Minerals Are Key For Beef Cattle Diets

Ron Lemenager has seen a lot in the realm of nutrition for beef cattle.  As a long time, Purdue University beef specialist, his awareness of nutrition needs for beef herds is needed through the advice he provides extension customers. 

“One of the big changes that we've seen over the last 10-20 years is the increased use of byproducts,” Lemenager said.  “So things like distillers grains and corn gluten feed and soybean hulls.” 

The reason for increased use of byproducts versus traditional corn and soybean meal as made cattle feed ingredients. 

“They become cost effective in many cases. Things like wheat midds come into play from time to time, so there is a number of byproducts that I think we're using more now than we were 10 or 15 years,” Lemenager said. 

It's Important To Know What Minerals Are Missing

He added a mineral profile should be conducted in cattle feed formulations that contain byproducts.  

“Whenever we used distillers grains, it would be really high in phosphorus and so we have to make sure that we balance out calcium, for example. And we use a calcium to phosphorus ratio, at least 1.5:1. But if you don't do that, you can end up with things like urinary calculi.” 

Another introduction in the beef cattle nutrition realm over the past decade. 

“The use of chelated minerals. And then there's some hydroxy minerals that are also on the market now.” 

The Difference Between Organic & Inorganic

“So inorganic would be like copper sulphate, zinc oxide, magnesium oxide, the oxides, the calcified ones. Those would be the inorganic. So, the organic ones would be things bound to something like a protein. You'll see things like copper protonate or maybe it's tied to an amino acid like a methionine, or whatever.” 

Minerals in feed or supplement can be an important nutritional component for beef cattle in instances such as livestock coming out of a drought situation. 

“If that happens, then I think our producers need to be thinking about making sure that they've got adequate mineral supplies and work with their nutritionist or their extension educator or whatever to make sure that they're not depriving these animals of  some pretty important minerals.”

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