Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
is growing quickly, cattle often do not get all the magnesium they need, and they need a high-
er percentage of magnesium in their mix. Selenium also is commonly deficient in soils. Local
universities or feed stores can recommend a mineral mix for you.
In winter, many farmers use energy licks to supplement hay and dormant pastures. These
licks, which can be put in the pasture so animals are free to eat from them, consist of a protein
source, an energy source, and usually molasses. They can be formulated into 40-pound blocks
up to 200-plus-pound tubs, and they are left in the pasture for cattle to lick. You can purchase
these licks at farm feed stores. You have to be careful and read about the ingredients in these
licks because sometimes they use animal byproducts, which are often avoided by grass-fed
and organic farmers since they are not a natural diet for cattle.
Body Condition Score
Beef farmers can gauge the health of their animals by using a body condition score system.
This score is used as a guideline to help you identify healthy, overweight, and undernourished
animals. Monitoring the body condition score will allow you to spot animals that are in
danger of slipping to unhealthy levels, which reduces fertility. If a heifer is in danger of losing
her body condition, you could supplement her feed or even wean her calf early. You may also
wish to cull cows that have difficulty maintaining a desirable score. Some farmers have the
whole system memorized; others learn to recognize a fat or undernourished animal and adjust
its feed accordingly.
There are separate scoring systems for beef and dairy cattle. Beef cattle are measured on a
system from 1 to 9. A score of 1 means the animal is nearly starving; a score of 9 means the
animal is obese; and scores between 5 and 7 are optimal. Ohio State University has pictures of
animals in each condition at
http://ohioline.osu.edu/l292/index.html
in its fact sheet “Scor-
ing Animals Can Improve Profits.”
Here is an overview of each number in a typical beef body condition scoring system:
1
is emaciated, with no fat left and very little muscle left. The animal may barely be able to
stand. An animal in this condition is probably suffering from a disease or parasites.
2
is very thin. You can see the bones of the animal, and there is quite a bit of muscle loss.
3
is thin. You can see the animal's foreribs, which are roughly in the center of the animal.
You can feel each point of the spine.
