Effects of mineral-supplement delivery system on frequency, duration, and timing of supplement use by beef cows grazing topographically rugged, native rangeland in the Kansas Flint Hills1,2

Abstract

The effects of mineral-supplement delivery system on patterns of supplement use by grazing beef cows were measured in 2 studies. Study 1 was conducted on 4 pastures grazed by pregnant, mature beef cows (BW = 562 ± 38 kg) from February to May. Study 2 was conducted on 4 pastures grazed by lactating beef cows (BW = 579 ± 54 kg) and their calves from May to September. Treatments were mineral delivered in salt-based, granular form (salty) or mineral provided in a low-protein, cooked, molasses-based block (sweet); both were fed ad libitum. The salty supplement was supplied to cattle via a covered mineral feeder; the sweet supplement was supplied via an open-topped barrel. Both salty and sweet supplements were deployed in each pasture. No additional salt was supplied to cattle. Forage use in the vicinity of each supplement-deployment site and the frequency and duration of herd visits to each supplement-deployment site were measured during four 14-d periods during study 1 and seven 14-d periods during study 2. Supplements were moved to new locations within pastures at the beginning of each period. Consumption of the sweet supplement was greater than salty during each data-collection period in study 1; however, relative differences in consumption diminished over time (treatment × time, P = 0.03). In study 2, sweet consumption was greater than salty in periods 1, 6, and 7 but was not different from salty during periods 2, 3, 4, and 5 (treatment × time, P < 0.01). Increased consumption of the sweet supplement in study 1 translated to greater frequency of herd visits to supplement-deployment sites compared with the salty sites (2.82 vs. 2.47 herd visits/d; P = 0.02) and longer herd visits to supplement-deployment sites compared with the salty sites (125.7 vs. 54.9 min/herd visit; P < 0.01). The frequency of herd visits to mineral feeding sites in study 2 was similar (P > 0.10) between treatments for periods 1 through 6; however, herds visited the sweet sites more often than salty during period 7 (P < 0.01). Herd visits to the sweet sites were longer than those to the salty sites in study 2 (83.8 vs. 51.4 min/herd visit; P < 0.01). Forage disappearance within 100 m of supplement-deployment sites was not influenced (P ≥ 0.54) by treatment in either study. Results were interpreted to suggest that the sweet supplement influenced the location of grazing cattle more strongly than the salty supplement and may be more effective for luring cattle into specific areas of pasture during the winter, spring, and early fall but not during summer.

Use of mineral mix supplements to modify the grazing patterns by cattle for the restoration of sub-alpine and alpine shrub-encroached grasslands

“…In contrast, research conducted in Brazil (Goulart et al 2008) and in the United States (Bailey and Welling 2007;Aubel et al 2011) found that MMS were not effective attractants and did not help increase cattle use of traditionally undergrazed areas. Comparisons of these studies with this study are difficult, because the composition of the MMS, environmental conditions and experimental designs differed among the studies.…”

“…Strategic placement of mineral mix supplements (MMS) has been used to entice cattle into traditionally undergrazed areas in different American rangeland systems (Bailey and Welling 2007;Goulart et al 2008;Aubel et al 2011). To our knowledge, the strategic placement of MMS has not been evaluated as a tool to restore semi-natural shrub-encroached grasslands.…”

Performance of Nellore females in tropical pastures during the rainy season when supplemented with molasses blocks

“…Urea molasses multi-nutrient blocks have been utilised as livestock feed supplements in a number of countries, and several studies report positive effects on productive and reproductive performance. These supplements also represent an attractive cost-benefit ratio, mainly if the molasses blocks are supplied in association with low-quality forage (AUBEL et al, 2011;JAYAWICKRAMA et al, 2013;STEPHENSON et al, 2016). Another use for molasses block supplements is to aid in grazing management.…”

Effects of traditional salt placement and strategically placed mineral mix supplements on cattle distribution in the Western Italian Alps

“…Mineral mix supplement intake was measured at the end of each MMS subperiod. Disappearance of MMS (disappearance = 25 kg – kg of MMS left) was considered equivalent to consumption (Aubel et al ., ). Average daily intake was calculated by dividing the total disappearance of supplement by the number of cows and the number of days in the MMS subperiod for each pasture (Bailey et al ., ).…”

“…Cattle grazing distribution and its impacts on vegetation composition and structure are a critical concern for rangeland managers around the world. For example, researchers have been trying to improve uniformity of grazing by using salt and mineral supplement as attractants in the United States (Martin and Ward, ; Ganskopp, ; Bailey and Welling, ; Bailey et al ., ; Aubel et al ., ), in Brazil (Goulart et al ., ) and in Europe (Putfarken et al ., ; Probo et al ., ). In the Alps, seminatural grasslands have become widely encroached by shrubs, because socio‐economic transformations have led to a large‐scale decline in livestock farming and agriculture during the 20th century (Kräuchi et al ., ).…”