A simple idea to use salt to reclaim feed costs

Like any other business, cattle producers are always looking for ways to reduce costs. As any producer will tell you, there is no more significant expense than feed costs. A management tool used quite often to regulate feed intake is using salt. Though it can have some impact, controlling feed intake with salt is not precise and will require some tinkering in order to get it right.

An interesting thing about this nutrient is that cattle have a natural “urge” to consume it. This urge means that, unlike other minerals, they will actually seek it out. If, for some reason, they are not able to find it, then they will try to ingest it from other sources. Consuming from other sources is when you see cattle eating odd things such as tree bark, dirt, and even urine.

It is essential for the overall function of cattle. Along with adding in milk production, it will assist with other functions, too. These functions are things like reproduction, blood flow, and even sweating. However, the last one should be obvious.

Is salt necessary for cattle?

Without going into too much detail, the answer to this question is a resounding YES. It is an essential nutrient needed for the general functioning of cattle. In this way, it makes them not that much different from us people.

Salt is a necessary mineral for cattle and one that they need to consume daily. This need does not mean that you will have to force feed this or anything since most of what they usually eat contains it. They can derive it naturally from things like the forages they consume in the pasture. In fact, depending on where your ranch is located, they could even get a small amount from the water they drink.

Since they will need to consume it on a daily basis, it is a good idea for you to monitor the amount they are eating. Monitoring will ensure that they get it in the amounts they need. A deficiency in this can lead to things like a loss of appetite. Once they get that, it can lead to weight loss and decreased production.

Salt does not just help out just the cow, but it is also necessary for the calf that she will have nursing. As I mentioned earlier, salt helps out with milk production. The sodium found in salt helps both cows and cattle with the absorption of calcium, too.

The fact that they will seek it out can also be helpful to you, the producer, as well. You can use it as a top dressing or in a mixture to get them to consume other necessary minerals.

What are their requirements?

The amount of salt your cows will need to consume will depend on their age and stage of production. For example, a dry, mature cow will not need as much as one that is in the early lactating stage.

But how much exactly do they need? Well, research conducted by the University of Missouri says that the maximum level advisable is 0.08% of the dry matter intake for dry cows and 0.1% for lactating cows.

A general rule of thumb is that cattle will need to consume 0.005% to 0.010% of their body weight as salt daily. A 1,200-lb cow needs to take between 0.06 and 0.12 lbs of salt daily.

The type of feed that cows eat can also affect the amount of salt they will need to take in from other sources. Cows tend to eat more salt with a high-forage diet vs a high-concentrate one.

It should also be noted that they will consume more when the grass is “green and succulent“ vs. when it is in the mature growth stage. This difference is due to there being less available in the younger forages.

Salt toxicity

I would be a bit negligent if I talked about the requirements of salt if I did not at least mention toxicity. Now, toxicity is rarely seen in cattle because of their high tolerance for salt. Salt is rapidly absorbed from the intestinal tract into the bloodstream. After that, it is excreted by the kidneys through urine. The cow will have no problem eliminating any excess if plenty of clean water is available. But the lethal dose for a mature cow is 4-5lbs of salt.

There are 3 cases where salt toxicity is likely to occur. One scenario is where cattle have been deprived of salt for an extended period of time and then suddenly have salt readily available. The next is if cattle are forced to eat too much salt with an inadequate amount of water available. In addition, cattle are forced to drink saline water.

Using salt to control the intake

As mentioned earlier, using salt to control intake isn’t an exact science. Factors such as age, what is provided by forages, and the cow’s tolerance for it will play a role. You will need to use a particular amount depending on the amount of supplement you are taking.

For cattle not used to self-feeding, use a 50:50 or 60:40 salt-to-meal ratio to prevent overeating. Once that has gone on for a while, you can reduce the amount used until you get the intake you want. Unless they have been fed supplements before, they will need a training period of about a week without salt.

It would be best if you cracked or coarsely ground your grain before taking this supplement. This action will be to match the grain size of the salt you are feeding. Matching the grain size will prevent the cattle from separating the two and overeating. Providing forages such as grass or hay during this time is also a good idea. Use plain white salt also.

Some considerations

When using salt to limit intake, you will need to consider the following:

• The amount of salt to use can vary from 5-60%
• To increase supplement intake, then decrease the amount of salt. To reduce the amount of supplement, then increase the amount of salt.
• It will be necessary to add more salt as the animal grows accustomed to it in order to limit its intake.
• The feeder should be portable and able to protect the feed from wind and rain.
• Do not place feeders next to water sources because it will affect grazing distribution. If you want more ideas to improve grazing distribution, check out my previous post, “Better grazing with supplements”.

An example

Let’s say that you have a self-fed protein supplement, soybean meal, or cottonseed meal that you were wanting to feed a group of 1100lbs cows at 2lbs per head per day. According to the table below, those cattle will need to average 1.1 lbs of salt per day to limit intake. A self-fed supplement composed of 35% salt and 65% protein supplement would meet both of those requirements on average. As I have said before, you will likely need to adjust those numbers to meet your needs.

Table 1. Estimated Salt Intake of Cattle Fed Salt-Limited Supplements. (Courtesy of Oklahoma State University)

Assumes drinking water is scarce in TDS.

For fun, let’s say that in addition to that 2lbs of protein supplement, you also want the cow to eat 3lbs of grain. This addition will bring the total amount to 5 lbs. In that case, the supplement will only need 18% to meet that need.