Thanksgiving is the perfect time to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to our customers and team.
This year certainly has had its challenges and we want to take the time to say “Thank you” for supporting us through it all. We want to share our gratitude to those who have allowed us to provide nutrition and animal health locally to our customers. These thanks include our fellow team members for their dedication to the task at hand as well as the mills and distributors that we work with. We are extremely privileged to have so many segments of the industry that touch our business. Additionally, we are grateful to all of the amazing customers who have chosen to purchase through our business. Thank you and have a happy Thanksgiving.
— Spencer Ag Center Team
Add to your Calendar: WE WILL BE CLOSED THANKSGIVING DAY - Hours will resume as normal that Friday!
Annual Fall Checklist for Beef Operations:
Preg Check your cows! This will help you to identify open and short bred cows. Contact Spencer Ag Center today to schedule an appointment.
Update vaccinations.
Formulate a plan for marketing cull cows. Cost vs. Feed Consumed.
Anticipate adverse weather. Prepare for the worst and have a backup plan for adverse weather conditions to provide feed, water, and shelter.
Take Inventory of forage on hand and calculate needs for the winter. Don’t overlook grazing residual crops!
Complete parasite control. Lice and Deworming are a large concern herd heath wise.
Complete a forage analysis to ensure nutritional requirements are met.
Care for herd bulls. Monitor Body Condition Score and weight.
Care for replacement heifers. Monitor BCS and weight.
Work on a disease control program, Green and Gold Tag Programs are a great way to add value via health verification.
TUB SEASON
Out on stalks?
Cows on cornstalks are a great option for your operation. Functioning as a symbiotic relationship, not only are your cows gaining back some body condition by consuming the spare corn, but your field will have less volunteer corn for next year's season as well as manure fertilizer. Turning cows out on stalks is a cost-effective feed option for cows in mid-gestation after weaning calves. This time is a great stage for feeding maintenance-style diets.
Be sure to supplement their diet with a source of protein, such as feed or protein tubs during the later season on stalks when all that remains is the stalk and husks. Weather also will affect the quality and quantity of stalks, as warmer or higher moisture conditions will affect the amount of consumable forage for your herd. This additional protein will make the grazing process more efficient, as protein helps the rumen break down the roughage and makes it more bioavailable to the animal. Lower body condition-scored animals will need the additional protein support to improve based on their nutritional requirements.
Optional Parasitic Assistance?
With the season cooling down. It may be a good time to consider preventative/control measures for lice. Lice tend to emerge as a problem in cooler months due to cattle having longer hair, making cooler weather an advantageous location to lay eggs. Some people utilize garlic in feed and tubs as a way to decrease the population. The enzymes in garlic are thought to create an undesirable environment for parasites by altering the bloodstream and skin surface. Talk to your field marketer about your herd’s needs and maybe try garlic this year.
Weaning calves can be a stressful event.
Protein and Mineral supplementation levels can help animals rebound from lower feed intake levels due to stress. Calf Booster Tubs are a great option to improve depleted vitamin levels due to temperature changes, animal movements, weaning, and processing stress.
Calf tubs reduce pull rates by increasing immunity and vaccine effectiveness. The licking process helps buffer the rumen with saliva produced and helps support beneficial gut microflora. Calf Booster tubs include chelate trace minerals, they also help with skin and hoof integrity as well as growth and muscle development.
We carry:
· 30% Protein Tubs
· Calf Stress/Booster Tubs
· Mineral Tubs
· Some tubs can include: Garlic, Biomos, & Fly Control
Need to get rid of unwanted guests this Thanksgiving?
We have the solution to your rodent problem. Spencer Ag carries Motomco’s Tomcat, Hawk, Jaguar, and Rampage in Place Pacs and Chunx. We also have Eraze Ag pellet bait, bait boxes, Tom Cat glue boards, and liquid concentrate.
Tub/ Mineral Sources:
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