EXPECTING THE
UNEXPECTED Developing a dynamic nutrition plan for an uncertain future. FEATURE BY LAURA HANDKE
C
argill nutritionists Wesley Moore and Anna Taylor shared their “recipe-mindset” to building a dynamic nutrition plan with attendees of the 2022 Cattlemen’s College educational event held in conjunction with the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Tradeshow February 1-3 in Houston, Texas. “There’s no silver bullet when designing a nutrition plan,” Taylor told attendees. “It’s not necessarily a how-to that we share, but, rather, things to think about going forward.” Taylor says that a constant every farmer and rancher can rely on is that there will be change. She advised producers to be flexible and build in contingency plans, “The best offense is a good defense,” she shared. “And that’s true in cattle feeding, too. Utilizing nutrition principles allows
16 | GELBVIEH WORLD
us to create a dynamic plan and being proactive beats having to react any day of the week.” Initially, two of the most important components of any nutrition plan are strategy and vision for what a nutrition plan needs to look like to accomplish the goals of your operation. This is true no matter what sector of livestock production you are in. Taylor says that in the short-term, producers should be thinking about the tactical side of their feeding plan. Often times that looks like a change or expedited ability to source and change feed ingredients or grazing plan. “What works for your neighbor may not work for you, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t concepts that are unwavering. Cattle requirements, for example, are
unwavering. If you have a 1200-pound cow, her requirements aren’t going to change in the third trimester year over year,” Taylor said.
INVENTORY If strategy and vision are the corner stones of formulating a dynamic nutrition plan, nothing is more important to actual execution than inventory. Feed inventory and cattle inventory are the two most important considerations when putting together a nutrition plan. Moore told attendees that in his role as a Cargill nutritionist, he gets to work with a lot of grazing, stocker, and backgrounding yards which allow him to see a different stretch of country and a diverse set of cattle operations. The one constant amongst all those operations: the strive for efficiency.
