TAKING CARE OF
THE
FACTORY
Year round maintenance
pays off come sale time
A
By Michael Grahmann
s 2017 comes to a close, our beef business is en-
joying some stability that we have not seen in a
few years. Cattle prices have moderated; howev-
er, the pricing of live cattle and feeder cattle has
remained at elevated levels when compared to a
decade ago. Grain costs have been suppressed over the past
few years, resulting in some decline in feed cost, positioning
our industry to realize profits in post weaning stocker and
feeder operations. Floods, hurricanes and other weather
events have definitely caused many a hardship, but the forage
situation entering this winter is as good as the area has seen
in recent history. With all those things considered, what can
we do to continue to produce high quality beef in an efficient
and economical manner that produces profit in the various
segments of our beef industry?
This article will not tackle all the different levels of the
industry and how producers can take advantage of each of
the levels; however, a recent interaction between producers
that I witnessed offers some good advice for cattle opera-
tions in the area. I share a story:
In September, I had the fortune of having two of my
customers with me viewing the fruits of each of their labors
at weaning. These two customers had just finished revac-
cinating their calves and turning them out to grass for the
stocker period, and over lunch, we were reviewing the data
(i.e. weaning weights, health issues, feeding programs).
As we worked through the numbers, one of the cattlemen
turned to his peer and asked, “How do you continually
outperform me at weaning?” I just sat back and got quiet to
hear the answer. His peer thought for a minute and offered
this response, “I take care of the factory each and every
day of the year. We have similar cattle, use similar bull
power, and have similar forage management programs, but
I make sure my cattle are supplemented on a year around
basis, which in turn has resulted in more calves and heavier
calves at weaning time.” This conversation continued for
almost an hour, but this response was loaded with the
economic effect of taking care of the factory — in this case,
the brood cow.
Each and every year, cattlemen across our area consider
winter feeding programs that will “get” their herd through
the winter and onto the lush grasses of spring with calves
by their sides. Our winter feeding programs are seen as a
necessity, and many times as an expense.
In this situation, one rancher saw his supplementation
program as an investment in keeping the factory running at
optimal speed and efficiency. Using a year around supple-
mentation program for the cow herd is the most economical
and efficient way to ensure that the cow herd is taking ad-
vantage of the forage that operations work so hard to man-
age. The supplementation program provides the necessary
nutrients to fill the “nutritional gap” between what the forage
provides and the requirements of the cow at her different
stages of production. A correctly designed supplement reacts
to the forage quality and quantity while providing ample
nutrients to help the factory operate at an optimal level. In
addition, the program reduces labor and ensures that the
cattle have ample access to the supplement at all times. The
difference in the conversation above between the two ranch-
ers came down to supplementation — one supplemented
cattle when he thought they needed to be supplemented,
while the other rancher kept the supplement out year around
and allowed the cattle to tell him when the forage was failing
to provide the necessary nutrients.
The Accuration Range Liquid supplementation program
offers cattle operations the solution to the ever changing
forage conditions in our area. Accuration Range Liquids
are designed to fill the nutritional gap in an efficient and
economical manner. The products are formulated with
high quality ingredients and suspended in a homogenous
mixture using Purina’s patented suspension technology
ensuring that each lick of the wheel is delivering the same
nutrition to the animal. In addition, these are very low