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Mix 30 is the key
to the successful healthy transition
GOING VEGGIE Cattle feeders have known for years that fat is a great
source of energy. Cow/calf producers are catching on to that lesson now,
too.
Hugh Peltz, superintendent of operations for True Ranches,
Wheatland, WY, has had enough experience feeding vegetable-derived fat
to be impressed with what it's doing for the ranch. Last winter, Peltz ran short of hay and made up a lot of
the nutritional energy difference with the liquid fat supplement. He fed
a vegetable fat supplement to nearly all of the ranch's “outside”
cattle. “We didn't have an easy winter last year. It's going
to be interesting to see how these cows preg-check this fall — I
don't think we'll be at all disappointed,” says Peltz. “We've stopped feeding both our outside cattle and
our feedyard cattle any kind of mammalian-derived feed,” he says. It's important to note that the vegetable fats do provide
the energy without the perceived problem of feeding animal fats. But the
data are not in whether or not animal fats present a human health risk.
Meat-and-bone meal — yes, but not animal fats. Measuring Performance Peltz says the vegetable fat products give him the energy
advantages of fat in the diet without the bother and worry of trying to
incorporate animal fat. Performance is what Peltz can measure, and from
nearly every angle, he can point out the advantages of the vegetable fats. “We didn't have as much trouble with the cold weather
bothering our calves,” he says. “It was cold enough last spring
to cause some problems with the calves — but we just didn't see as
many freeze up as we have had in the past.” In studies at the Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research
Lab, Miles City, MT, scientist Bob Bellows found that calves born from
dams fed supplemental vegetable-based fat during late gestation responded
better to cold exposure than calves from dams fed low-fat diets. “Their temperature response to cold was greater, and
they were able to maintain the increased temperature longer,” says
Bellows. “These calves had more glucose available for metabolism
and heat production, and probably more brown adipose tissue.” The cows were fed supplemental fat during gestation, but
the fat supplements were pulled nearly two months before the beginning
of the breeding season. Even so, by feeding 10% supplemental fat before
the breeding season, researchers have increased estrous activity —
resulting in up to a 50% increase in pregnancy rate. “This increase in pregnancy rate is especially interesting,”
adds Bellows. “It suggests a carryover effect of supplemental fat
fed during gestation on subsequent reproduction.” Vegetable-based fats may have advantages over other energy
sources in some situations. “With the specially processed vegetable fats there
are no problems with rancidity as with animal fat,” says Pat Collins.
He's a ruminant nutritionist with Agridyne LLC, Springfield, IL, which
manufactures Mix 30 ™ — a commercial liquid feed supplement
with vegetable fat as the energy base. The positive response to fat supplementation may be dependent
on specific fatty acids in the fat. Polyunsaturated linoleic oil is found
in body fat and helps regulate body temperature and metabolism. Linoleic acid is a major fuel in cells for heat production.
It's stored in the brown adipose tissue, a fat tissue important to heat
production in newborn calves. Highly Digestible Bellows' work with heifers at Miles City has included different
vegetable seeds as fat sources. He has looked specifically at safflower,
soybean and sunflower seed oils. “There did not appear to be differences among the
three fat sources,” explains Bellows. While there was a slight increase in birth weight and calving
difficulty, Bellows found significant increases in heifer pregnancy rates
(13%) and the weaning weights of their calves (30 lbs.). Peltz uses Mix 30 as his fat-based supplement of choice.
“They're making a lot of claims about the linoleic fats in Mix 30,”
he adds. “There might just be something to it that we haven't had
before.” “Fat supplementation does not decrease forage digestibility
and can actually increase microbial efficiency and protein production,”
says Collins. Broader Applications A broader application for the fat-based supplements may
be in drought situations. Butch Whitman, Billings, MT, beef cattle nutritionist with
MoorMan's, says their vegetable fat supplement is a popular substitute
for forages during grass shortages. “The fat-based supplements are very fiber-friendly
and can really stretch what limited forages ranchers have during drought
years,” says Whitman. Whitman says because the fats are more energy-dense than
other energy sources, they can help cattle reach better body condition. “In range programs we don't like to play catch-up,”
says Whitman. “If you go into the winter with your cows in better
body condition, it's a whole lot easier to keep them in good condition
for calving and rebreeding.” Most researchers and nutritionists don't completely understand
the mechanisms of vegetable fats in cattle nutrition — especially
in the area of energy transfer and metabolism. Bellows, who's now retired,
wants to see more research into this potentially powerful and economical
source of “renewable” energy for the beef cattle industry. Meanwhile, cattlemen like Hugh Peltz have learned there
is more to feeding fat than meets the eye. “It's working for us,” he says. “And the more we learn about feeding fat, the more we are going to put it to work on our ranches.”
CALLICRATE FEEDYARD |
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