Changes in dairy-ration formulation and feed management can help prevent reductions in dry matter intake during hot weather, advises Alvaro Garcia, South Dakota State University Extension dairy specialist.

“Heat stress occurs when cows cannot dissipate enough heat to maintain their core temperatures below 101.3°F,” says Garcia. “Internal heat production increases at higher dry-matter intakes, which makes high-producing cows more sensitive to heat stress. Body-temperature increases of just 2.7° have been shown to result in intake reductions of almost 13 lbs.”

When intake drops, nutritionists often formulate energy-dense rations with more concentrates and less forages. That’s a sound practice, says Garcia, if there’s sufficient effective fiber to stimulate rumination and maintain adequate rumen pH.

“Heat-stressed cows reduce rumination and tend to select finer feed particles. This combination of more concentrated rations, together with a reduced capacity to buffer rumen pH, increases the risk of acidosis during hot weather. These changes can be observed in farms by a reduction in milkfat and higher incidence of lameness.”

Here’s Garcia’s checklist of feeding strategies that help reduce excessive drops in intake:

1. Feed in early mornings or evenings so the highest metabolic heat production doesn’t coincide with maximum environmental temperatures.
2. Avoid feed shortages in the bunk. When offering fresh feed, there needs to be 0.5-5% refusals. Target refusals by pen as follows: fresh cows, 3-5%; high pen, 1-4%; low pen, 0.5-3%. Remove refusals at least once a day to minimize heating of the fresh feed.
3. Feeding a TMR is better than supplying feedstuffs individually.
4. Silages improve ration acceptability and have low pH, so they slow mold and yeast growth and reduce heating.
5. Including other high-moisture products such as sweet bran, beet pulp or wet distillers grains also helps increase ration acceptability.
6. Add water when ration dry matter exceeds 60% to bring it down to 50%. Water conditions the ration, reduces dust and increases its acceptability.
7. Feeding at least twice a day and mixing the TMR immediately prior to feeding helps reduce heat buildup in the feed bunk.
8. Push up feed 8-10 times a day. Make sure there’s feed available all along the feed bunk; cows tend to concentrate and eat close to fans or water troughs.
9. Manage the silo face to prevent secondary fermentations and heating. Defacer equipment minimizes air infiltration. Remove at least 1’ daily from all the exposed face, and use all removed silage as soon as possible.
10. Use feed additives to control mold growth and reduce secondary fermentations and excessive heating in the feed bunk. Most of these products contain propionic acid.
11. Feed high-quality, highly digestible forages. Target minimum effective NDF at 22% of the diet dry matter.
12. Avoid excessive particle breakdown during mixing. Most TMR mixers have three- to six-minute mixing times when they have been turning during loading. Check particle size with a Penn State forage particle separator. The top sieve of a three-sieve separator should retain 2-8% of the diet.
13. Feed additives such as yeasts, fungi and/or probiotics can improve rumen health.
14. Increase sodium bicarbonate to 1% of the diet; also supply it free choice.
15. Heat-stressed cows lose lots of minerals. Increase sodium, potassium and magnesium to at least 1.5, 0.45 and 0.35% of the diet dry matter, respectively. White salt (sodium chloride) is a source of sodium; however it’s important to maintain chlorine at 0.35% of the diet dry matter, and not exceed 0.5% white salt.
16. Use rumen-protected fat to increase the ration’s energy density, but avoid unprotected fats such as vegetable oils or tallow.
17. Maintain high levels of starches and sugars in the diet (26 and 8%, respectively). Cereal grains that contain starch with slower degradation rates, such as corn and milo, are better than wheat and barley, which have faster degradation rates.
18. Place water troughs in shade and clean them frequently. Cows prefer to drink water with a temperature between 63 and 82°F. If the water isn’t cool enough, it further adds to the heat load.

Source: Hay & Forage

By Kent Tjardes

If you’re a kid at the swimming pool, the heat of summer can be delightful. But for cattle, summer heat can be dangerous, even deadly. “Heat stress in cattle is not something to be taken lightly,” says Kent Tjardes, Ph.D. and cattle consultant with Purina Animal Nutrition. “A few precautionary steps are essential to help cattle through hot weather.”

Be Water Wise

The Most important essential is the availability of clean, fresh water for all cattle. “Cattle water intake can increase by up to 50 percent during extreme heat,” says Tjardes. “Water not only prevents dehydration, but many animals will place their tongue and nose in the water to help cool the body.” Here are some water Tips:

• Consider adding trough space when cattle are crowding existing water sources. The recommended standard linear waterer space is about .75 inches per head. But increasing linear area to two or more inches per head has been show to decrease heat stress.
• Monitor Calves carefully for water intake. Calves are small, and they get dehydrated quickly. Cows typically drink first, making calves second in line. Make sure there is enough water flow for the calves after the cows have been at the water source. After a few long hours in the heat, the last thing you want is calves to return to an empty waterer.
• Ensure water sources are at an appropriate height for calves to access. The height of some waterers makes it hard for calves to access, discouraging water intake.

 
Control Flies

Controlling flies is another essential strategy.”Biting, irritation, and blood loss caused by flies adds stress to the animal,” says Tjardes. “To protect themselves from flies, cattle often group together. But this behavior can cause animals at the center of the group to become overheated.” Use fly control methods to reduce irritation, grouping behavior, and help alleviate heat stress caused by grouping. Here are some go-to fly control methods:

• For pasture settings, offer Purina Wind and Rain Storm Fly Control Mineral with Altosid Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) to target horn flies.
• In feedyard settings, consider a custom Purina supplement with ClariFly to control house, stable, face, and horn flies.
• In any environment, cleanliness is critical. Scrape manure out of lots, remove excess feed along the outside of bunks and cut weeds to help reduce fly populations.

 
More Essentials

In addition to water management and fly control, here are a few more essential to help cattle beat the heat.

• Offer shade: shade can’t always be provided but, when available, it can help cattle avoid heat stress.
• Consider air flow: A five to ten mph wind helps to cool the animal’s body temperature. Avoid the use of pens with limited air flow (i.e., pens surrounded by tall cornfields or bales) or remove potential windbreaks. If you do use pens with limited airflow, build mounds within them to help raise cattle to an elevation of airflow.
• Don’t handle the cattle in the heat: If possible, consider waiting until a cooler day. If you must work animals, do so in the morning when the temperature tends to be the lowest.

A few small changes can help keep cattle comfortable when the summer temperature rises.

Source: Purina Poultry

By Chris Forcherio

Have you defined what success and failure look like in your weaning program?

Success might look like live, healthy calves who put on weight with minimal intervention. On the flip side, failure may be calf mortality, sick or stressed, a high rate of treatment and less weight to sell. No matter your definitions, having a plan in place can help you avoid weaning pitfalls and, ultimately, failure during a critical time frame.

“Weaning shows how successful a producer has been for the past year,” said Chris Forcherio, Ph.D. and beef research manager with Purina Animal Nutrition. “For calves going to a market, it’s a producer’s payday. For calves staying in the herd, it’s a time for them to get ready for their next phase of production.”

Make plans now to avoid these common weaning-time pitfalls.

Pitfall #1: The plan is, there is no plan

“Too often producers just go out and wean. They find a break in the weather and decide it’s time,” says Forcherio. “The ‘just do it’ mentality may work out, but much like a producer plans for breeding and calving every year, they should plan for weaning.” Develop a flexible plan at least a month in advance. Planning ahead a month gives you time to order feed, work on your health program, order vaccines and more. Part of your health program may include pre-weaning vaccines that can be administered well in advance of weaning day to boost immunity.

Pitfall # 2: Facility Failure

Prepare facilities for calves trying to get back to their mothers. If calves are in a fenced area, check and reinforce fences as needed to prevent the calves from escaping. For corral areas, be sure gates are secured and without gaps. Another aspect of facilities is the environment. Small, tightly confined areas with mud are not ideal for calves. Give Calves a stress-free space with plenty of room and grass. Feed bunk placement and space are also critical. “Producers often put feed bunks in a place that convenient for them, not for their cattle,” says Forcherio. “Place feed bunks in an area where calves will run into them, not just in a place that’s convenient.” Bunks should be placed perpendicular to fence lines so calves can bump into feed as they are circling the fences. To prevent calves from competing for bunk space, provide 12 inches of bunk space for hand-fed feeds like Precon Complete Feed and six to eight inches of bunk space for self-fed feeds like Accuration Starter Complete Feed.

Pitfall # 3: The height of water and hay

Beyond making sure calves can find water sources and ensuring there is clean, fresh water available for all calves, another common pitfall is water accessibility. “Make sure your water trough is not too tall,” says Forcherio. “We tend to assume that 400- or 450-pound calves are going to be able to reach the same waterer set up for a 1200-pound cow when that may not be the case.” The same concept applies to hay feeders. “I often refer to hay out of reach of calves as the ‘devil’s tower of hay in the hay ring,'” says Forcherio. “The hay ring is out, and the round bale is in the hay ring, but the calves can’t reach the tower of hay in the middle.” Check your hay feeders to ensure they aren’t too tall for the shorter necks of calves. If hay is out of reach, do what you can to spread hay from the center towards the outside of the hay ring.

Plan to drive feed intake

What is Forcherio’s top piece of advice? Have a plan to maximize feed intake. “The end goal is to drive intake and get calves eating the nutrients they need to stay healthy,” says Forcherio. “Anything you can do to set calves up to eat at target intake levels will help them have a higher chance of success.”

Ask your dealer about starter feeds available through Purina All Seasons Cattle Nutrition Program.

Source: Purina Checkpoint

By Chad Zehnder

These are simple things you can do to make the most of forages today and further on down the road:

1. Implement a grazing plan

Rotational grazing gives pastures a rest compared to grazing them continuously. You can rotate cattle between pastures as often as once a day to as little as once a month. Either way, rotational grazing can help ensure quality and quantity of forage throughout the summer. Simply splitting a pasture in half can help.

2. Consider it soil fertility

Just like you need to look at cattle requirements each winter and determine if you need to supplement, the same holds true for soil. Work with an agronomist to test your soil. Test results will tell you if you need to fertilize to combat caps in soil fertility. Remember soil fertility will impact not only forage quantity but will influence quality – especially protein. What your cattle eat is a direct result of soil fertility.

3. Hone in Harvest

There’s no “right” time to harvest. Harvest typically occurs when there’s a happy medium of quantity to match quality. Time harvest to match the quality of forage desired. Keep in mind that as forages mature digestibility and protein tend to drop. Also look at ways to minimize leaf loss and consider the use of a preservation to help with storage.

4. Manage the summer slump

As you get into July and August, forages mature and pasture quality declines. You may need to supplement to meet cattle requirements. Supplementation is especially vital in spring-calving herds with cows still lactating. Don’t overlook calves; as pasture quality declines, consider offering calves supplemental creep feed.

Source: Purina Checkpoint