Springtime is typically not thought of for extreme weather (i.e. January windchills and July heat indexes) however the quick changes and variation of temperatures challenge cattle to stay on feed. The early March blizzard and cold weather following took lots of hair off the cattle this year. This coupled with mud and rain has pressured performance and decreased closeout numbers. When I ask operators how intakes have been I continually get the same answer, that they are holding steady. I would agree with this on average, but when observing daily feed records I have seen some huge swings in intake. The weekly or bi-monthly intake averages look steady. On Table 1, the dotted line represents the weekly average intake while the solid line graphs the daily intake. Remember that you offer the animal a diet on a 24 hour period and the key is trying to get that 24 hour diet as constant and steady as possible. This insures peak performance and ultimately profit.

Monitoring and daily feed records are crucial to bunk management and ultimately keeping the cattle eating. Intake records can also be used to benchmark yourself and the cattle against performance predictions.

Weighing the feed into the mixer wagon gives you the feed delivery. However, keep in mind that delivery does not equal intake. Using a simple bunk calling and recording system tells you what the cattle are eating each particular day.

Another variable to consider is the dry matter of the feed ingredients you are placing in the mixer. Routine testing and analysis of feedstuffs is recommended to accurately track dry matter intake and also insure that the diets are nutritionally sound.

If you are interested in computer monitoring of your cattle’s intakes or implementing a bunk scoring system, contact your Land O’Lakes Farmland Beef Specialist or contact us at webmaster@beeflinks.com  We have several forms and guidelines that make the bunk reading process simpler and eventually it becomes habit.