saluda, S.C., farm is the primary phase of the operation. The goal is pretty straightforward. Do whatever it takes to see 2 to 2 1/2 pounds of gain every day.

Even with a high-quality receiving ration, nothing is guaranteed when it comes to stockers. Shore and farm manager Russell Johnson don't just put the feed out and hope for the best. Everything counts, right down to feeder placement.

"We try to back the feeder up to the fence so they'll run into it when they walk the fence," Johnson said. "One of them will stick their nose in it and start eating."

They also make sure the calves have access to free choice bermudagrass hay, the best quality they can buy. Shore and Russell both say the young calves seem to prefer it over fescue.

SWEET STRATEGY

Another mainstay in their receiving program is lick tubs. These 14% protein blocks contain molasses and are packed with vitamins and minerals. "It seems to give them more energy, and it gets their rumens working again," Johnson said. Because the tubs are expensive, they only use them for the first three weeks after the calves arrive.

Their nutrition program, especially the receiving part, is a good match to Shane Gadberry's recommendations. The University of Arkansas animal scientist said, "Choose ingredients to help restore the protein loss in these cattle and restore rumen health. Get them back where they were before the stresses that occurred in marketing and shipping."

Gadberry agreed it is usually necessary to fortify receiving diets, especially for high-risk calves. Shore's calves definitely fit that category. Normally, they haven't been weaned before they leave their original operations and are purchased from area sale barns.

"With high-risk calves, their intake the first seven days is half of normal, so fortify their diets based on a 50% reduction in dry matter intake," Gadberry said. "They need a higher concentration of trace minerals and vitamins and protein."

While Gadberry noted the additional expense of lick tubs, he said molasses is very palatable and may stimulate calves to increase their protein and energy intake, as well as that of trace minerals and vitamins. Also, some calves have already seen lick tubs at their home operations and are used to them.

PELLETS AND HULLS

Soy hull pellets are another plus. They are high in digestible fiber, around 11.5% protein and in the upper 70s in total digestible nutrients (TDN). They are a safe feed, without a lot of founder potential, and generally are consistent and very palatable.

Corn gluten pellets are another high-quality ingredient in stocker rations. Corn gluten is left over from making high fructose corn syrup and is in the mid-80s in TDN, and at least 18% crude protein.

While corn gluten pellets are working well at Shore Livestock, Gadberry cautioned they can have drawbacks. "Calves vary in how they adjust to them. Sometimes the pellets have a burnt odor from processing."

The animal scientist gives positive marks to cottonseed hulls for receiving rations. "There is no better appetite stimulant," he said. "Despite their low nutritional content, cattle seem to love them, so they help stimulate their appetite."

Rumensin, a coccidiostat and ionophore, is also included in the Shore ration, and it gets a thumbs-up from Gadberry. Even though Shore's calves are not confined to a drylot, the Rumensin is a plus, he said.

"For cattle that are confined in a drylot, it's even more critical," he said. "That environment is cool and wet, which causes a proliferation of coccidiosis."

GRASS IS THE GOAL

While Shore and Johnson place an emphasis on providing a high-quality ration to their stockers, their goal is to get the calves on grass traps surrounding the barn. From the start, receiving pens are open to the traps. Especially in the winter and spring, when ryegrass and/or fescue and clover are available, the calves may go entirely to grass after they are healthy and gaining weight.

Commenting on a recent group Shore was getting ready to ship out, he explained they came in on Nov. 15 weighing 350 pounds. By the third week in April, they were shipping the load, now 742-pound heifers. They hadn't had any feed since Feb. 20. At times like that, Shore can get his feed cost per pound of gain down to around 50 cents.

While easing calves off feed entirely is a workable solution at Shore Livestock, Gadberry said another option is to continue to supplement calves at the rate of around 0.3 to 0.5% of their body weight.

"We can get 2 pounds of gain per head per day on winter annuals," he explained. "By providing them with supplemental energy or protein fortified with an ionophore, we can get even more. The supplement makes a good carrier for medicated feed additives plus vitamin and mineral supplements."

The animal scientist also said a supplement can help overcome lower gains from the effects of grazing toxic fescue.

DIY RATIONS

There isn't a lot of spare time or equipment at Shore Livestock. Owner John Shore is a full-time order buyer, normally hitting three weekly sales and spending the rest of the time handling on-farm sales for the 53-year-old operation, at Saluda, S.C.

Farm manager Russell Johnson helps Shore and cares for the 1,500 head of stocker calves that come through the facility every year. They choose to use a commercially mixed feed that is delivered and augured into self-feeders, as needed.

For producers who prefer to buy their own ingredients and mix their own rations, check out the University of Arkansas' Cattle Grower Ration Balancing Spreadsheet for backgrounding calves, growing replacement heifers and developing bulls. To see the program, visit www.aragriculture.org/livestock/beef/nutrition/spreadsheet.

Along with formulating rations, Arkansas animal scientist Shane Gadberry said the program can identify potential problems.

"Many of our byproduct rations are high in fat," he said, pointing to whole cottonseed, dried distillers' grains, hominy and rice bran. "If we feed too much fat, we lose some feed efficiency."

He also said high levels of sulfur can be a problem for byproduct-based rations, especially those containing dried distillers' grains. "It is a problem that can be compounded if your well water is high in sulfur. We really have to be careful with the amount of sulfur we put in a ration so we can stay below the maximum tolerable level, or it can cause polio in cattle."

He added that with growing calves, it's especially important to make sure the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is correct.

Gadberry said all three of these concerns -- fat, sulfur and calcium levels -- can be easily checked with the Cattle Grower Ration Balancing Spreadsheet.

Another bonus is it doesn't require Microsoft Excel, which has to be purchased. "I worked it where you can run spreadsheets in OpenOffice or LibreOffice. It has a spreadsheet similar to Excel, but it doesn't cost anything to download," Gadberry said.

(AG/CZ)

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