Are Lick Supplements Worth While In Beef Production?

Cattlemen operating under extensive conditions are always looking for ways to increase production and profitability, says Dr Liesel Foster, a beef producer from Zastron. Her PhD research concluded that farmers should carefully consider the cost and management involved in supplementary feeding to achieve this goal.

- Annelie Coleman

Supplementary feeding is a widespread practice in South African livestock farming. Dr Liesel Foster conducted a study on the effect of three lick supplementation levels on the production and profitability of an extensive beef herd run on mixed veld in the Zastron district for her PhD thesis.

The vegetation in the study area is typical of transitional Cymbopogon-Themeda veld and had a grazing capacity of 5ha/ LSU to 7ha/LSU. The study herd of 150 Drakensberger cows was divided into three treatment groups (T1, T2 and T3).

A three-phase supplementation programme was divided into three supplementation periods – summer, early winter and late winter. The last two included roughly the same nutrients, while the early winter supplementation period featured 20% less lick. The supplement was a commercial pre-mix, supplied ad lib and replenished twice a week, and never exceeding the maximum recommended daily intake.

All three groups received a protein and mineral supplement in winter and late winter. The nutrient composition of each group differed due to different raw material inclusion rates (see Tables 1 and 2).

The groups rotated between camps every fortnight. The cows were mated from mid-December to the end of March, and calves weaned according to age from April to June. Single-bull mating applied throughout, with bulls rotated between groups every two weeks. Parameters measured were supplement intake (g/ cow/ day) and cost (Rand/cow/year);cow weight (in August, March, at weaning, and in July); body condition score (BCS, Scale 1 to 9); calf birth weight; calf 100-day weight; calf weaning weight; inter calving period (days); and conception rate (%).

RESULTS

Table 3 shows the three-year average supplement and nutrient intakes, as well as average cost (prices 2011 to 2014) of the supplement treatments.