Selenium | Bailey’s Bit About Nutrition

Selenium 
Selenium is an essential trace element for ruminants. It is required in cattle for normal growth and fertility and for helping to prevent other health disorders such as mastitis and calf scours. Many pastures are short in natural selenium levels. Therefore, cattle should be supplemented with selenium. The level of selenium in the pasture is dependent on the level of selenium in the soil. Pastures have the lowest levels of selenium occurring in the spring and summer.

Mastitus | Bailey’s Bit About Nutrition

Mastitus
Summer heat and humidity can create the ideal environment for mastitis-causing pathogens to grow. In addition, intense heat can cause the cow to become stressed which results in lowering the immune system function. These two factors together create the perfect storm for mastitis to take a toll on the herd.
Bovine mastitis is the most costly disease for dairy producers. Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland that is usually caused by bacteria that enter the gland through the teat end.

CUSTOMER SUCCESS: 15-year customer places BioAg at the top for quality feed

After seeing the success of a neighboring farm using the Midwestern BioAg program, Minnesota-based farmer, Darrell Luhman, decided to try the BioAg Way.
Reluctant at first, he split-tested his hay – applying BioAg product on only half of his hay field. He baled the hay off and was soon visited by his BioAg consultant who requested an experiment. Together, Luhman and his consultant, threw down two bales of hay, one from each side of the field.

Poultry Nutrition | Bailey’s Bit About Nutrition

Poultry Nutrition
Poultry diets are made up of a mixture of several different feedstuffs including cereal grains, soybean meal, animal by-product meals, fats, and vitamins and mineral premixes. Together with fresh water, these elements provide the energy and nutrients essential for the bird’s growth, reproduction, and health.
To understand poultry nutrition, first, we need to understand their unique digestive system. First, food is taken in with the beak which is a perfect tool for pecking feed in crumble or pellet form, small grains, grass, or insects.

Pain Management | Bailey’s Bit About Nutrition

Pain Management
It is fundamentally important to address pain for the animal’s benefit and production efficiency. Noticing early physiological and behavioral changes can help producers recognize problems before the pain becomes chronic or debilitating. For example, when calves are dehorned and in pain, they will flick their ears and shake their heads repeatedly. Noticing these behavioral changes, along with redness and warmth of horn buds, gives producers the opportunity to manage calf pain and decrease the risk of future health challenges, like scours.

Rotational Grazing | Bailey’s Bit About Nutrition

Rotational Grazing 
More than one-quarter of the Midwest’s agricultural land is in some form of pasture. Rotational grazing is where one part of the pasture is grazed at a time, while the remainder pastures “rest”. Resting grazed paddocks allows forage plants to renew energy reserves, rebuild vigor, deepen their roots system, and give long-term maximum production. Below is the relationship between the number of paddocks and the rest period per acre.For optimum production, pastures should be grazed about a week before the grass heads out (goes …

Hoof Care | Bailey’s Bit About Nutrition

It is estimated that approximately 20% of lameness in cattle – dairy and beef is attributed to foot rot. Foot rot is an infectious condition that causes swelling, heat, and inflammation in cattle’s feet, resulting in severe lameness. Bacteria are responsible for causing foot rot. Fusobacterium necrphorum is the main foot rot causing bacterium. All the foot rot-causing microbes are mainly anaerobic, meaning they thrive in an environment without oxygen. Many of these bacteria are found in feces, so even healthy feet are present with bacteria.

Hay Cutting | Bailey’s Bit About Nutrition

When to cut hay is always tricky, as there are so many factors that go into it. First is the type of forage you have and its maturity. For example, bermudagrass is cut when it has greened up and reached 12-16 inches tall. Cutting the forage at optimal maturity will help maximize available nutrient content and minimize the fiber content that makes forage indigestible.
How low can you cut? When cutting alfalfa and clover, the lowest you could go would be 2 inches.

From the Ground Up | Summer 2021

From the Ground Up Newsletter | Summer 2021

Free Choice Minerals: Summer Sale

Balance Nutrition with Needed Minerals 
Free choice minerals are essential to keep a balanced diet for all life stages. Providing livestock with a free choice option ensures a balanced diet without ration balancing. 
 
 
 
Pallet Discount (June 1 to August 31, 2021) 
Receive a $1/bag discount for each 40 bag (pallet) increment when purchasing any combination of free choice minerals. 

Featured Products:

  • “O” SK Blend – A free choice package designed to provide supplemental salt and kelp to livestock which also meets organic production standards.