Protein plays a key role in growth, reproduction and overall health, making it a key ingredient to a balanced livestock nutrition ration and beef cattle management strategy. Unfortunately, there is not a one-size fits all approach that ensures your cattle are always meeting their protein needs.
The protein requirements of cattle change significantly throughout their production cycle. Understanding the daily protein requirements for mature cows and heifers at different stages is a helping you tailor your supplementation strategy.
Pinpointing Protein Needs: Mature Cows vs. Heifers
Understanding the specific protein demands at different stages of a cow's life cycle is key to a balanced and efficient feeding program. By understanding your cattle’s protein needs, you are better able to gauge whether or not your herd requires supplementation.
Mature Cow Daily Protein Requirements
For an average 1,200 lb mature cow, you can expect her protein needs to vary significantly based on her physiological stage:
- 1st Trimester: During the initial stage of gestation, a mature cow requires approximately 1.92 pounds of protein per day.
- 2nd Trimester: As gestation progresses, the protein requirement increases to around 2.40 pounds per day.
- 3rd Trimester: This is a critical period for fetal development, and the cow's protein needs rise further to 2.88 pounds per day.
- Lactation/Breeding: This stage demands the highest protein intake due to milk production and preparing for re-breeding, with a requirement of 3.36 pounds of protein per day.
Heifer Daily Protein Requirements
Heifers are often still growing while entering their first breeding and gestation cycles which means she will have distinct protein needs (based on a 900 lb heifer):
- Breeding: For breeding readiness, heifers need approximately 2.28 pounds of protein per day.
- 1st Trimester: During their first trimester of pregnancy, their daily protein requirement is about 1.90 pounds.
- 2nd Trimester: This increases to 2.09 pounds per day in the second trimester.
- 3rd Trimester: Similar to mature cows, the third trimester shows an increased need, reaching 2.28 pounds per day.
- Lactation/Breeding: As first-time mothers, their protein demand peaks at 2.66 pounds per day for milk production and re-breeding.
How Do You Know if Your Cattle Need More Protein?
Your cattle need supplemental protein whenever their dietary requirements aren't being met by the available forage. The quality of your forage is the first factor to consider when determining if your cattle are receiving an adequate amount of protein from your ration or if the herd requires supplementation.
Any forage with less than 12% protein may necessitate supplementation, depending on the cow's condition and stage of production. Low-quality forages, such as late-season range, dry pastures, oat hay, straw and corn stalks, will always require supplemental protein if fed for more than a few days.
Determining your feed's forage protein is vital to giving your cows the nutrition they need. The most reliable way to determine your forage's protein level is through a laboratory analysis. Contact your IFA sales consultant to ask about forage sampling and analysis.
Determining How Much Supplemental Protein to Feed
If forage alone isn’t meeting your cows’ protein requirement, you should consider supplementing protein. To figure out how much supplemental protein to feed, use these calculations:
- Forage Protein Intake (lbs) = Forage Protein Percent X Cattle Forage Intake (lbs) (Cattle Forage Intake=Body Weight X 0.02)
- Supplemental Protein Needed (lbs) = Cattle Protein Requirement (lbs) - Forage Protein Intake (lbs)
If the "Supplemental protein needed" results in a negative number, you might not need a protein supplement, but if you do, this estimate gives you an idea how much protein you should supplement.
For example: If you need to supplement 0.30 lbs of protein per head using:
- 20% protein supplement, you'd need to feed 1.50 lbs of that product per head.
- 24% protein supplement would require 1.25 lbs.
- 30% supplement would mean 1.00 lbs.
- 36% supplement would only require 0.84 lbs.
Comparing Supplements and Managing Costs
Feed is one of the largest expenses for cattle producers so it is important to make sure you are choosing a protein supplement that not only meets your cattle’s nutritional needs, but is also the most effective from a cost standpoint.
Calculating the daily cost per head can help you compare protein options to adequately supplement at the lowest possible cost:
Supplement Cost Per Head Daily = Target feeding rate to supply desired amount of protein X Product Cost Per Pound – Use the calculator below to determine the cost per cow per day.
For example: 1.25 lbs X $0.40 per pound = $0.50 per cow per day.
While higher protein products generally have a higher cost per pound, they can often be more economical overall. This is because you meet the protein needs with a lower feeding rate, meaning you might use less total product to achieve the desired result.
Key Considerations for Protein Supplementation
There are many cattle protein supplement options differing in protein content, cost and feeding method. Self-fed products offer convenience and labor savings, though they are typically more expensive. Hand-fed products can save you money per pound but require more frequent trips to the pasture for distribution.
Ultimately, protein supplementation decisions are unique to each ranch. While time savings and convenience are valid considerations, regularly tracking consumption levels and costs is vital.
Talk to An IFA Feed Expert
By understanding and meeting stage-specific protein requirements, you can truly optimize the health, growth and reproductive performance of your beef cattle. For the most accurate assessment of your herd's protein requirements, forage quality and beef cattle protein supplement options, reach out to your local IFA Feed Salesman or Nutritionist.
Information provided by Marty Short, IFA Commercial Feed Marketing and Business Development, and TBD (Jim, Dennis, Bryce, Other?). We want to cite all of our experts involved in providing info.