In this last insert, Dr Francois van der Vyver, Technical Manager of National Ruminants at Nutri Feeds, takes a look at complementary supplementation for pregnant, lactating or young animals during the winter season.

See PODCAST below 

There are three phases of supplementation - on green pastures where phosphorus along with trace minerals needs to be supplemented; on matures green pastures where nitrogen in the form of urea needs to be supplemented along with phosphorus; and during winter when animals are pregnant or lactating, production licks, in addition to phosphorus and protein, are essential.

Van der Vyver explains that pregnant and lactating cows need additional nutrients for milk production during the winter season.

This, as pastures are usually dry and lack nutrients during winter. The primary nutrient that is lacking during this season is protein, and when one breaks it down, it is the nitrogen requirement of the micro-organisms.  

Farmers will then be required to start supplying the abovementioned animals with a production lick and the need for this lick will become evident as the animals’ intake of the protein lick starts to increase. “This is an indication that they are not getting enough nutrients anymore and they need to move to a production lick,” says Van der Vyver.

READ: Natural grazing and complementary supplementation

The production lick will supplement protein, energy, minerals, and micro-minerals. He stresses that this lick needs to be palatable. 

He adds that this is the only “case where we actually allow substitution… This means that the animals will eat a little bit more of the lick and this displaces the intake of the grazing. Because remember you are now sitting in the very late winter, the quality of the grazing is poor as well as the availability. So, we’re actually stimulating the animals to eat more of the lick.”

Van der Vyver says that this period should last for about 100 days or even six weeks – depending on the quality of the pastures.

Furthermore, farmers should always aim for complementary supplementation which will then determine the profitability of a farmer’s lick programme. 

Van der Vyver says that the quality of the lick is very important as well as the amount of veld that is available, and factors such as the weight and age of the animal, stage of pregnancy or lactation, amongst other factors, affect the type of lick that needs to be supplemented to animals.

READ: Complementary supplementation for cattle throughout the year

The cost and availability of the lick is also an aspect that needs to be considered, “this is where a fodder programme considering the stocking density of the farm is very important". 

“If you get this wrong, your supplementation programme will become very costly. If you have too many animals on the farm, you will need to feed them more than the veld can supply. So, it is important to do a proper fodder flow programme.”

See the full presentational video posted by Agri Gauteng here.

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