Livestock Feed and Nutrition

Maintain the health of your animals with quality feeds for livestock
By Jamie McIntosh If you're in charge of the livestock feed and nutrition at your agricultural facility, you must choose feeds that deliver the best results for less money. Livestock science is an evolving field, and feed suppliers continue to refine their products to increase the palatability, digestibility and nutrient content of livestock feeds.
 

As a decision-maker for the animals under your care, you must consider three ways to strengthen your livestock feeding program:

1. Improve your livestock feeding program with supplements.

2. Broaden your customer base by choosing organic livestock feed.

3. Feed your livestock products engineered to promote optimal health at every stage of life.

Enhance your livestock nutrition with supplement blocks

Although cattle and other livestock can receive the majority of their nutrition from forage and grasses, these nutrient sources vary in quality due to seasonal and weather fluctuations. You can improve your livestock's reproductive and overall health by supplementing their regular livestock feed with supplements bound in weatherproof cubes or blocks.
Try: Ridley Block Operations produces supplement blocks for cattle, goats, sheep and horses in biodegradable barrels. Kay Dee Feed Company makes highly palatable supplement blocks, ensuring that your livestock will consume enough of the product to meet their nutritional needs.

Find organic livestock feed

Tap into the strong consumer desire for food products with an organic certification. The United States Department of Agriculture administers the National Organic Program, and it mandates that any meat that bears the organic label must come from animals that consumed organic feed.
Try: Coyote Creek Farm offers organic feeds in bulk or 50 pound bags in its attempt to encourage organic grain farming efforts and reduce its carbon footprint. McGreary Organics, Inc. makes 50 pound bags of organic cattle, poultry, sheep, pig, goat and turkey feed to order each week in its Pennsylvania facility.

Find cattle feeds that meet the needs of your animals at every life stage

There isn't a single feed product on the market that can meet all of the nutritional needs of your cattle. Livestock feed and nutrition suppliers must provide different cattle feed products formulated for calves, bulls and heifers. Additionally, dairy cows, beef cattle and pregnant cows have different needs.
Try: Purina Mills, LLC offers a 4-square feeding program to ensure your cattle's best health and performance at every life stage. Kalmbach Feeds manufactures over 20 different feed blends to improve the performance of your livestock, including premium feeds for show animals.

• Many livestock feed companies retain veterinarians and food science experts on their customer support teams. The job of these professionals is to keep you abreast of feeding trends and scientific developments, so you can make an informed decision about your livestock feed purchase. Ask for a consultation with one of these experts when you contact your supplier.