Supplementing fall pasture

By Dwayne Summach, PAg, Livestock and Feed Extension Specialist, Kindersley, Sask.

Using lower quality forages during the fall period is a key component in an economically successful beef operation. Finding strategies that enhance animal performance, prolong the grazing period of pregnant beef animals and shorten the winter-feeding period has been the goal of many research programs through the decades. In 2021, the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association started a project through the Agricultural Demonstration of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) program, funded under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, to demonstrate the value of providing supplemental canola meal to bred heifers grazing dormant pastures.

Demonstration projects were located near Hodgeville and Big Beaver. The producer at Hodgeville split his group of 50 bred Charolais heifers into two groups of 25. The supplemented group received 37.5 kg of canola meal every other day, distributed into a trough, while grazing 320 acres of crested wheatgrass pasture. The control group of 25 bred heifers were allowed to graze an adjoining crested wheatgrass pasture. The demonstration started on September 30 and continued for 60 days. The heifers receiving the supplemental canola meal gained 1.9 lb. a day compared to the 1.5 lb. gained by the un-supplemented group. The cost of the canola meal was $0.46 per head, per day and when combined with the pasture cost of $1.75 per head, per day, which totaled $2.21 per day, for a heifer.

At Big Beaver, the producer had a group of 60 black angus bred heifers and an additional 37 black angus cross commercial bred heifers. A group of 25 bred heifers were sorted out of the black angus heifers to be the un-supplemented control group and the remaining 72 animals were supplemented with 137 kg of a mixture of 80 per cent canola meal and 20 per cent trace mineralized salt every other day. The demonstration began November 7 and concluded January 11, for a total of 65 days. Average consumption of the canola meal and salt was 1.9 kg per head, every two days. The pastures were approximately 1,900 acres of native range. Bred heifers in the control group gained 0.2 lb. per day on average while the supplemented bred heifers gained 0.5 lb. per day. The cost of the supplement was $0.48 per head, per day, combined with the pasture cost of $1.30 per head, per day, for a total cost of $1.78 per head per day.

Both producers estimated the alternative feeding program would have been providing oat or barley greenfeed at a cost of $3.20 per head, per day. This project demonstrated providing canola meal to bred heifers grazing dormant pasture, saved $0.99 per head per day at Hodgeville and $1.42 per head per day at Big Beaver versus feeding greenfeed.

Improvement in animal performance due to supplementation was measured as change in liveweight (Table 1). Providing the daily equivalent of 1.7 lb. of canola meal improved average daily weight gain by 0.4 lb. per head during October and November at Hodgeville and 0.3 lb. per day during November and December at Big Beaver.

The delivery of a limited amount of supplemental protein improves the animal’s ability to digest the dormant forage they have consumed or allows them to eat more. Either way, more nutrients are retained and the heifers grow better themselves in addition to maintaining their pregnancy.

Including strategic protein supplementation to shorten the time full feed needs to be provided, lowers the overall feed cost. Assistance evaluating fall grazing and supplementation plans may be obtained by contacting your local livestock and feed extension specialist (https:// www.saskatchewan.ca/business/agriculture-natural-resources-and-industry/agribusiness-farmers-and-ranchers/agriculture-regional-offices/ view-regional-staff-biographies) or by calling the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.