Winter months in the Midwest are some of the toughest cattle producers experience.
The intense wind can rip through any coat, and the cold can sting your face within seconds of opening the door of your warm home. No producer enjoys the challenge of making it out to the shed to hopefully get a tractor started and push mass amounts of snow out of the way just to feed cattle or check pastures.
Midwest winters can be an overall hassle 鈥 not just for producers, but for their cattle as well.
Being out in the cold night and day, standing out in the middle of snowstorms, and at times not having easy access to drinking water due to freeing conditions are experiences no person should ever have to go through. But this is the everyday life for cattle in the winter.
Granted, cattle are much better equipped to survive these extremes than people are, but producers still do everything they can to make sure their cattle are staying healthy and growing through the winter months.
One way the producer can do this for feedlot cattle specifically is through their diet. Making sure cattle are getting the nutrients they need will help them withstand the elements of winter.
There are six nutrients that are very important to the diet of feedlot cattle: water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. With the combination of these six nutrients, a cattle producer can help feedlot cattle stay healthy and keep growing, even in extreme winter conditions.
Out of all six nutrients, water is the most important of them all. Not only does it keep cattle hydrated and healthy, but it plays a big role in feed intake.
鈥淲ater is the most important nutrient because if they don鈥檛 drink, they don鈥檛 eat,鈥 said Roxanne Knock, PhD staff nutritionist at Dakotaland Feeds. 鈥淲ater is going to drive feed intake. If the cattle can鈥檛 drink, you鈥檙e going to see a decrease in intakes.鈥
There are many aspects of drinking water in the winter months that producers need to consider. Thawing water tanks is always top of mind, but one point that may be easily overlooked is the cleanliness of their drinking water.
鈥淐lean water tanks have always been number one,鈥 said Allison VanDerWal, a nutritionist at Form-A-Feed. 鈥淢aking sure their water is thawed and close to feed makes it easier in a feedlot setting.鈥
Drinking space per head and making sure cattle have water at all times are also important.
鈥淭ry to have one linear inch of drinking space per head,鈥 Knock said. 鈥淵ou also need to make sure that you鈥檝e got enough water flow to get adequate water to cattle through the winter, too.鈥
When it comes to supplying energy to get feedlot cattle through harsh winter months, carbohydrates play a big role.
The highest amount of energy comes from carbohydrates.
鈥淲hen it comes to carbohydrates and feedlot cattle, the primary one that we鈥檙e going to be supplying is starch through high energy feeds like corn and high moisture corn,鈥 says Knock.
Even though these feedstuffs are going to supply feedlot cattle with the energy they need, it鈥檚 important to keep a good amount of roughage in their ration to help the rumen function and to keep them warm.
According to Knock, final finishers should have 10% to 14% roughage in their diets.
鈥淲e still want to maintain some roughage in their diets like less digestible neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF),鈥 she said. 鈥淭his will help us create a stable rumen environment and generate fermentation. It can also help us maintain body temperature.鈥
Making sure feedlot cattle have enough carbohydrates in their diet will supply them with the energy they need to withstand the elements of a Midwest winter.
A nutrient that goes hand in hand with carbohydrates in supplying energy is protein.
鈥淧rotein can be broken down to supply energy to that animal, but it鈥檚 not sufficient (on its own),鈥 VanDerWal said. 鈥淏ut you need your protein to support muscle development and growth. Carbohydrates are the same.鈥
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Although protein isn鈥檛 as efficient as carbohydrates are, they are still important to provide in a feedlot ration for many reasons.
Protein supplies the nitrogen that cattle need, according to Knock.
鈥淧rotein sources that are going to mix well into rations and supply enough degradable and undegradable protein will maximize rumen environment and microbial protein production,鈥 VanDerWal said. 鈥淚t will also supply enough bypass protein so we鈥檙e able to meet the animal鈥檚 complete protein needs.鈥
Another nutrient that does its fair share of supplying energy is fats.
鈥淔ats are a dense energy source to give cattle, whether we鈥檙e feeding cattle in the winter or the summer,鈥 Knock said. 鈥淏ut if there鈥檚 too much fat, it鈥檒l deter feed intake. You need to find a balance.鈥
Feedlot rations should be 2% added fat or less, according to VanDerWal.
鈥淚t could be a great supplement of energy,鈥 she said. 鈥淗owever, we have to kind of be careful with that because it tends to hinder rumen fermentation.鈥
Feeds such as distillers grains, oils and tallow can be used for added energy, but they鈥檙e not typically put into feedlot rations. Some large yards will add tallow, but mainly to enhance feed efficiency, Knock said.
Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats all play roles in providing cattle with the energy they need to survive winter weather and to put some weight on along the way. But vitamins and minerals are the nutrients that are going to help keep your herd healthy through the extremes of winter.
Throughout the year, it鈥檚 important for cattle to be supplied with vitamins A, D and E. Vitamins A and E are especially important to supply to feedlot cattle through the winter. Those vitamins decrease fairly rapidly as feed is stored, Knock said.
A lack of these vitamins can cause a decline in herd health.
鈥淚f they don鈥檛 get A, you鈥檒l see rough hair coats and you might run into some night blindness or other issues,鈥 Knock said. 鈥淟ack of vitamin E can cause just a general decrease in overall health 鈥 maybe some reduced intake overall and reduction in immunity.鈥
鈥淓 is something that we鈥檙e thinking about the most when we鈥檙e thinking about small calves,鈥 says VanDerWal. 鈥淚t can help with antioxidant and immune response.鈥
Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption.
Along with vitamins, minerals help with overall health and function. Balancing macro and micro minerals is important, according to VanDerWal. Macros come in with natural feedstuffs a little easier and are a little more available than micro nutrients, she explained.
鈥淢acrominerals calcium, phosphorus and salt are required through the year,鈥 Knock said. 鈥淪alt is very important in a water balance standpoint to make sure they aren鈥檛 getting dehydrated and that they can absorb nutrients the way they鈥檙e supposed to. Calcium and phosphorus are really important for bone growth and development.鈥
According to VanDerWal, microminerals sometimes aren鈥檛 readily utilized out of natural feedstuffs. Zinc in particular is one to look at closely.
鈥淲hen cattle are growing and when they鈥檙e laying on muscle, they鈥檙e building new cells. So, we really need to make sure that we鈥檝e got adequate zinc supply,鈥 Knock said.
Copper is also an important micromineral in terms of foot health, she added. Foot health is especially important in the winter months when pen floors are frozen.
鈥淭he biggest issue when we鈥檙e looking at winter is an increased maintenance requirement,鈥 says VanDerWal. 鈥淎 complete trace mineral package will help not only meet those maintenance requirements, but it鈥檚 also going to help with those main functions. It鈥檚 also going to help with maximizing production and immune function.鈥
Whether it鈥檚 water to keep cattle hydrated, carbohydrates, protein, and fats to keep cattle energized and gaining, or vitamins and minerals to keep cattle healthy, there are many ways to keep cattle pushing through the extremes of winter.
鈥淢y biggest thing would be to work with a nutritionist,鈥 VanDerWal said. 鈥淪omebody outside your farm that can help analyze diet, look at your cattle, and give you and opinion to help you through those months.鈥
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have those days where the wind is blowing 30 mph and it鈥檚 10 to 15 below. There鈥檚 just no way for that animal to really meet their energy requirements for the day to maintain themselves and grow,鈥 says Knock. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to make sure we鈥檝e got as much energy as we can in order to keep them growing.鈥
Gabby Fink is studying ag communications at SDSU. She served as Tri-State Neighbor Youth Crop Watcher in 2022, reporting from the farm of her parents, Chris and Rochelle Fink in Aurora County, South Dakota, where they raise black baldy cattle, running feedlots and a custom feeding operation.