Supplementation for Superior Results 

With cattle markets reaching all-time high prices, producers are seeking to maximize their profits, and one MKC customer accomplished this successfully.

Riley Noll, from Ransom, KS, recognized an opportunity to increase the overall weight and value of his feeder calves and took it. By utilizing MKC’s intake-modifying technology in combination with Purina’s Accuration creep feed, he successfully weaned steers and heifers on wheat pasture while optimizing their growth and performance.

The cattle were initially weaned on a mix of 20% Accuration and 80% corn. Noll then moved them to a wheat pasture he had available for a 90-day grazing period, where a creep feeder was set up with a 30% Accuration and 70% corn mix.

Noll took advantage of the opportunity to add weight to his calves ahead of marketing. Over the 90-day period on wheat pasture and creep feed, his steers gained an average of 3.89 pounds per head per day, while heifers averaged 3.1 pounds per head per day.

When Noll took these calves to market, they brought an average of $200 more per head than other calves of the same age, condition, and weight that sold that day. He was pleased with the results the creep feeding program delivered, adding condition to his calves and making them more marketable to buyers

Selling creep-fed calves gave buyers the advantage of purchasing animals that were already familiar with bunk feeding and grain, smoothing the transition into the feed yard and setting them up for continued performance.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Your options for implementing a program that fits your operation are nearly endless.

Our MKC Animal Nutrition team is here to help you select the plan and product that works best for you. We want you to be the next Riley Noll, ready to grab the opportunity and reach the top when it is your turn to go to market.

Article provided by Katelin Hendricks, Counter and Scale Specialist