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5 Ways to Help Improve Stocker Average Daily Gain
Small tweaks to pasture and cattle health management practices can work together to help improve stocker average daily gain.
If you run a stocker or backgrounding operation, you already know how important cattle gain is to the profitability and long-term sustainability of your business.
Although implementing cost-effective cattle management strategies that push stocker average daily gain (ADG) is often easier said than done, experts from Corteva Agriscience and Zoetis are available to help fine-tune management strategies to boost profitability on your cattle operation.
That’s why Dr. Sam Ingram, a Range & Pasture field scientist with Corteva Agriscience, and Dr. Jeffrey Sarchet, a beef technical services veterinarian with Zoetis, offer five top suggestions for improving stocker ADG:
- Prioritize valuable legumes by using effective pasture weed control strategies. Every stocker operation is highly dependent on quality forage to maximize profit margins.
“Whether you planted them yourself or picked up a lease and know the forages are there, maintaining adequate forage quantity and quality is critical to the profitability of a stocker operation,” Ingram says.
Maintaining valuable legumes, such as white clover, can serve a role in improving cattle health and weight gain, especially in fescue-based pastures. For every pound of weeds eliminated, producers can recover up to 1.5 pounds of grass.
“You can put that money back into whatever grass or forage you want to grow, but it’s even more impactful when we start looking at white clover and legumes because they fixate their own nitrogen,” Ingram says.
Researchers estimate that white clover can fix up to 150 pounds of nitrogen per acre. By maintaining white clover and annual lespedeza in tall fescue pastures, producers can mitigate fescue toxicosis, increasing stocker average gain per acre by up to 55%*.
“From the stocker cattle perspective, when the quality of the legume is so high in total digestible nutrients and crude protein, you’re able to boost average daily gain in a really economical way,” Ingram says.
As the newest product in the Corteva Agriscience Range & Pasture portfolio, NovaGraz™ herbicide is a game-changer for cattle producers.
“It’s a brand-new tool in the toolbox for producers who want to get rid of troublesome weeds while preserving white clover and annual lespedeza,” Ingram says. “We’ve heard from people who wanted to have weed control within their management plan but also wanted to keep their white clover, so they pull back on herbicide applications. They don’t have to do that anymore with NovaGraz herbicide.”
- Prevent and control bovine respiratory disease (BRD). BRD can significantly reduce gain in cattle and is a devastating disease for both cattle and producers, costing the industry up to $1 billion annually in lost production, increased labor, treatment costs, and death.2,3
“To help reduce losses from respiratory disease, it is important to implement control measures before it hits your operation,” Sarchet says. “A strategic on-arrival vaccination program can quickly provide protection from harmful BRD pathogens and give cattle a healthy start. When cattle are at increased risk of BRD, I also recommend using a broad-spectrum antimicrobial on arrival as part of an effective BRD control program.”
- Implement a strategic deworming program. If cattle are grazing, there is always a risk of exposure to internal parasites.
“Parasites drain the immune system,” Sarchet says. “With the younger age of stocker cattle and the potential for higher risk of BRD, any boost to the immune system is beneficial. Parasites not only affect the immune system — they also suppress appetite and limit optimum gain.”
A parasite control program is critical for stocker cattle to fully utilize nutrients in forage and achieve maximum weight gain. The good news is that Zoetis offers science-backed parasite control solutions that are proven to provide added pounds and value for stocker producers.
Valcor® (doramectin and levamisole injection), for example, is a dual-ingredient, single-dose cattle dewormer that attacks both internal and external parasites. In a study with more than 1,500-head, heifer calves treated with Valcor demonstrated 9.3 pounds more gain over 56 days when compared with heifers treated with ivermectin.1
- Consider implanting. Typically, conventional growth implants increase cattle weight gain by 15 to 40 pounds during the grazing season.4 In current cattle markets, this can translate into an additional $38 to $101 per head for producers.**
“Implants are an amazing technology because they essentially make the animal more efficient,” Sarchet says. “You can graze the same number of cattle on the same amount of nutritious pasture and produce even more beef.”
Zoetis now has three implants available for use with pasture cattle, including two new label claims for Synovex Primer and Synovex Choice, providing stocker producers with a lot more flexibility.
“We now have two pasture implant options that last 80 to 120 days with Synovex Choice or Synovex Primer,” Dr. Sarchet says. “And then we have the longer acting implant called Synovex One Grower that will last for 200 days, which fits more traditional stocker operations.”
- Consult local experts. There are many variables and practices that can contribute to more forage and pounds of beef produced per acre, even in addition to those listed above. But Ingram and Sarchet emphasize that each operation is unique, with different management practices already in place.
“Corteva Agriscience and Zoetis offer robust portfolios of products that can help improve ADG, but both companies are invested in your operation’s success,” Ingram says. “Our teams of local experts are committed to sharing the latest and greatest knowledge in stocker cattle management and working with you to find the right mix of strategies and solutions to improve your margins.”
In addition to working with these in-field experts, it’s important to frequently consult your local veterinarian and nutritionist.
“I really admire stocker producers, because you have to wear two hats — you have to stay on your toes and keep a sharp pencil in both the forage production and cattle production, aspects” Sarchet says. “We deal more with the animal health side of it at Zoetis, but I spend a lot of time also talking with producers about growing good grass. It all goes together, and it really doesn’t work when it’s piecemealed. The benefits are proven to be additive.”
Learn more about how herd health and forage production go hand in hand at RangeAndPasture.com/HerdHealth.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION FOR VALCOR: Do not treat cattle with Valcor within 15 days of slaughter. Not for use in female dairy cattle 20 months of age or older, including dry dairy cows; not for use in beef calves less than 2 months of age, dairy calves, and veal calves. Safety has not been evaluated in breeding bulls. Use with caution in cattle treated with cholinesterase inhibitors. This product is likely to cause injection site swelling; tissue damage (including granulomas and necrosis) may occur. These reactions have resolved without treatment. See full prescribing information, here.
Refer to individual labels for complete directions for use, precautions, and warnings. Reimplant only if and as directed in labeling.
1Data on file, Study Report No. A131R-US-21-940, Zoetis Inc.
2Brodersen, B. W. 2010. Bovine respiratory syncytial virus. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim Pract. 26(2): 323–333.
3Griffin, D., M. M. Chengappa, J. Kuszak, and D. S. McVey. 2010. Bacterial pathogens of the bovine respiratory disease complex. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim Pract. 26(2): 381–394.
4Kuhl, G. L. 1997. Stocker cattle responses to implants, pp. 51–62. In Proceedings. Symposium: Impact of Implants on Performance and Carcass Value of Beef Cattle. Oklahoma State University. 22 November 1996. Tulsa, OK.
*150 lbs. N Per Acre Per Year | Source: Hoveland, et al., Alabama Agric. Exp. Stn. #530
**CattleFax data 750-pound steers average price January to November 2024 is $254.06 per hundredweight.
White clover and annual lespedeza exhibit some initial injury (such as lodging and loss of vigor) but recover. NovaGraz™ is not registered for sale or use in all states. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. Always read and follow label directions.