Winter Protein: Feed Only What the Cows Are Short On

Most cow men buy protein in winter. A national USDA study of beef cow-calf operations, NAHMS Beef 2007-08, found 74.7 percent fed protein supplements to cows at some point in the prior 12 months, per its nutrition summary. That is old data and a different number than some you will hear repeated, so just take it as a sign the practice is common. Common does not mean right for your cows. Here is how to tell.

Why protein works

The rumen bugs do the digesting, and they need nitrogen. NDSU Extension says in its low-quality forage advice that fermentation drops when forage crude protein is under about 7 percent, so the cow digests less and eats less. Feed protein and the bugs speed up, and she eats more hay. Utah State Extension says supplemental protein can lift dry matter intake about 20 percent, and that if forage TDN is around 50 percent or better and the cow is in decent flesh, protein often covers most of an energy gap too.

When it is wasted

Missouri Extension, in its cow nutrition guide, says dormant tall fescue rarely drops below 7 percent protein and that protein supplements are generally ineffective in their cool-season systems, where energy is usually what is short. If that is you, protein cubes do very little. Missouri also says to check quantity first. If pasture is under about 4 inches, cows cannot fill up, and no cube fixes that. Look at the grass and the condition on the cows before you open your wallet.

Pick the feed

NDSU says real protein supplements run 25 to 30 percent crude protein: oilseed meals, distillers grains, corn gluten feed or good hay. Urea is cheap, but it works worse on poor forage. NDSU limits urea to 0.05 pounds a day for dry cows and 0.10 for lactating cows, and says a tag showing 10 percent NPN protein equivalent means about 3.6 percent urea. USU says to keep urea-based NPN to about a third of total protein. Read the tag, and start it slow.

Buy it by the pound of protein

USU ran some example numbers. Delivered alfalfa at 18 percent protein and $150 a ton came to about 42 cents per pound of protein. A 36 percent block at $880 a ton was about $1.22 and a 30 percent tub at $1,100 a ton about $1.83. Your prices are different, but the method is right: price per pound of protein, plus what it costs you to haul and feed it. Missouri found a higher-priced 40 percent feed can beat a cheaper low-protein one.

Feed it less often

Cows recycle nitrogen. USU says feeding protein every other day or three times a week works for mature cows, with 2.3 pounds three times a week standing in for 1.0 pound daily. Missouri says as little as twice a week at about 1 pound of crude protein per cow per day when protein is short. That saves you trips and fuel. Thin cows and young cows may need it more often, and energy feed goes out more often too.

Watch intake on tubs and blocks

Self-fed tubs and blocks look easy, and they can hide a problem. Cows eat them at different rates depending on the weather, the forage and who is at the front of the line. Some days the tub sits full and some days it is licked clean. The label tells you how much a cow should take. If your cows are eating far more or far less than that, you are either burning money or not feeding what you think you are. Weigh what goes out and what is left over for a week or two, and divide by cows. It is boring work, and it tells you the truth about a program that costs real money.

Where men go wrong

• Buying protein without a forage test.
• Feeding protein when the real problem is energy or short grass.
• Letting the boss cows eat it all while the thin ones get none. Spread the feed or sort the groups.
• Shopping by price per ton.
• Skipping mineral.
• Going over the urea limit.

Run it like this

1. Walk the pasture. Is there enough grass or hay?
2. Test the forage.
3. Crude protein under about 7 percent and energy fair: protein probably pays.
4. TDN under about 50 percent: you need energy too.
5. Buy the cheapest protein per pound, labor included.
6. Pick a schedule and score body condition to see if it works.

Our hay math piece covers the quantity side. For the nutrition basics, farm.fm's page on stress management for Angus cattle is useful since cold-stressed cows burn more energy, and agriculture.directory can point you to local extension help.

Bottom line

Protein cake pays when protein is the shortage. Test, price it by the pound of nutrient, and judge it by what you see on the cows. Check with a nutritionist, since needs shift with stage and weather.