Strategic supplementation on summer pasture made money in yearling grazing study 

A three-year experiment at the High Plains Ag Lab was conducted by Dr. Karla Wilke and a team of researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to evaluate the effects of two distillers grains supplementation strategies on yearling cattle performance and producer returns to management. Yearling cattle were grazed on pastures consisting primarily of crested wheatgrass. The cattle were supplemented either throughout the entire grazing season, only during the latter part of the grazing season, or not supplemented at all. The supplemented yearlings received 3.5 pounds of dried distillers grains with solubles six days per week.

On average, the non-supplemented yearlings had an average daily gain of 1.51 pounds per head per day, and providing the supplement increased average daily gain by 0.5 pounds per head per day. The yearlings supplemented only during the latter part of the grazing season had similar performance to the yearlings supplemented the entire season, with decreased supplementation costs. Providing the supplement through the entire grazing season returned an additional $14.96 per animal. Providing the supplement during the last half of the grazing season returned an additional $32.21 per animal more than the non-supplemented group. In this research study, strategic supplementation from the middle to the later part of the summer, when the quality of grass was declining, increased the weight gain of yearlings and increased the financial return to management.

Everyone’s operation is unique with the resources available to them. However, with the current value of cattle, grass, and distillers grains in Nebraska, the opportunity to supplement yearling cattle on grass this summer for many producers may make sense. Want to learn more?  A summary of the research study can be found in the 2023 Nebraska Beef Report article titled “Effects of Strategic Supplementation on Return to Management and Performance of Yearling Cattle” at beef.unl.edu.

-University of Nebraska-Lincoln