The new program tailors a complete feeding system for cattle production ensuring producers select the correct milk replacer, starter grain and finisher feed for their requirements, said Ted Perry, cattle nutritionist with Purina Animal Nutrition.
The program can be customized for each farmer depending on their resources and the number of cattle being raised, instead of fitting the producer into a one-size-fits-all feeding system.
"We tend to get complacent as in: ‘This is how we feed cattle, so we’re not going to change,’” he said. “Every year the market [shifts] a little bit, and we’ve got to review – but it is not new feed, it is [about] how to tie all the resources [together] to make the best use of what the farmer has available,” said Perry.
The Purina dairy-beef feeding system incorporates three feeding tracks including one for full-growth potential, another for optimal utilization of nutrients and one for incorporation with a total mixed ration (TMR).
Previously, feeding programs did not place the same emphasis on the complete lifespan of cattle, but focused on specific stages, said Perry.
Program feeding can help producers provide quality nutrition through all life stages, said the feed company.
Perry told FeedNavigator analysis has shown producers using such a feeding strategy can gain $50 or more per cow.
The program integrates work done by the US company’s various cattle nutrition teams from the milk replacer group through to the calf nutrition and heifer diet specialists, said Perry. It is the first time the company has sought to combine disciplines.
When the company had a tighter product portfolio, the consultation process was simpler, he said. But now that there are hundreds of feeds, Purina is seeking to help farmers’ understand what works best in their individual situation.
“We’re not doing our customers any good by just saying: ‘Do what you‘ve always done,’” he said. “There may be better options,” said Perry.