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176: How to Make Winter Protein Supplementation Pay Off · CattleUSA Daily

• 0:03
  Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily podcast, your go to source for
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  the latest livestock markets, industry insights and the update
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  shaping agriculture today. I'm your host, Lauren Moylan, a
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  passionate advocate for agriculture, here to keep you
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  informed and connected. Now let's dive into today's
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  episode. Every winter, the same question
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  comes up. Do I need to supplement protein?
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  And if I do, will it actually pay off?
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  Because when forage quality drops, it's easy to reach for a
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  bag of cubes or a tub and feel like you're doing something
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  right. But if you don't know the
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  numbers behind it, protein supplementation can turn into
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  one of the most expensive habits on your operation.
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  Today I want to help you figure out when that protein is an
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  investment and when it's just an expense.
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  Let's look at how to make winter protein supplementation actually
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  pencil out. When we feed low quality hay or
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  dormant pasture, the issue usually isn't just energy.
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  It's protein. Cows rely on room and microbes
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  to digest forage. Those microbes need protein to
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  do their job. When protein levels fall too
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  low, forage digestibility drops, intake goes down, and the cows
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  eat less but burn more energy trying to stay warm.
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  That's why even a small protein supplementation can sometimes
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  boost intake and make poor quality forage go further.
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  But here's the catch. Not every operation needs it,
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  and not every cow does. Supplementing when protein isn't
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  actually the limiting factor wastes money fast.
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  So before you feed it, you've got to know what you're feeding.
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  The first step is simple. Test your forage.
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  Don't guess, Don't assume. Last year's hay test sample
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  still applies. Every cutting, every pasture,
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  every Bale can be different. You need to know the crude
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  protein and total digestible nutrients to see if there is a
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  true deficiency. A dry cow in mid gestation needs
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  around 7% crude protein. Late gestation cows or lactating
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  cows they need more like 9 to 11%.
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  If your forage is below that, supplementation probably makes
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  sense. Next, look at the class of
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  cattle that you're feeding. Mature cows can handle lower
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  protein diets for a while, but replacement heifers and growing
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  calves need more. And finally, compare cost by
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  nutrient, not just by ton. That 20% cube might look cheaper
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  on paper, but when you break it down by the cost per pound of
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  usable protein, a 38% cube or meal based supplement might
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  actually be the better buy for your operation.
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  That's where most people lose money, buying bulk instead of
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  value. Here's an example.
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  Say you've got an 1100 LB cow in late gestation.
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  She needs around 1.6 lbs of crude protein a day.
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  If your hay only provides about .9 of a pound, you've got a .7
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  LB gap to fill. A 38% protein cube would take
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  roughly 2 lbs a day to cover that gap.
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  Now compare cost. If that cube runs $380 a ton,
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  that's $0.19 a pound. About $0.38 per cow per day.
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  That's roughly $11.00 a month to maintain body condition score
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  throughout the winter. But if you skip it and she loses
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  addition, you are guaranteed to pay for it later and breed back
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  and calf weight or in both. So the question isn't can I
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  afford to feed protein, it's can I afford.
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  What happens if I don't? Here's where producers often go
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  wrong. First, feeding protein when
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  energy is actually the limiting factor.
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  If your cows are thin and the haze pour, protein alone won't
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  fix that. They need total digestible
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  nutrients, too. Second, feeding too often or in
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  the wrong amount. Studies show that cows can
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  handle being fed protein every two or three days without losing
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  performance, as long as total intake balances out.
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  That saves you trips, fuel, and labor.
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  Third, not managing access. When cows crowd feeders, part of
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  the group misses out. So you think you're feeding
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  enough, but half the herd isn't getting it.
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  And finally, not tracking cost per pound of gain or
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  reproduction improvement. You can't manage what you can't
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  measure. Sometimes the smartest play is
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  to hold your feed budget tight. If you're haze testing at or
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  above that 9% crude protein and the cows are holding condition,
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  you probably don't need to supplement, or at least not yet.
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  If the cost of supplement outweighs nutritional return,
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  skip it or at least scale back. And if your cows are in good
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  shape heading into calving, there's no need to fix what
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  isn't broken. Protein supplementation should
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  be a tool, not a reflex. So here's the bottom line.
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  Protein supplementation can pay big, but only if you know your
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  forage, know your cows, and know your cost.
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  Testing hay, comparing supplements by nutrient value
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  and matching feed to need is what separates the operations
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  that just get by from the ones that get ahead.
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  So before you drop money on another load of cubes, grab a
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  hay sample, run the numbers and ask.
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  Does this actually pencil out? That is where the profit starts,
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  not in the feed truck. This is Cattle USA Daily.
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  I'm Lauren Moylan, Thank you so much for tuning in.
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  If you are watching on YouTube, like and subscribe and we will
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  catch you guys next time.