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Nutrition

cow and calf
Livestock, Nutrition

Production targets influencing profitability of backgrounded calves

Nutrition with John McKinnon

By
When beef producers discuss marketing, pricing often comes to the forefront of the discussion. To be current with market trends, astute producers will gather as much information on pricing as possible including working with marketing specialists, following the futures market and using various risk management strategies including price insurance. While it is hard to argue […] Read more
Making the most of your grazing season
Nutrition

Making the most of your grazing season

Nutrition with John McKinnon

By
As grazing activity gets underway across the country, beef producers begin to turn their attention to other activities associated with their operation. From a herd nutrition perspective, the thinking of many is “Let the grass take care of the cattle.” Such thinking, while natural, can lead to issues that affect the health and productivity of […] Read more
Post-calving nutrition: Keep your foot on the gas
Calving, Nutrition

Post-calving nutrition: Keep your foot on the gas

Meeting the nutritional needs of cows that have recently calved

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As we move into spring, calving season is starting for some while for others it is well underway or nearing completion. To this point, your feeding program was likely directed at achieving optimal body condition at calving and ensuring that the nutritional needs of pregnancy were met. The next hurdle is ensuring that your post-calving […] Read more
heifer supplement
Livestock, Nutrition

Unpacking mineral tags: Understanding expected consumption for your cattle

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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In my last column, I reviewed the steps one takes when interpreting a typical mineral tag including clues to the nature of the product’s name as well as the concentration details on the macro and trace minerals and the vitamins that one finds listed under the “Guaranteed Analysis” section. Such information can be used to […] Read more
heifer supplement
Livestock, Nutrition

Unpacking mineral tags

Nutrition with John McKinnon: What’s with the 2:1 in my mineral?

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When I visit with cow-calf operators, I am encouraged to hear that most have a good understanding of the importance of proper mineral nutrition, particularly as it pertains to the reproductive success of the herd. However, when questioned about specifics of what mineral is required for what function or how much of a given mineral […] Read more
For heavier calves or mature animals, producers need to consider potential nutrient loss and cost when deciding whether to process oats for feeding.
Livestock, Nutrition

Questions on the feeding value of oat grain

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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Of the various cereal grains available for cattle feeding, the one I get the most questions about is oat. Typical questions relate to energy value, need for processing, nutritive value of light versus heavy oats, and pricing both relative to bushel weight and other cereal grains. As there seems to be a lot of interest […] Read more
Many of the alternative feeds available in Canada arise as byproducts of the cereal, oilseed and pulse processing sectors.
Livestock, Nutrition

Cattle feed: A tale of two countries

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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Throughout my career, I have had numerous opportunities to meet and talk with beef producers across Canada and in countries such as Mexico, China, New Zealand and Japan. However, until recently I never had the opportunity to interact in an extension setting with American producers. That changed last month when I gave a presentation to […] Read more
Animals under stress due to extreme cold have a higher net-energy-for-maintenance requirement. In other words, they need additional energy to keep warm.
Livestock, Nutrition

Winter arrives in cattle country

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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As this article comes to print, it is early December and winter has gripped much of the country. Concurrent with this change in seasons, it is also a time of year when cattle feeders — cow-calf and feedlot alike — are settling into their winter-feeding programs. In the case of backgrounding and feedlot operations, hopefully […] Read more
cattle feeding at a trough
Livestock, Nutrition

Don’t focus solely on price when using raw screenings as winter feed

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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This is a time of year when cattle feeders — particularly cow-calf operators and those backgrounding calves — attempt to purchase byproduct feeds to supplement homegrown forage supplies. Typically, one looks for low-cost ingredients that can serve as supplemental sources of energy and protein. In some cases, brokers are involved with the search while in […] Read more
Newly weaned calves need to be housed in a clean, dry environment and have sufficient space to lay down and move around without feeling undue stress due to overcrowding.
Livestock, Nutrition

Minimize stress on arrival the key to starting calves on feed

Nutrition with John McKinnon

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In my September column entitled The Fall Run Has Started, I discussed the relationship between stress, feed intake and health status of newly weaned calves. To summarize that discussion, calves that are highly stressed due to weaning, transportation, mixing and processing typically have low dry matter intakes (DMI) and are susceptible to disease, particularly bovine […] Read more

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