A previous article mentions that it requires about 5 lbs. of wheat forage dry matter (DM) per pound of calf bodyweight at the start of grazing to maximize steer performance. This forage allowance (the pounds of forage DM per pound of steer bodyweight) should result in gains throughout the fall and winter of over 2.5 lbs. of gain under normal conditions. For example, to maximize performance of growing 500-pound calf we need to have 2,500 lbs. of forage DM per steer. With a normal stocking rate of 2 acres per steer, this is 1,200 to 1,300 lbs. of forage DM per acre. (A good thick stand of wheat pasture should be about 6 to 7 inches tall at 1,200 to 1,300 lbs. per acre).
If pastures are slightly overstocked or have less forage available due to poor wheat growing conditions, forage allowance of 3 lbs. can provide enough forage for about 2.5 lbs. of gain per day.
Performance can be increased by feeding a small package energy supplement at 2 lbs. per day (5.8 pounds/calf 3 days per week) to the growing calves, increasing gain by 0.5 pounds per day. This supplement should provide digestible energy and does not need to be high in protein because of the high protein content of the wheat forage. The supplement can be composed of grains (ground corn or milo work great) and digestible grain milling products with low protein content (soybean hulls and wheat midds). Extra protein can be provided with feeds like corn gluten feed or dried distillers grains if they are competitively priced on an energy basis.
These supplements are often designed to carry required minerals (calcium and magnesium are often deficient in wheat pasture) and monensin (100 to 200 mg/calf/day), an ionophore that will increase daily gains and reduce the incidence and severity of potential bloat. (Monensin is highly toxic to dogs and horses so care should be taken in storage and feeding feeds containing monensin to keep out of reach of non-targeted animals.) Research at OSU has shown that providing a free-choice complete mineral designed for grazing cattle on wheat pasture along with the energy supplement is as effective as feeding it in a complete package.
If wheat pasture is short but the same stocking rate from the past needs to be kept those stocking rates can be maintained with higher supplementation rates or other feeding methods to offset the reduced availability of wheat pasture and low forage intake.
Paul Beck explains how to estimate the number of cattle to stock on wheat pasture on SunUpTV from Nov. 26, 2018 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7swrHd0xbc
Read more: Drinking Water For Stocker Cattle On Wheat Pasture
