Looking for a cattle feed supplier but aren’t sure if you are getting the best feed for your beef or dairy cows? The feed industry is constantly changing, and so are the needs of your cattle. This article will help you understand what makes a good cattle feed and if your feed producer is the right match for you. Here are four questions to ask your potential feed supplier to ensure you get the best feed for your cattle.

1. Is Your Feed Manufacturer HACCP Certified?

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) is an international standard that defines the requirements for food safety controls. It’s applied in food manufacturing during every step, including animal feed manufacturing. HACCP provides a systematic approach for identifying, evaluating, and controlling food safety hazards. Your cattle feed manufacturer should hold a HACCP certificate to ensure maximum feed safety and subsequent herd health and productivity.

2. What Ingredients Do You Put in Your Feed?

While there are many types of cattle feed, your cows have unique needs. Every high-quality cattle feed company should be able to tailor the feed to your herd. Did some of your cows have a particular illness in the past? Is your herd below your weight or milk production goals? Are you getting more heifers to expand the herd? Whatever the situation, customized animal nutrition must benefit your goals and help solve any health/production issues.

The most essential cattle feed ingredients include:

  • Fresh pasture is a cost-effective feed your cattle have naturally evolved to consume and digest. Forages can provide much of the nutrients your cattle need. However, the pasture and soil quality and gathering practices can leave this feed type deficient in certain elements. Grass and legumes won’t always provide sufficient protein for your goals, especially for growing cattle.
  • Silage is fermented forage that provides quality nutrition during the winter season. It’s like pickled food but for your cows. They love the taste and get protein, carbohydrates, fat, fiber, and micronutrients from it. However, silage can’t provide everything your cattle may need, depending on their age, lactation stage, and your goals.
  • Hay is dried forage from grasses or legumes, like alfalfa. It also provides forage during the winter months, but its nutrient quality is lower than silage.
  • Grains help cattle grow and gain fat quickly. It’s especially important to provide grain during certain life stages in cattle. For example, grains help develop the rumen and prepare calves for the weaning process. The most commonly fed grains are corn, oats, and barley.
  • Vitamins and minerals must be a part of any cattle feed. Depending on their life and gestation stage, cattle’s vitamin and mineral needs can vary. However, cattle generally require vitamins D, A, and E, and minerals like magnesium and potassium. A complete feed formula has all of the necessary micronutrients. If you are creating custom feed, you may need a cattle feed premix to meet all of the micronutrient needs.

Whether you need beef cattle feed or feed for dairy cows or other farm animals, Star Blends can provide a customized solution that meets your animals’ specific needs. We pride ourselves on working with your nutritionist to determine exactly what ingredients will help you achieve your farm goals.

3. What’s the Source of Your Animal Feed Ingredients?

Ingredients like grasses, corn, oats, silage, or other feed ingredients need to be high quality. They can’t be moldy or otherwise affected. Likewise, their growing, gathering, and storing practices must meet the required quality standards. Your feed manufacturer should be able to provide the source information to verify the quality control of individual feed ingredients.

4. Do You Offer Commodity Contracting?

Commodity cattle feed contracting allows you to hedge against market shift risks and better manage the feed costs. You may want a feed provider who offers commodity contracting services for commodities like corn, cottonseed, soybean meal, and other critical feed components. See Star Blends Commodity Contracting for more details.

Factors To Consider Before Choosing an Animal Feed

Dairy cattle feed is different than feed for beef cattle. Likewise, your cattle’s life stage determines the feed type. For example, you’ll need a specially formulated calf feed to achieve the best results with calves, and that feed will differ from one for lactating or mature cows.

You should consider many other factors for animal feed selection, including but not limited to:

  • Cattle age
  • Feed palatability and texture needs of your cattle
  • Your goals with the herd
  • Any pre-existing nutrition deficiencies
  • Herd size
  • Feed costs
  • Herd health condition

Star Blends: Customized Feed For Your Cattle

Partner with Star Blends for high-quality, custom feed blends tailored to your herd’s specific needs. Trust us to provide the support and expertise you need for a thriving cattle operation. Contact Star Blends today to discover how our feeds can benefit your livestock and enhance your farming success.