The frequency of supplementation to beef cattle grazing pasture or being fed hay has a lot of ongoing commentary.  There’s good research on this topic dating back a few decades, and more recently with range beef cattle in Oregon (Schauer et al., 2005; Bohnert et al., 2002). Many metabolism studies comparing the efficiency of the strategies of daily supplementation compared to alternate days or even weekly intervals have been conducted.  Much of this current data has concluded that cow performance related to body condition score was not negatively impacted by the frequency of supplementation, nor were other parameters such as dry matter intake digestibility or grazing duration.  Some conclusions were based on the fact that ruminants can recycle Nitrogen from protein supplementation rather efficiently and maintain adequate levels in their body to support protein needs during periods of infrequent supplementation.

The main economic reason this work has been done is to look at ways to curb supplement delivery costs.  It’s simple, reduce the frequency you need to supplement and you reduce the associated costs of labor, equipment and fuel.   In other words, it’s justification to not supplement daily and still utilize relatively low cost supplements, i.e. byproducts and/or commodities.

Nothing new in our world

CRYSTALYX^® has had this one figured out for a long time. One tool I find useful with sales people and producers alike is an Excel spreadsheet program called Crystal Clear Economyx^®. This tool has been available for about a decade and helps evaluate the true cost of supplementation.  It really shows the hidden cost of labor, equipment, and fuel.  This can be downloaded free from www.crystalyx.com (see figure 1).  Crystal Clear Economyx^® allows the user to compare CRYSTALYX^® programs that have very little labor and equipment costs associated with feeding CRYSTALYX^® vs. various programs.  The bottom line is that CRYSTALYX^®, while being 3 or 4 times or more expensive in cost per pound compared to most commodities is still cost competitive on true delivered cost per head per day.    This fundamental advantage of CRYSTALYX^® does need to be pointed out from time to time.  I remember a rancher in Nebraska telling me one evening at a meeting that supplement delivery costs are greatly underestimated and another Montana rancher once told me he wished he didn’t have to have any machinery at all – it’s just another cost.  I think we may have stopped giving it ample attention in recent years where commodity prices were at all-time highs.  Now that they’ve retreated some, it’s important to revisit.

figure 1

Frequent Supplementation with limited delivery cost?

This is what CRYSTALYX^® truly offers.  A study conducted in Montana compared the cost of CRYSTALYX^® vs. a hand fed program with cows grazing in fall and winter pastures (Bailey and Jensen 2008).  The hand fed supplement was delivered 3 times per week with 4 lbs. per cow being fed each time (an equivalent of 1.7 lbs. on a daily basis).  CRYSTALYX^® was offered continuously and consumed at 0.75 lbs. per day.  Cow performance in weight gain and body condition was numerically better for the CRYSTALYX^® supplement (figure 2), and the delivered cost per head per day was less too.  In addition, several grazing advantages were realized with CRYSTALYX^® as cattle spent more time within 100 meters of CRYSTALYX^® feeding sites vs. hand fed supplement areas.  This allowed strategic placement of the CRYSTALYX^® supplement in more rough and underutilized terrain providing better grazing distribution and overall forage utilization.

The take home message for planning your supplement strategy this fall and winter is to consider the true cost of delivered supplement.  Furthermore, concern about performance as it relates to supplement frequency really is unwarranted albeit our data suggest that performance can be improved with continuous supplementation from CRYSTALYX^®.

With falling commodity prices this year, it will be attractive to evaluate such programs.  Some items may appear to be bargains on the surface but in reality will have a large price tag for handling, waste, storage and delivery.  Keep in mind the CRYSTALYX^® advantages in your supplement program.

The CRYSTALYX^® Advantages

• Round the clock supplementation – deliver only once per 10-14 days.
• Limited cost associated with labor and equipment.
• Equal or better cow performance.
• Enhanced grazing efficiency.
• Fortified vitamin mineral program available all in one supplement package.

References:

Bailey, Derek W. and Delyn Jensen. 2008.  Method of supplementation may affect cattle grazing patterns. Rangeland Ecology Management. 61:131-135.

Bohnert, D. W., C. S. Schauer, M. L. Bauer, and T. DelCurto. 2002a. Influence of rumen protein degradability and supplementation frequency on steers consuming low-quality forage: I. Site of digestion and microbial efficiency. J. Anim. Sci. 80:2967–2977.

Schauer, C.S., D. W. Bohnert, D. C. Ganskopp, C. J. Richards, and S. J. Falck.  Influence of protein supplementation frequency on cows consuming low-quality forage: Performance, grazing behavior, and variation in supplement intake.