Each
Season Requires a Fully-Fortified® Nutrition Program
Chet Fields, Ph.D., PAS
and Pat Whidden, PAS
 The
nutrient requirements of the cow vary with her
size and genetics, her stage of reproduction, level
of milk production, target body condition score, environment,
and her degree of internal and external parasite burden. Similarly,
numerous factors influence the nutritive value of the forages grazed. Our “fully fortified” concept is
to, first, identify when the cow is obtaining less than nutritionally
optimal levels of each essential nutrient. Then, to provide
appropriate levels of supplemental nutrients in an economical, convenient
labor efficient, and environmentally friendly manner.
We recognize this is easier said than done!
Fortunately, the National Academy of Sciences, which is composed
of distinguished scientists from throughout North America,
regularly evaluate and summarize research on the nutrient
requirements of beef cattle (and other species). Their findings
are published and updated in the publication Nutrient
Requirements of Beef Cattle. Professional beef cattle nutritionists
respect the validity of these data and use
it to properly nurture beef cattle.
The toughest (and most expensive) part of designing an appropriate
nutrition program is to determine the nutrient content of
the forages consumed. To achieve this goal, we’ve collaborated with
many of our customers and IFAS and developed an extensive
and detailed database on the nutrient composition of Florida
forages. This database contains over a thousand samples of
Bahia grass taken over every month of the year for several
years. We have also established nutrient composition databases for
Hemathria, Stargrass, Bermuda grass, and a few other forages.
All of these forage databases are updated periodically.
Thus the foundations upon which our Suga-Lik® Fully-Fortified® supplements
are built are based upon the National Academy of Science recommendations and
our exclusive Florida forage databases. We designed and formulated
various Suga-Lik® Fully-Fortified® nutritional supplements:
fine tuned for winter, spring, summer or fall, and for any
stage of the reproductive cycle.
Your cattle require year ‘round nutrient supplementation.
Traditionally, many cattlemen use
molasses-based supplements for winter and granulated salt-mineral
products in summer. Consider U.S. Sugar’s new approach.
Try Suga-Lik® Fully-Fortified® Grass Mate Vitamin-Mineral
Supplement this summer. This can be fed free choice and consumption
is designed to be only one pound per day. If you’re
already feeding a liquid supplement, no special or additional
equipment is needed. Because our products are Fully-Fortified® you
don’t have the hassle or expense of handling bagged
salt or mineral. Similarly you don’t have the expense
associated with dry mineral feeders (that get destroyed),
labor (and sore backs), bag disposal, and broken bag hrink
that accompanies dry mineral supplements (and rusted-out truck
beds).
Every Suga-Lik® Fully-Fortified® supplement
provides sugars that are proven to enhance fiber digestion.
The source of that sugar is our own U.S. Sugar Corporation
blackstrap molasses. We know its composition and where it
originated. This is the epitome of source verification, a
key component of feed and food safety.
Give us or your nearest Suga-Lik® dealer a call.
We’ll recommend the appropriate product for your cows, ANYTIME!
Better
Approach
to a Proven Practice
Charlie Hofer, PAS and Terry Weaver
 What
a true statement. During
the winter, there is always hay
to put out, lick tanks to top off, and calves to tend to. Spring time
involves working calves and worrying about how to
make that grass stretch into
the rainy season. Finally the
summer comes. Now you are
fighting to stay ahead of your grass you fertilized;
praying it won’t rain on the hay you just laid down to
dry; and trying not to let your mineral boxes go empty
for too long.
That last chore is what we would like to focus on. It seems
there are always more important things to do than put out
mineral. We understand that, but we all realize that it has
to be done. After all, cows need their essential nutrients.
Using Suga-Lik® Grass Mate Vitamin and ineral Supplement
may be the best answer to this problem.
Since we all know putting out mineral is a necessary evil,
why not put out more? “Well”, you might say, “the more
I put out, the more likely it’ll get rained on and ruin.” This
can be solved using our new product, Suga-Lik® Grass Mate
Vitamin/Mineral Supplement in lick wheel feeders. Not only
can you put out more at a time, but you can also alleviate
the potential for hogs, deer and other critters from eating
the product. The bottom line: less time and effort in providing
essential minerals and vitamins to your herd.
Some folks resist change. It is simply human nature. Using
a liquid-based vitamin-mineral supplement in the spring and
summer may seem like a big change. But when you consider the
benefits of that change, it tends to take that pain away.
Your time and money are valuable. This is why Suga-Lik® Grass
Mate Vitamin and Mineral Supplement was developed. Saving
you time and money, while effectively providing essential nutrients to your cattle is the basis of this program.
 Another common problem is rainfall. We all know pastures can
get wet this time of year. Getting summer supplement delivered
to the herd can be a problem. But with careful consideration
and management, you can work through this without too much
effort. Consider your pasture layouts and position your lick-wheel feeders
where they can be best accessed by your delivery system. Also,
consider moving your feeders on a regular basis, so mud holes
do not accumulate. This should be no different than how you
would manage your typical range mineral feeders.
Our goal is two-fold. First and foremost, we aim to provide
Florida beef herds with proper nutrition to meet at least
100% of their nutritional needs, year-round. Our second goal
is aimed at you, the producer. We know our future is based
on your success. We aim to help make you more profitable,
through nutritional supplements that are economical, performance-based, and labor efficient.
.
Call the dealer nearest you or 800-940-7253 or
visit www.suga-lik.com
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