farmboy
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Just wondering what the rest of you put out for mineral in the summer months? Creep or no creep?
Mineral Program
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leanin' H
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Intermountain Cattleman bagged mineral from IFA for the cattle on pasture I lease down along the foothills. And trace mineral/salt blocks to the cows on top of the mountain. And some folks have called me a creep but I'd say not. 
AC Diesel
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Breeders mineral from Kent feeds
Big Muddy rancher
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I used to use Vigortone mineral but logistics got the best of me so I have Tarus Salt build a mineral to match the tag on the Vigortone mineral I was using. I feed the same summer and winter but have some built salt free with Carmel added trying to get consumption up
VB RANCH
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the cheapest 1 to 1 no salt I can find
then put selenium 90 salt in it
so they eat 5 to 6 ounces a day
it don't take much salt
then put selenium 90 salt in it
so they eat 5 to 6 ounces a day
it don't take much salt
andybob
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I have tried different systems in different environments from desert through to temperate climate. Bespoke mixes for different seasons worked well enough but I feel a free choice loose mix works better and in the long term is cheaper, they take what they need, and are not having to take up another component which they have already met their requirement for.
VB RANCH
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I have heard of cows that can do this,andybob said:
however I think it is total bs
Faster horses
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VB RANCH said:
I think it is bs too. Remember when some mineral company had those mineral feeders that were sectioned off and they put different mineral in the different sections? What happened was the cows ate what was in the end sections first, unless it was phosphorus, which is very bitter and they wouldn't eat that at all. They
either ate what was in the end sections or they ate what tasted good. That deal didn't last because cows won't eat what they need and that is how it was marketed. JMO.
Probably my classical training, but I don't really believe in nutritional wisdom beyond the fact that salt starved cows will pig out upon receiving some. Our summer program is free choice custom blended to our pastures. Base is a general premix, and then we up the Mg in our breeding mineral. Regular mineral runs around $600/ton and breeding closer to $800. We are also going to try a multi-min injection prior to breeding this year.
littlejoe
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RSL--that sounds awful cheap---is there a lot of salt in it?
andybob
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Unless there is a difference between native breeds and commercial, there was a drop in overall consumption when I tried free choice over pre mix without any loss in production. It was easier when I was deployed for long periods, to have an illiterate herdsman top up minerals rather than having to change the appropriate mix for season. This worked in tropical low octane (high rainfall) environment, Tropical high octane (low rainfall) environment, and Namibian semi desert. Replacing the molasses based mineral supplement and rock salt with free choice in England with native strain Angus and Hereford, resulted in an initial increase in consumption, then an overall reduction with seasonal differences in consumption, I would like to continue this trial when I start my own herd again as I left the farm where I was doing this over 5 years, and they have now gone over to (expensive) kelp suppliment
gcreekrch
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Custom mix to fit our own feed. Rumensin and Biomoss added. $1600 a ton.
BRG
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We tested waters and grasses in our pastures and now have a custom ration. It REALLY fixed a few issues we were having before.
Faster horses
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Buying mineral on price alone is a mistake. Here is a little tip:when you buy mineral, don't just look at the % analysis, look at the ingredients. Stay away from mineral with processed grain by-products. That's not a mineral ingredient. That's a grain ingredient to cheapen up the cost of the mineral. Mineral that is too high in phos will contain grain by-products because phos is bitter and cattle won't eat it. Instead of changing the
formula, cheaper ingredients are added.
I just looked at a mineral tag sold locally and it is 12-12-12. Old outdated formula. And it had processed grain in it and on the bottom of the tag they admitted it because it read "grain added for palatablility." :???:
formula, cheaper ingredients are added.
I just looked at a mineral tag sold locally and it is 12-12-12. Old outdated formula. And it had processed grain in it and on the bottom of the tag they admitted it because it read "grain added for palatablility." :???:
Our prepartum ($600 per tonne) this last winter was
19.44% Ca, 0.04% Phos, 2.99% Mg, 0.53% Potassium, 0.03%S, 11.7% Na, 30.05% Salt.
Vit A 767 IU/Kg, E 3986
Cu 2454mg.kg, Manganese 4847, Zn 5498, Se 36.52, Iodine 99.3, Co 25 and Iron 8.
No Rumensin, although I think we are going to add it this winter.
The phos is very low as our swath and corn grazing is very high in phos. The mix will vary year over year, but works out fairly cheap because of the high Ca requirements.
19.44% Ca, 0.04% Phos, 2.99% Mg, 0.53% Potassium, 0.03%S, 11.7% Na, 30.05% Salt.
Vit A 767 IU/Kg, E 3986
Cu 2454mg.kg, Manganese 4847, Zn 5498, Se 36.52, Iodine 99.3, Co 25 and Iron 8.
No Rumensin, although I think we are going to add it this winter.
The phos is very low as our swath and corn grazing is very high in phos. The mix will vary year over year, but works out fairly cheap because of the high Ca requirements.
Faster horses
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RSL you are about 6:1 and that is one formula recommendation by nutritionists. Phos is expensive and
when you have feedstuffs that have higher amounts of phos, you sure don't need as much in your mineral.
In fact, nutritionists keep dropping the Phos requirements. In our area Phos is so high in the spring that
our customers have been using a 6:1 and having great results. They go to 2:1 when the grass starts to
dry out in late summer/fall. When the grass dries up, the nutrition isn't as high as when the grass is green. so cattle would tend to eat more in late summer/fall of the 6:1.
12-12 is a very old outdated formula. I'm not sure why it is still being sold by companies that make
mineral. We have it in our product line, but I've never sold a bag of it in 21 years. It's expensive and
not needed, as a general rule. (Of course, there are exceptions to everything.)
when you have feedstuffs that have higher amounts of phos, you sure don't need as much in your mineral.
In fact, nutritionists keep dropping the Phos requirements. In our area Phos is so high in the spring that
our customers have been using a 6:1 and having great results. They go to 2:1 when the grass starts to
dry out in late summer/fall. When the grass dries up, the nutrition isn't as high as when the grass is green. so cattle would tend to eat more in late summer/fall of the 6:1.
12-12 is a very old outdated formula. I'm not sure why it is still being sold by companies that make
mineral. We have it in our product line, but I've never sold a bag of it in 21 years. It's expensive and
not needed, as a general rule. (Of course, there are exceptions to everything.)
littlejoe
Well-known member
Phos expensive? Well, I wonder! Can't even buy decent stick matches anymore.
