BETTER GAINS WITH A HOME-GROWN FORAGE DIET
Feeding cattle home grown forage is a cost-effective way to balance rations and add fresh nutrients
to the diet. Variability in quality crops due to soil condition, moisture, forage maturity and other
external factors can play a role in both availability and a cow’s daily intake.
Producers want to meet nutrient requirements and ensure maximum gains, but this can be difficult
to calculate with foraging cattle. Supplementing with tubs and salt blocks is a perfect compliment to
a home-grown forage diet, helping to ensure maximum nutrients at a minimal cost.
We wanted to share a couple cases to illustrate the effectiveness of a supplemented home growth
forage program, and acquired some numbers from a couple of ranchers after their animals had gone
to fall sales…
CASE #1: The first rancher’s feeding program took place over a 310-day feeding period, on
367 head of cattle. Feeding only home-grown forage, salt blocks and LivestockLix® tubs*
resulted in a gross $1.84 per animal. This rancher used 78₵ per day as a cost, which resulted
in a net of $1.06 per animal, per day – a total net of $120,500 – not too bad!
CASE #2: The second rancher was on a 300-day feeding period on 223 head of cattle. This
rancher was also feeding only home-grown forage, salt blocks and LivestockLix® tubs* and
he observed a gain of 1.5lbs per animal per day, with a profit of $120,400 or $1.80 per
animal, per day.
Both ranches did not include any dry matter or alternate feed. In both cases the livestock were
completely forage fed, with only salt blocks and LivestockLix® tubs* as additions to the diet.
These nutritional supplements are formulated for Canadian conditions, helping to supplement the
diet by ensuring a consistent intake and is saliva limited to control portions. The tubs are cooked at
low temperatures using a proprietary process that helps ensure higher nutrient levels and low
“water weight” – with LivestockLix® tubs consistently maintaining moisture levels below 4%.
LivestockLix® tubs can help balance nutrient intake in your herd, providing a free-choice supplement
that contains no fillers or added salt. Feed cattle more efficiently and help ensure better gains,
better performance and an overall better outcome at sale.
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*Note: Agassiz Feeds has recently rebranded to LivestockLix®.
