Feeding your beef cows with a mixer wagon might seem like added work and expense, but it is a management option that can improve production and reduce costs. I used to assume an operation would need 3-400 cows to justify a mixer wagon. Now that dozens of my producers are feeding a total mixed ration to their beef cows, we know how quickly a mixer wagon can pay for itself. Each producer has reported that the first year they used a mixer wagon to feed their cows they put up the same amount of feed they had used in previous years; when it came time to turn cows out in the spring, they had a third of their stored feed left over. The quick math on that scenario is a feed savings of 50-75 cents per day, at a cost of 20-25 cents per day to use the mixer wagon.
There are several benefits from feeding a total mixed ration to your cows:
- Feeding a TMR has been shown to improve performance and reduce costs in both feedlots and dairy cows. The consistency that a TMR delivers results in a more efficient rumen converting feed into milk or gain.
- Feeding a TMR allows us to balance the ration to better hit the targets for energy, protein, and minerals to support optimum body condition and production (milk and re-breed). Underfeeding nutrients = lost production, while overfeeding nutrients = wasted feed and money.
- Using a mixer wagon gives you the option of feeding Rumensin to your cows. 200 mg of Rumensin per day has been shown to maintain BCS on 10% less feed, reduce the days open, and reduce cocci exposure to your calves by 67%.
- QLF is your best option to deliver Rumensin to your cows, as well as distributing your trace minerals and vitamins throughout the ration.
- Using a mixer wagon with scales allows you to control how much feed you deliver; this reduces feed waste and saves you money.
- A TMR makes it easier to incorporate crop residues such as corn stalks into the ration, which can save money by stretching your hay supply.
- Corn silage is an ingredient that easily and cost effectively maintains BCS on your cows. Corn silage works better when fed through a TMR, as silage is easy to overfeed when it is not weighed out, which is a waste of feed and money.
- Cover crop silage has been shown to be a cost-effective feed for cows, with nutrient levels that closely match the requirements for gestation. As with corn silage, cover crop silage works best when fed in a balanced TMR with controlled feed deliveries.
- By-product feeds also work better when fed through a total mixed ration, so that the cows each get fed the right amount without overfeeding which can cause problems due to phosphorus and sulfur levels.
- Another advantage of controlling feed deliveries and not overfeeding your cows is that you don’t make cows bigger than they need to be. When we overfeed cows to “take good care of them”, we can make cows bigger and increase their maintenance requirement, with no benefit to the weaning weight of the calves.
- Having a mixer wagon can make it easier to supplement your pastures in dry years, or it can allow you to overstock expensive pasture to spread your fixed cost over more pairs.
- An additional benefit of using a mixer wagon is that you can background your weaned calves with a TMR. Research from SDSU shows 25# more weight gain on 70# less ration DM when fed a TMR compared to a non-mixed ration.
If you would like help with balanced rations for your cow herd, please contact your local QLF dealer or representative.