Ranchers are constantly striving to maximize the productivity of their native rangeland, as raising and selling heavy and healthy calves is key to profitability. Helping producers enhance calf weight gain while maintaining the optimum body condition of the cow herd is critical to keeping operations profitable.

It has been nearly 15 years since we wrote our first press article on the use of “herbs and spices” in cattle. Where have we been and what have we learned? What does the future hold for this technology? And most importantly, how do you decide what the value is for your cattle?

 
Everyone knows a livestock producer who’s lost animals to bloat. Because of the risk, some folks flatly refuse to graze their stock on dense stands of clover or alfalfa. Others kind of shrug, saying they’ve rarely lost animals and don’t worry about it much. So … what gives?

Oftentimes, to save time and labor, net wrap or twine is not removed prior to feeding hay to cattle. A South Dakota State University forage-binding survey reported that 54% of producers removed net wrap or twine when feeding bales whole, but only 11% of producers removed it when grinding bales. 

As the field of cattle science progresses, we delve deeper into a previously unexplored domain: the ruminant gut microbiome. Each animal hosts a distinct set of organisms, many of which remain unknown in terms of their specific functions and interactions.

As with all areas of dairy operations, increasing efficiency – in this case of feed in the rumen – deserves attention because when it is improved, gains can be seen beyond the area of focus, not to mention in sustainability (this includes economically) as well.

Young calves are the future of most dairy herds, and their future production potential is directly tied to their growth and development pre-weaning. At birth, the rumen is non-functional, leaving the calf reliant on a liquid, milk-based diet.

High oleic soybeans have been a hot topic as of late, and understandably, the need to control input prices while improving feed efficiency and maintaining components has been top of mind in 2024’s dairy economic state.

It’s no secret: Feed has always accounted for, by far, the biggest production expense of beef cattle production.