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Livestock, Nutrition

Clean, soiled or frozen ears — How do you manage your implant program?

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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In my last two columns, I focused on choosing the right implant for your operation and on options for re-implanting cattle over the course of a production cycle. While these are important aspects of any implant program, equally important is ensuring the proper placement of the implant in the animal’s ear. While this may seem […] Read more
One of the first steps to consider when choosing an implant is deciding on how aggressive you want to be with your program.
Livestock, Nutrition

Choosing the right implant for feedlot cattle

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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In last month’s column, I covered the various classes of implants currently on the market and traced the development of the technology over the last 50 years or so. With this column, I want to look at some of the factors to consider when choosing an implant for feedlot cattle, with emphasis on the class […] Read more
There are a variety of things to consider when feeding set-aside cattle.
Livestock, Nutrition

Flattening the cattle supply curve

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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Over the last 10 weeks or so that we have lived through the COVID-19 pandemic, we have come to understand the term “flattening the curve” and its importance to our public health system. With respect to the beef industry, the largest impact of the virus to date has been on the health and safety of […] Read more
Livestock, Nutrition

Meeting metabolizable protein requirements of your cattle

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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In my April column, I covered the basic concepts of ruminant protein nutrition and introduced the concept of metabolizable protein. As a quick review, metabolizable protein is the protein — or more specifically the amino acids — available for absorption in the small intestine of the animal. Metabolizable protein is used to meet the animal’s […] Read more
It’s important to realize that an animal does not require “protein” per se. Rather, it requires amino acids, the building blocks of the various proteins.
Livestock, Nutrition

The basics of protein nutrition for improved cattle performance

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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Meeting the protein requirements of your cattle is a cornerstone of a well-balanced nutrition program. Not only is protein one of the most expensive nutrients to supplement, but it is also one of the most important from a performance perspective. Consider, for example, that protein requirements increase during the latter stages of pregnancy and with […] Read more
For you to understand livestock nutrition, it’s important to have a firm grasp on basic math concepts as they relate to cattle feeding.
Livestock, Nutrition

Math 101 for beef producers

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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When I discuss various aspects of nutrition with producers, I often sense confusion when it comes to “as fed” versus “dry matter” (DM) conversions. Such conversions have a profound effect on our ability to predict feed intake and on our understanding of ration nutrient concentration, feed costs and on cost of gain calculations. If one […] Read more

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