In one of his recent blogs, Dan Colling explained the “large” benefit that you can get from a “small” amount of protein supplement on dry or mature pastures.
This week I’d like to talk about another benefit of self-fed protein supplements. While this benefit of CRYSTALYX® does impact the nutritional status of your herd, it is primarily a behavioral modification of your cattle.
We have known for years that cattle will seek out palatable supplements, and even salt, in pastures. Research by Dr. Derek Bailey at Havre, MT, has actually quantified this effect. It shows low-moisture block (LMB) supplements, like CRYSTALYX®, to be much more effective than salt alone at luring cattle to underutilized areas of pastures.
From the table below, we can see that grazing cattle spent a larger percentage of their total time within 100, 400 and 600 yards of LMB (CRYSTALYX®) and salt than just salt alone. This difference was found to be statistically significant.
During periods of drought, or when grasses naturally mature (as with stockpiled forage) CRYSTALYX® can offer you two distinct advantages:
- It can increase the digestibility of a low quality forage
- It will lure your cattle to the underutilized areas of a pasture where they may not normally travel to.
During periods of drought, naturally occurring sources of water may dry up. This can leave many pastures with areas that cattle avoid due to lack of water. Research has shown cattle will travel over a mile from a water source, to consume CRYSTALYX®. While the cattle are there, they will also graze the adjacent forage.
Does your current supplement multi-task? CRYSTALYX® does. Put the CRYSTALYX® benefits from nutrition and behavior to work for you.
CRYSTALYX® Brand self-fed supplements are an excellent way to maximize your returns from a supplement program that’s available 24/7, while minimizing your investment in time, labor and equipment.
