I believe that almost all cattle producers want to improve their operations in some capacity. This can be accomplished through genetic investments, how they manage their land resources, creatively marketing their cattle, etc. As in any business, these decisions are rooted in improving the profitability of their operation and securing its long-term viability.

One problem: All the things I mentioned above require significant capital investment, specific industry relationships or a fundamental change in the structure of the operation. For many producers, it’s flat-out not financially or logistically feasible. I think humans are hardwired to be drawn to solutions or changes that will deliver big results and fast, but small improvements consistently over time can also yield impactful results and in ways that don’t break the bank.

An analogy that I like to use is investing for retirement. Many of us don’t have a pile of cash sitting around to make one or two massive investments that will set us up for retirement. Just like many of us don’t have a pile of cash sitting around to turn over our entire cowherd with top-of-the-line genetics. However, most people (55% of Americans invest in a 401(k) or an IRA) can contribute small amounts of money each month into a retirement investment vehicle, and over time, those more realistic investments can compound into millions of dollars.

These smaller “investments” in a cattle operation may not come in the form of a monthly contribution, but there are countless bite-sized improvements that can move the needle over time. A few examples are:

• Going from a 90-day to a 75-day calving window one year and then to a 60-day window the next
• Instead of spending $4,000 on a sale barn bull, consider holding off and investing $7,000 in a bull from a reputable seedstock supplier 
• Introducing an additional fall deworming application rather than just once in the spring
• Clearing out and/or improving a small section of land year after year rather than waiting until you can do it all at once

Hopefully, you can see the point I am trying to make. It’s not always what you should do, it’s what you can do.

One small improvement that I am confident in recommending is introducing a feed-through fly control into your herd health protocol. Almost all feed companies offer a variety of ways to deliver fly control to your cattle, so ask your local supplier about what options are available to you. At CRYSTALYX^®, we use and believe in ClariFly^® from Central Life Sciences. ClariFly^® costs roughly 3 cents per head per day to add to your barrel, mineral or preferred method of supplementation. On 100 cows that are supplemented with ClariFly for five months, that’s a $450 total investment or $4.50 per cow investment that can generate meaningful returns. Research provided by Central Life Sciences suggests that on average a 20.2-pound-per-head increase in weaning weights on calves provided ClariFly. With current calf prices, that’s over a $60 return on a $4.50 investment.

Intake is key to a successful feed-through fly control program, and that is where CRYSTALYX makes the difference. In addition to almost 50 years of experience in making palatable products with consistent intake, we have a lot of data to show that cows eat CRYSTALYX.

A study from Montana State University observed the intake behaviors of cows on different types of supplements by using GPS tracking collars. One group of cows was provided with a CRYSTALYX low-moisture block, and one group was provided with a loose mineral supplement. The chart below shows that over 90% of the cattle on trial visited the CRYSTALYX supplement, where only 55% of the cattle visited the loose mineral.

Don’t get me wrong. Loose mineral is a fantastic and cost-effective investment to bridge the gap between the nutrition that your forages can provide and what your cattle need, but there isn’t a better form of self-fed supplement to deliver fly control than a CRYSTALYX low-moisture block, in my opinion.

The law of compounding is traditionally used in finance, but I think it is perfectly applicable to the cattle business. Small improvements gradually and consistently over time make big differences in the long run.