Preparing for Fall: Meeting Your Cattle’s Nutritional Needs

As fall approaches, many operations in our trade area are finishing up breeding season, and it's time to transition cattle onto stockpiled forages or cornstalks. With this shift, we're moving away from our breeding minerals, which contain organic trace minerals, fly control, and fescue medication, and getting ready to meet the changing nutritional needs of our cattle as we head into cooler months.

What’s Changing in Fall and Winter?

As the days shorten and temperatures cool, forage growth slows down, and eventually halts. This change means that the availability of key vitamins and minerals will also shift. Unlike the fast-growing forage of summer, fall and winter forages offer less phosphorus, a crucial macro-nutrient. Phosphorus plays a vital role in bone health, energy transfer, rumen health, and more.

Why Increase Phosphorus in Fall?

In the cooler months, with slower-growing grass, the phosphorus available in forages typically drops. To compensate for this, it’s essential to increase phosphorus levels in our minerals, from the typical 4–5% to 6–8%, to make up for the shortages in the grass and to balance with any legume hay you might be feeding. This ensures your cattle maintain proper nutrition throughout the season.

Vitamins Are Key in Fall and Winter

Another challenge during fall and winter is vitamin availability in forages. With shorter daylight hours, forages typically contain lower levels of vitamins A, D, and E. These vitamins are crucial for reproductive health, immune function, and nutrient utilization. Therefore, we recommend ensuring your cattle mineral has elevated levels of these essential vitamins.

SFG Cattle Mineral 6: Perfect for Fall and Winter

Our SFG Cattle Mineral 6 is specifically designed for the fall and winter months. It provides high levels of vitamins A, D, and E, along with an optimal amount of phosphorus, balanced trace minerals, and salt levels to regulate intake. SFG Cattle Mineral 6 is formulated to meet the needs of cattle on south-central Iowa’s forages. When paired with the breeding and fescue mineral, SFG 6 is consumed consistently at 4 ounces per head per day and offers the same taste and smell as the rest of the SFG mineral line.

To learn more about how SFG Mineral can help balance your cattle's needs this fall, contact any of our locations. We're here to ensure your operation runs smoothly and your cattle stay healthy through the seasonal transition.