Latest News From Animal Nutrition

Underfed cows take longer to rebreed and may have difficult births.

Determining the relative value of alternative feeds can be a cost-saving strategy.

Mycotoxins represent a broad category of toxic agents produced by various naturally occurring fungi, mostly soil borne and environmentally dependent.

A focused, high-quality cattle nutrition program can help improve breeding results and boost your bottom line.

The transition to high-energy rations, particularly those with high starch levels, can involve risk of acidosis, stress and compromised immunity in feeder calves.

Common sense and good observation often are your best decision aids when feeding moldy hay.

Here's what you need to know about hemp as a feed ingredient for cattle.

Managing cows through the winter provides different challenges compared to managing those same cows during the growing season.

While we can’t change the weather, we can learn by it.

Florida officials are investigating an apparent increase in cattle deaths across the state, with investigators focusing on one particular brand of feed.

Florida officials are investigating an apparent increase in cattle deaths across the state, with investigators focusing on one particular brand of feed.

Not feeding pregnant cows enough protein can have serious consequences.

The sight of frozen, snow-covered fields might not trigger thoughts of planting season, but late winter can be the ideal time for some low-cost pasture improvement.

At, and after calving time next January, February, and March “grass tetany” could occur in a few situations.

Several studies have shown little to no negative impact of grazing, at typical stocking rates, on subsequent crop yields.

Grazing on harvested corn fields provides a fall and winter management option for cattle owners and an income opportunity for landowners.

While hay is often used to feed cows through the winter, current prices make corn a competitive option to feeding hay.

Producers delivering fiber based protein supplements to cows grazing low quality forages may be able to reduce the frequency of supplementation.

Odd fall weather and fescue pasture growth set up potential poisonous pastures causing fescue foot in cow herds.

Estimating forage usage by cows is an important part of the task of calculating winter feed needs. Hay or standing forage intake must be estimated in order to make the calculations.

Body condition score at calving is the single most important trait determining when a cow resumes heat cycles and therefore when she is likely to re-conceive for the next calf crop.

A big factor in determining the health of a new born calf and the performance of the cow and calf after birth is the nutrition of the cow and fetus during the last ninety days of gestation.

Grazing longer, feeding hay and supplementing grain are all ways to keep cattle fed in winter.

Grazing longer, feeding hay and supplementing grain are all ways to keep cattle fed in winter.

Cattle mineral nutrition is complex and often confusing, but one strategy to help ranchers better understand their mineral program is to monitor mineral consumption.

For some producers, a number of factors came together to create the perfect storm that led to significantly lowered forage quality.

Bunk space can vary depending on if calves were preconditioned or not prior to entering the feedlot.

More than 200 attendees and 40 live streams participated in third conference.

Currently, low hay supplies and overstocked pastures are commonplace in the Midwest. Limited forage availability is still a challenge for cattlemen.

For beef heifers, injectable trace minerals improve mineral status but have variable effects on reproductive performance.

Ten cattle died on one Texas ranch where 82 cattle were seized, while another ranch in Texas had eight head die and six cattle confiscated. All of the cattle are believed to have been deprived of water or feed.

Poisonous plants are responsible for considerable losses in livestock although many cases go unrecognized and undiagnosed due to a lack of knowledge of which plants could be responsible.

Strategic supplementation could boost immunity and performance while contributing to antibiotic stewardship.

Prussic acid and nitrates affect cattle differently.

Although many of the pastures are green and lush around the country, this is not the time to forget about trace minerals and their importance to beef production.

Even in human health, use of dietary supplements requires somewhat of a leap of faith.

As grass leases continue to get harder to find and more expensive to acquire, and drought continues, cow/calf producers are showing more and more interest in feeding pairs in a confinement system.

Clean, fresh drinking water is critical for cattle performance in the summer heat.

Grazing fresh young alfalfa can induce bloat in cattle. Bloat can sometimes be fatal to cattle.

Grass tetany typically occurs when cattle are grazing rapidly growing, lush, green grass.

No matter how good of a formulation we begin with, it is only as valuable as we are effective at transforming it from what’s on paper to what’s delivered to the bunk.

Cooler temperatures has resulted in slow pasture forage growth and cows are nipping it off faster than it is growing.

Test water quality prior to livestock turnout.

Prolonged winter weather has limited forage growth thus far this season, which means many producers are still feeding cows.

Bad weather and poor cow nutrition are the leading causes of weak calf syndrome.

As many may have noticed, cost of vitamins A and E have increased over the past few months, and subsequently, mineral supplements that include vitamins A and E.

Green, growing forages are high in vitamin A. However, until forages are available for grazing, supplemental vitamins remain vital during late gestation and early lactation.

Late winter and early spring is the most challenging time of the year for the nutrition of the spring-calving beef cows. 

Every year beef producers ask, “Do I need to dry roll or grind my corn or can I feed it whole”?

The more work that is done in mineral nutrition, the more questions arise as to whether or not we know what the true requirements of current cattle are.