Give Your Feedlot Operation the 20-20-10 Advantage

Let me describe a situation that might sound familiar to you. In this scenario, it’s early fall, and you’ve done all the work to prepare for the arrival of your next group of calves. Pens are cleaned, hay has been put out, facility maintenance has been completed and your employees are ready to go. And while there are no certainties in the beef business, you’re optimistic about this new group of cattle and looking forward to seeing how they develop. 

And then it happens. Your calves finally arrive after traveling across three or four states. Receiving is always a stressful time for both cattle and employees, and it’s obvious that the experience has taken a toll on the animals. Limited feed and water intake over the past 48 hours combined with stress of being packed into a semi trailer has these calves showing signs of wear.  

And to make matters worse, the weather has turned and greeted them with rain and 40-degree temperatures.  Suddenly your optimism is being challenged and you wonder how these calves will adjust.  The good news is that their future is not predetermined, and the outcome is a matter of choice. 

What if I told you that there is a way to reduce both morbidity and mortality by 20%? And what if I told you that along with reducing morbidity and mortality, you could also increase carcass weights at finishing by 10 pounds or more? It’s your choice. You can help your cattle transition through this tough period by investing in the 20-20-10 advantage, equipping them to reduce the negative effects of stress while improving the health of your animals and the profitability of your operation. 

Reduce Morbidity by 20% 

Morbidity can affect your herd in a couple of different ways. For starters, it can increase your labor and treatment costs. If you have sick animals, your team will spend time and money caring for them and you will have the added cost of treatments.  

However, it’s more than just the treatment costs. When your animals get sick, they will divert nutrients and energy away from growth and maintenance to deal with the illness. This can have a direct impact on their carcass weight and your profits.  

It is important to routinely train your workforce on best practices to care for animals to prevent disease and how to spot disease quickly to limit the need for treatments. You can read more on How to Limit Economic Losses from Bovine Respiratory Disease here. 

The 20-20-10 Advantage: By reducing morbidity by 20%, you can reduce your labor and treatment costs and help mitigate stress factors for your cattle so they can reach their full genetic potential.

Reduce Mortality by 20% 

Each animal that steps on to your operation is a big investment. The cost per head adds up fast – from transporting them, feeding them, housing them, preventing and treating disease and training the labor that cares for them. It is critical to your bottom line that each and every animal has an equal opportunity to thrive and make it to finishing. 

The 20-20-10 Advantage: Reducing feedlot mortality on your operation by 20% will help you get more animals to market and will yield a more desirable return on your investments.   

Increase Carcass Weight by 10 Pounds

At the end of the day, your profitability is determined by the amount of beef you get to the rail. By limiting morbidity and mortality rates and investing in the workforce you do have, you can work towards higher carcass weights.  

The 20-20-10 Advantage: Adding 10 pounds of hot carcass weight per head could provide a net return on investment of up to 4:1.  

Let’s Do More Together: Achieve the 20-20-10 Advantage 

With a properly trained team, partners with decades of experience and premium nutritional solutions, you can produce healthier cattle with more marketed pounds in a more sustainable way. Adding 7 grams per day of Zinpro^® Availa^® 4 and 60 ppm of zinc from Zinpro^® Availa^® Zn to your feedlot nutrition program will help you achieve the 20-20-10 advantage. This will help you lower costs, use your labor and teams’ skills more productively and increase the profitability of your feedlot operation. 

When you partner with us, you can trust the results of decades of innovation and expertise with comprehensive performance solutions to advance the wellbeing of both your animals and business. Contact your Zinpro representative today to discuss including Zinpro Availa 4 and Zinpro Availa Zn in your feedlot nutrition program today.  

References Available Upon Request 

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