Beefline Projects
Impacting the Producer at Home – Progress Report
NDSU Extension Service –
Logan, Eddy, Ransom Griggs, and
Abstract
Five demonstration projects
were developed with 27 farm/ranch cooperators.
Specific impacts vary with each project.
Reports with more detail will be released in the future.
Introduction
Applying science- based
concepts to the ranch or farm should improve management and reduce production
costs. Areas of concern were forage
quality, water quality, feed byproduct utilization, performance recordkeeping
and mineral supplementation. County
extension agents sought cow calf producers in the central
Five demonstration projects
were developed with 27 farm/ranch cooperators.
Although each cooperator operates under different farming/ranching
conditions, the scientific concepts that underscore each project apply to all
cooperators.
|
L |
ogan
Determining mineral supplementation needs via grass
clipping analysis
Forage samples were collect
once a month during the 2002 grazing season using a technique that harvests
only the forage the cows were observed consuming. In addition to summer and winter forage
samples, water samples were collected for determining mineral contribution to
cow diets. Using the analysis results, a
mineral supplement will be designed after determining the cow’s nutrient
requirements, cow weight, frame score, and body condition score.
Forage quality ranged from
7.7 – 12.6 percent crude protein, 33.3 - 47.9 percent acid detergent fiber,
0.29- 0.68 percent calcium, and 0.09 – 0.34 percent phosphorous depending on
month of sampling. Trace mineral content
is currently being analyzed. Water
quality ranged from 420 – 2650 parts per million total dissolved solids while
fecal coliforms ranged from 70 to 3900 coliforms per 100 milliliters. These
levels indicate a wide variation in forage and water types within season and
location.
|
E |
ddy
Evaluating water quality for cattle use, do we need
better water?
Water is an essential
component of a cow’s diet and good quality water is needed. Unfortunately, beef cattle producers seldom
test water supplies for suitability. To
draw attention to better water management and discover potential problems in
Water quality is measure by
various factors including total dissolved solids, turbidity, and concentration
of iron, calcium, magnesium, copper, sulfate and fecal coliforms. The water sources measured in Eddy county
averaged 689.5 ppm total dissolved solids, 8.0 pH, and concentration of 2.2 ppm
iron, 60.3 ppm calcium, 55.5 ppm magnesium, 2.5 ppm copper, 280.8 ppm sulfate and 615.6 fecal coliforms
per 100 ml. Coliforms ranged from 0 to
greater than 10,000 per 100 ml depending on watering source. Although fecal coliform average concentrations
are high, total dissolved solids were relatively low and indicative of very
safe water for cattle consumption.
Quality
differences in water samples from
|
R |
ansom
Co-products as an alternative creep feed
Wheat midd coproduct is an
alternative to commercial creep feed for beef cattle. A Ransom county cow calf cooperator was
willing compare commercial creep feed, wheat midds, and early weaned calf
performance within his cow herd. Calves
(198 head) were weighed prior to creep feeding,
Respective beginning and
ending calf weights (pounds) were 326 and 591 for commercial creep, 300 and 524
for wheat midds, and 274 and 508 for early weaned calves in drylot. Although the commercial creep fed calves
weighed 41 pounds more than wheat midds creep fed calves, the gain has not been
adjusted for cow age and calf birth date.
Also, the cost of creep feeds and calf value have not yet been
evaluated.
|
G |
riggs
Better management using CHAPS 2000 performance record
system
Since genetic and
reproductive improvement is paramount to improving productivity in a cow herd,
increasing producer use of Chaps 2000 is needed.
Calves were weighed on-farm
in October and November 2002 by the producer or in conjunction with the NDSU
SmartCow program. Three of the seven
producers’ calves averaged 531.4 lbs. (149 head), 563.5 lbs. (69 head), and
505.8 lbs (37 head) at weaning. After
cow age, calf birth date, sire and cow calf identification are provided to the
Chaps program, reproductive and production performance and indexes will be
calculated and provided to the cooperator.
|
S |
tutsman
Balancing Beef Cow Rations for better performance and
lower cost
Cow calf producers routinely
spend approximately $220 per head per year in winter feed expenses (ND Farm
Business Management 2000 Report region 3 – South Central North Dakota $221 per
cow). Rations balanced for energy,
protein, mineral and vitamins are the foundation of proper nutrition. Cow calf producers in
Six of nine cattle producers
have had samples collected and analyzed for crude protein, energy content via
acid detergent fiber, calcium and phosphorous. Crude protein content of hays
varied from 4.83 percent for mature switchgrass/big bluestem hay to 22.94
percent on third cutting alfalfa. Energy
content varied from 35 percent TDN (NEg 0.00) to 69 percent TDN (NEg 0.46) for
the same forages. Large differences in
forage quality are noted between farm/ranches.
Cow and calf rations will be analyzed and reformulated if necessary.
Implications
Demonstrating the benefits of
existing research and knowledge may increase producer awareness and
acceptance. These projects were designed
to explore management changes that may improve productivity within existing cow
calf operations in central