In recent years, considerable interest has developed in the use of undegraded or so-called bypass protein, particularly for growing cattle. Missouri researchers wondered about the effectiveness of such protein for first-calf heifers. They compared a standard source, soybean meal, with blood meal, which is high in undegraded protein. No difference was found in postpartum interval or milk production. While, as usual, "additional research is needed", they indicated that undegraded protein appeared to offer no benefit over traditional sources of supplement for first-calf heifers.
DOES GATHERING CALVES REDUCE WEIGHT?
"I don't like to get my cattle up. The calves lose weight" How many times have you heard that? North Dakota workers decided to see. They gathered cattle, separated calves from cows, weighed calves, sorted them three times, left them in drylot six hours, reweighed, turned them back with the cows for 20 minutes, and weighed again. In drylot calves averaged losing 8.7 pounds; after 20 minutes they gained back 8.5 pounds. Gathering calves has labor costs (and maybe strains some of your muscles and even breaks bones), but it looks like there may be no weight cost.
UNUSUAL WAYS TO LEASE LAND AND BULLS
There are several common methods to figure cost of leasing grazing land, often by the acre, head, or stocking weight. Here's a cow lease you may not know of, used by a Hill Country rancher leasing land from family members (sometimes the worst leases to negotiate peacefully). They arrive at a long-term average lease and then vary it each year as the price of calves varies, using the USDA Yearly Average Price Received for Calves. That way the leaser pays yearly in proportion to receipts. More people are interested in leasing bulls, rather than owning. Leases often are done on some flat dollar amount or some percentage of the bulls value, often with various adjustments. A Rolling Plains rancher leases out bulls for a breeding season for 5% of the total value of the calves at weaning. Again, cost varies directly with the price of calves.
CALF FEED, SHORT GRAZE, OR LONG GRAZE?
California researchers weaned calves in May then: put some on feed at weaning (CF); summer grazed some on irrigated pasture for four months and then fed (SG); or summer grazed, wintered, and summer grazed again (LG). Gains were about 1 ½ lb/day the summer after weaning. Then LG lost 0.12 lb/day over the fall and winter and gained 2.43 lb/day the second summer. All groups were fed until they reached ultrasound-estimated backfat of 0.5 in. Results for CF, SG, LG were: days on feed 192, 114, 83; feedyard ADG 3.13, 2.47, 2.68; daily feedyard DM consumption 17.5, 19.8, 27.1; DM feed conversion 7.1, 6.3, 10.1; $ feed/cwt gain 36.3, 25.0, 64.1. Short-grazed cattle gained more efficiently and had lower cost of production than calf feds, which is why feeders don't like calves. It was expected the long-grazed cattle would have been more efficient. But their efficiency likely was reduced because they gained almost 2 ½ lb/day the second summer and weighed 950 lb and probably were fleshy when put on feed.
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