Supplemental Feeding During Drought
Eric Peterson, University Extension Agent, Sublette CountyThe "art" of supplemental feeding during a drought undoubtably lies in knowing when to
start and when to stop feeding. That is, in knowing when to quit feeding, and start selling
livestock when the animal's nutrient requirements can no longer be economically met.
The first question a producer should ask is, "Can I afford to meet her nutrient
requirements?" rather than, "How much can I afford to spend on feed?" (and hope that
whatever is in it meets her requirements). Employing forage and range diet analysis make
answering these questions easier than ever before. Contact your county Extension agent
for more information on forage sampling.
Economical supplementation goes hand-in-hand with proper stocking rate, since the
objective of any supplemental feed program is to augment a forage based diet. Usually
this means adjusting stock numbers and supplementing protein for improved diet quality.
Energy may be supplemented for short periods of time (dietary energy is closely related to
forage quantity). A 1,000-pound cow requires 20 to 25 pounds of dry forage per day.
Higher density energy supplements may help make up for short feed, but remember that
the cereal grains must be fed every day to keep acidosis problems in check, and also to
reduce the inhibitory effects that grain may have on the animal's ability to digest forage.
Again, when forage is extremely short, supplementation of large quantities of energy in
any form for extended periods of time is usually uneconomical.
When evaluating supplements, remember that there are no "magic bullets." Animals will
perform so long as their supplement compensates for what nutrients are limiting in their
diet. Protein is usually the first limiting nutrient in dormant forage. In fact, a dry cow
requires a minimum of 7% crude protein in her diet just to keep the digestive system
"bugs" alive and working on forage digestion. Protein supplementation can actually
stimulate forage intake. Nutrient content and price per pound of nutrient(s) in the
supplement are the most important things to evaluate. For example, to calculate the cost
per pound of crude protein, a 38% cube provides 760 pounds of crude protein per ton of
bulk feed. At $280 per ton, it costs 37 cents to provide a pound of protein. A 20% cube
provides 400 lbs. of actual protein per ton of bulk feed. At $210 per ton it costs 53 cents
to provide a pound of crude protein. If protein were the only concern, then the 38% cube
would be the better buy. However, if feed is also in short supply, then the 20% cube, fed
at twice the rate, would probably be a more complete feed because it would provide some
extra energy as well. The form of supplement, be it block, cube, lick, meal, etc. is
unimportant as long as consumption of limiting nutrients is adequate. If animal
supplemental requirements are particularly high, some self-fed supplements may not
allow for this to occur.
Molasses based supplements can be used to stretch short forage, but just like grain
supplements, molasses will require that a high quality protein supplement accompany it.
Molasses is handy because while it is an energy feed, it can be self-fed; eliminating the
need for daily feeding. Be cautious. Many preformulated molasses supplements will
contain non-protein nitrogen (NPN) such as urea, for a "protein" source. NPN is NOT a
drought supplement. It is used most effectively when grass is abundant but dormant,
when dietary protein requirements are lowest (dry females), and when dietary protein
needs to be increased only slightly.
In summary, here are a few feed management tips: sort and feed livestock by age,
production status (growing vs mature and wet verses dry), and body condition. If stocking
rate needs to be reduced, begin by culling the open cows. If numbers need to be reduced
further, follow by culling wet females in poor body condition (they probably won't breed
anyway). When purchasing feed, forward contracting and bulk storage are ways to trim a
few dollars. Late summer is typically when feedstuffs are cheapest. Consider reducing
feeding frequency. Protein supplements may be fed as infrequently as twice, or even once
per week. Use a good 1:1 calcium to phosphorus mineral. Inject vitamin A if it has been
more than four months since there has been any green forage.
Predicting animal performance in a stressful situation is always going to be “guesswork”.
However, by using forage testing to define quality, the guess work is removed. Knowing
diet quality lets you know what type of supplementation will be necessary in order to
meet the animal's nutrient requirements. From there, pencilwork with the livestock and
feed prices will tell you if that answer is economically feasible.
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