Supplement Purchased Feed
Using wheat pasture as a winter supplement for cows.
Limited grazing of wheat pasture has proven to be the best and also a more efficient approach for utilizing this high-quality forage with mature beef cows. The protein requirements of a dry cow can be met by allowing her to graze on wheat pasture for one day and returning her to dry pasture grass and/or hay for two to three days. A pattern of one day on wheat and one day off should meet the protein needs of the same cow after calving.
The day on wheat pasture should be defined as that amount of time required for the cow to graze her fill of wheat forage (3-5 hours) and not a full 24 hours. This short time on wheat allows the cow to gather adequate amounts of protein to carry her over the ensuing days on dry grass or hay. A 3-5-hour grazing limit helps to avoid the unnecessary loss of valuable forage due to trampling, bedding down and manure deposits. Depending on planting date under normal weather conditions in the fall, enough wheat forage should be accumulated by late November or early December to supply the protein needs of about one to one and a half cows per acre throughout the winter months when limit-grazing is practiced.
The protein requirements of a dry cow can be met by allowing her to graze on wheat pasture for one day and returning her to dry pasture grass and/or hay for two to three days.
Producers who decide to use continuous grazing of small-grain pastures should watch out for the possibility of “grass tetany.” Grass tetany will normally strike when older cows are grazing small-grain pastures in the early spring and the danger will tend to subside as hot weather arrives. A mineral-deficient condition primarily due to calcium, and to a lesser degree to magnesium, is thought to be the major factor that triggers this disorder and normally affects older cows that are nursing calves under 2-3 months of age. Dry cows are seldom affected.
When conditions for occurrence of tetany are suspected, cows should be provided mineral mixes containing 12%-15% magnesium and should consume 3-4 ounces per day. It is best for the supplements to be started a couple of months ahead of the period of tetany danger so that proper intake can be established. Because tetany can also occur when calcium is low, calcium supplementation should also be included. Symptoms of tetany from deficiencies of both minerals are indistinguishable without blood tests and the treatment consists of intravenous injections of calcium and magnesium gluconate, which supplies both minerals.
Cows grazing lush small-grain pastures should be fed mineral mixes containing both calcium and magnesium.
For more information on how much a cow should consume in the winter months, check out this previous Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article at www.angusbeefbulletin.com/extra/2019/01jan19/0119hn-consume-hay.html.
Editor’s note: This article is reprinted with permission from the Nov. 18 Cow-Calf Corner, a newsletter published by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, for which Glenn Selk is an emeritus extension animal scientist.
