5 tips for feeding livestock during drought | Purina Pet Food (2024)

Management: Cow & Calf

Management: Replacement

Nutrition: Dietary supplements

Nutrition: Food

Livestock Nutrition and Management Strategies by Clay Burson, Ph.D. and technical sales advisor, can help you maintain your bottom line when feeding livestock during drought.

Droughts can be unpredictable. Prepare your team for success, whatever Mother Nature throws your way, with these strategies:

1. Expand pastures.

Your feed base is your most valuable resource; help your livestock get the most out of it.

• Use strategic management practices to improve grazing distribution. Spreading out livestock makes them more likely to graze on underutilized areas.
• Position self-feeding productsAccuracy^®Range of nutritional supplements, in strategic places, usually away from the water source, to disperse the cows to the pasture.

2. Early weaned calves.

Especially during short periods of drought, early weaning of calves is a useful strategy to reduce nutrient requirements.

• In the last part of lactation, calves demand a lot from the cows. Early weaned calves can give cows time to recover their body condition, possibly before the next calving season.improve reproductive performance.¹Calves are weaned up to 60 days earlier, depending on the severity of the drought.
• Feed weaned calves complete high-quality starter feed, e.gPrecon^®Complete nutritionofAccuracy^®Start full feed, when roughage is not available.
• Before the calves are weaned early, it is advisable to feed the calves at a crawl. Start with a conventional creep food product followed by an accuracy^®crawl program.Weaned calvesneed a high-quality complete starter feed, such as Precon^®Completeness or accuracy^®Beginner. Specific formulations are available to meet the needs of light calves; visit your local nutritionist to find the best solution.

3. Extend the supply means.

If grass feeding is not sufficient, there are still options for feeding livestock during drought.

• Usehigh quality livestock supplementduring drought to ensure that livestock nutrition is maintained. Products such as accuracy^®Livestock limiter and accuracy^®Forage Extender can help expand forage sources. Contact your local Purina dealer for help planning how to feed livestock during drought conditions.
• In extreme drought conditions, consider feeding livestock in confinement. If you have access to forage and the management skills to provide a TMR, your local nutritionist can help you develop a maintenance ration.

4. Remove underperforming livestock.

Despite all proper management practices, liquidation is sometimes unavoidable.

• Ensure herd numbers match available livestock feed sources. Start by culling the worst performing cows in the herd, especially open cows.
• Use this as an opportunity to keep your best cows and then rebuild your herd in the genetic direction you want when feeding returns to normal after the drought.

5. Don't forget the basics.

• Monitor natural water sources, such as ponds and tanks, to ensure livestock have enough watersufficient access to clean water.
• Taste harvested foodfor nutrient content and nitrate risk. Hay mowed during drought can contain high levels of nitrate and hydrocyanic acid.
• Beware of poisonous plants, as cattle grazing on short pastures are more likely to eat poisonous plants. Contact your local extension agent or forage specialist to identify the potential risk of poisonous plants in your area.

Is your livestock feeding program sustainable? Find out with oneEvidence pays for example.