Part 2 continues the discussion from Eldon Cole, Lawrence County Extension specialist and Dr. Rob Kallenbach, State Forage Extension specialist and other experts on feeding and breeding.
During the tour newer feed intake monitoring technology was demonstrated using the GrowSafe system. Brett Jones, a graduate student of the University of Missouri, explained how the system accurately measures each bovine’s feed intake. Using RFID (radio frequency identification) ear tags and the GrowSafe data collection and analysis software the center’s researches can gain a greater resolution picture of residual feed intake or feed conversion on K31 and novel endophyte fescues like Bar Optima Plus.
“He’s finding that on some of the entophyte-free products the cattle are performing better than they were on the old K31 fescue,” said Gregg Bailey, the Southwest Missouri Cattlemen’s Association president, “We also got to look at some cows that were on the entophyte-free pasture and some grazing mostly on K31. You could see the difference in the cattle’s coat.”
Kallenbach and Jones gave another demonstration of newer technology to track pasture growth. Rather than implementing a rising plate meter, they used an ATV, with a GPS, computer and specialized software, to show the on-lookers how much quicker and more accurate the upscale monitoring system was for checking pasture growth.
A quick zig-zag spin around the pasture with the equipment taking measurements at the rate of up to 20 times per second made short work in developing a grazing wedge.
Tammy Wallace from Genex Cooperative, Inc., spoke to the beef producers about CIDRs and using timed AI protocol in both heifers and cows.
“With technology now we’re able to congregate those cows into a calving season and that season may only be 30 days long,” Bailey said, “That translates into more money in the farmer’s pockets because if you’re calving season runs from September all the way to November, you have all those calves in September and you’re getting ready to wean them off to sell them next spring, those calves will be heavier because they were born earlier. That’s the way most guys do it is they will wean everything at once. So if you’re selling a 500 pound calf versus a 650 pound calf you have a lot more dollars in your pocket.”
To top off the discussions, Tim Dieckhoff and the crew from Main Street Feeds explained the essentials of supplemental cattle nutrition. “I spoke about digestible nutrient needs and what it takes from your forage and how your forage tests. I also spoke about what you might have to supplement, just so they all realize what it takes to feed a cow and digest what they have,” he explained.
Noting the core nutritional requirements for cattle, Dieckhoff said, “The two main ones are proteins and energy. It takes a combination of them for the cow to be able to digest that forage out there.”
Going along with feeding and timed AI, Dieckhoff touched on feeds using the feed additive MGA (melengestrol acetate), which is implemented for increased rate of weight gain, improved feed efficiency and suppression of estrus in heifers. “It suppresses heat when people want to try to synchronize cattle to breed more at the same time, to calve at the same time,” he explained.
One note of caution Dieckhoff noted, “Farmers need to be aware of the feeding directions and making sure they’re feeding their cattle accurately so it does work.”
