Use caution before adding wheat to calf feed
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Cattle producers throughout Lake County may be facing decisions of whether or not to background calves after weaning and before marketing. Utilizing local feedstuffs may be part of that decision. When the value of wheat is low enough to be considered part of a backgrounding or growing ration, many things have to be considered.
The first issue to consider for replacing corn or a commercial feed with wheat is how to make an equivalent exchange for both feed value and price. Wheat can be a lower cost of protein than other feed choices, but with feeding quality forage in the ration, protein will be a small or non-limiting nutrient. The most limiting nutrient will be energy, so the feeder should focus on the equivalent value of small grains as a source of energy and compare prices based on this feature.
Wheat provides a highly degradable, high-starch source of energy for the ruminant. Both the energy and protein content is often higher than corn. However, wheat cannot totally replace corn as the energy component of the diet because of a higher incidence of acidosis and founder. Therefore, as a general rule, wheat should not replace more than 50 percent of the corn in the diet. Because of high degradability of wheat energy, cattle should be switched to wheat rations slowly to allow adaptation by the rumen. Wheat should be coarsely ground or rolled to prevent fines. Wheat should never be fed as a finely-ground product because it will greatly increase the potential for acidosis and bloat. Generally, wheat should not be used for replacement heifers or very young cattle. Jack Stivers MSU Lake County Extension Agent Extension News
