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Utilizing An Electronic Feeder To Measure Mineral And Energy Supplement Intake In Beef Heifers Grazing Native Range, Kacie L. Mccarthy, Sarah R. Underdahl, Michael Undi, Stephanie Becker, Carl R. Dahlen

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Introduction

Grasslands in the Northern Plains provide the primary forage source for ruminants throughout much of the year (Schauer et al., 2004). Supplementation practices are often necessary to maintain production and offset forage nutritive decline throughout the grazing season (Schauer et al., 2004; Cline et al., 2009). Typically, to maintain a targeted production level, energy and protein supplementations are used for grazing livestock (Caton and Dhuyvetter, 1997). For developing heifers consuming low-quality forages, inclusion of energy ingredients into supplements may be beneficial for growth and reproductive performance (Schillo et al., 1992; Ciccioli et al., 2005; Cappellozza et al., 2014). In …