Achieving Optimal Calf Weight in Low-Quality Forage Cow-Calf Systems

Cow-Calf Production: Overcoming Environmental and Nutritional Challenges 

When raising a cow-calf herd, producers have two main objectives: to produce the heaviest and healthiest calves possible each year to sell at the best price, and to maintain a robust and productive herd that thrives year after year.

Unfortunately, these objectives are challenged every year by environmental factors such as limited rainfall and heat stress, as well as by nutritional factors. These nutritional challenges are particularly pronounced when cow-calf herds are raised on poor-quality soils, which provide only low- to medium-quality forages with variable nutrient availability. This situation is exacerbated when combined with harsh environmental conditions. And even on good-quality soils, unpredictable weather can compromise producers’ efforts. 

Indeed, cows need to produce high quantities of nutrient-rich milk to ensure the proper growth and development of their calves before weaning. This can only be achieved if cows can extract sufficient nutrients and energy from their feed for both their own maintenance and good quality milk production. When cows are fed from low- to medium-quality forages, they often struggle to meet their nutritional needs. Additionally, poor nutrition can lead to lower reproductive capabilities due to inadequate body condition, which can negatively impact producers’ long-term revenue. 

Boosting Cow-Calf Herd Productivity: Nutritional Strategies and Practical Solutions

To achieve the highest productivity, and since weather conditions are beyond their control, producers need to focus on nutrition to compensate for the impact of feeding low- to medium-quality forages. 

Fortunately, this isn’t like climbing Mount Everest: there are easily accessible solutions! For example, implementing grazing management practices, such as rotational grazing to allow pastures to rest and regrow, can be very beneficial. Additionally, improving forage selection and seeding, adjusting stocking densities, and providing supplemental feeding can help too. 

Another effective strategy is to enhance the extraction of energy from the diet by using feed additives. Lallemand Animal Nutrition offers a rumen-specific live yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain CNCM I-1077 (LEVUCELL SC), which is selected to improve feed efficiency and is highly documented for its positive effect across a wide range of diets. 

Improved feed efficiency means more milk produced by the cow to feed the calf, ensuring its proper growth and development. 

LEVUCELL SC’s Benefits on Cow-Calf Grazing Systems: 2023 Kansas Study Results

Recent research conducted in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, USA (2023) on a cow-calf grazing system produced notable results. In this study, LEVUCELL SC was fed to cows through dry loose mineral from 30 days before calving until weaning. The trial aimed to evaluate the effects on cows’ body condition score (BCS) improvement, as well as on calf average daily gain (ADG) and calf weaning weight. 

LEVUCELL SC Enhanced Body Condition Score

The BCS was measured at weaning time using the ‘BCS system for beef cattle’ (U.S.A., scale 1-9). The LEVUCELL SC group showed an average improvement of half a condition score, with a greater proportion of cows achieving a BCS of 6 and 7 (Figure 1). 

LEVUCELL SC Boosts Calf Growth and Profitability

For calves with the same birth weight in both the control group and the LEVUCELL SC group, we observed a 7% increase in ADG (Figure 2) and a 5% increase in weaning weights. This improvement is attributed to the higher milk performance of the cows fed LEVUCELL SC. Based on the Kansas calf price in 2023, this translates to an extra $72 per calf and a return on investment of 7.5:1.

Maximizing Cow-Calf Performance and Profitability with LEVUCELL SC

“LEVUCELL SC can help enhance rumen function and improve milk yield, helping cows make the most out of even the most mediocre forage, converting that into better performance and high economic value for cow-calf producers”, Jolly-Breithaupt says.

The use of this rumen-specific live yeast can indeed help compensate for a lack of forage nutritional quality by improving feed efficiency, thereby guaranteeing revenue for producers. The supplementation could also support cow fertility, linked with better BCS, as demonstrated in this trial. This supports long-standing and sustained herds, leading to better performance.