It's no secret that feed has always been, by far, the largest production cost in beef cattle production. Great minds across the industry have spent decades and entire careers dedicating themselves to making sure that huge investment is maximized. Advances have come so fast and furiously in the field of cattle feed and nutrition that it can be difficult to know which direction to go.
Editor / Progressive Cattle
But really, it all comes down to one simple thing: making sure your cows are getting every bit of nutrition out of the feed they’re feeding them.
“Ultimately, we want to create a system that allows animals to get the most nutrients out of what they ingest,” says Robbie Bondurant, ruminant technology leader at First MacNess. “We need to look at what's passing through the rumen and extract more nutrients to be absorbed through the gut and available to the animal.”
Naturally, a lot of attention is paid to the rumen. But unfortunately, making sure the rest of the digestive tract is working properly is an often overlooked part of the nutrition equation, especially as feedlot cattle approach the feedlot stage. About 85 percent of digestion takes place in the rumen, but Bondurant says it's after the rumen that the industry can make big leaps in feed efficiency. To ensure cows are properly absorbing all the nutrients they ingest, Bondurant says there needs to be more focus on the lower digestive tract, especially in the last 60 to 90 days of feeding.
“It's important to create synergies between ingredients to improve gut health in both the rumen and post-rumen,” he says. “The goal should be to improve the gut health of the ruminal microbiota while also improving the absorptive capacity of the small intestine.”
Extending the growth curve
There comes a time before or during the finish-off period when animals approach their maximum growth potential and their growth curve plateaus, often due to the fact that as cattle grow, they are not eating enough feed to maintain a high growth rate.
“At a certain point, they reach their maximum capacity and can't do anything more,” Bondurant says.
Blending feeds to create synergies between ingredients can increase nutrient absorption in the rumen and postrumen. Photo by Furst-McNess.
But in recent years, feed additive products have emerged that can push the growth curve even further toward the end of the feedlot period. This has allowed feedlot operators to maintain and even increase profit margins as cattle gain weight and marbling. Bondurant says many of these products create subtle changes in the animals’ biological characteristics to boost productivity. Over the past few years, Bondurant’s team at First McNess and researchers at the University of Nebraska have been working to develop products that work differently. Their focus is to make the feed itself more efficient in the cow’s digestive tract, keeping growth and marbling rates high without increasing the risk of costly diseases like acidosis. The goal is to identify:
Supports and maintains ruminal function. Enhances digestion and absorption of nutrients. Maintains and improves feed intake. Increases average daily gain. Increases live and carcass weight. Maintains or improves marbling score. No withdrawal period.
“We've done some digestibility testing and we know we can extract more from the feed,” Bondurant says. “The question is, how do we do that where it works biologically and economically? Taking all that into account, the end of the fattening period makes the most sense.”
The research offers a glimpse into some potential solutions, one of which is a combination of zinc amino acid complexes, live yeast, yeast extracts, yeast cultures and other ingredients to improve gut health and help cows meet their goals at the end of the fattening period.
“We've tried to create the most efficient system to actually utilize these nutrients,” Bondurant said, “and the data from this trial shows not only growth performance but also increased marbling in the ribeye area. These nutrients are being used more efficiently to deposit fat during fattening.”
Return on Investment
Of course, the cost of introducing additives or natural products plays a big role in the decision-making. With ongoing drought and the associated rising feed costs, as well as rising labor costs, many producers may be tempted to cut corners on nutrition. But for those who fine-tune their rations and increase their animals’ productivity, the return on investment will prove over the life of the animal.
“The last thing you want to cut is nutrition,” Bondurant says. “Whether you're feeding cows or calves, if there's anything you can cut, do that first. When you start restricting nutrition, it creates a chain reaction. If the cow suffers, the calf next to her suffers, the calf in the womb suffers. Reproduction decreases. Cattle in the feedlot don't reach their potential. If you're not enhancing these animals to reach their potential, what are you doing?”
