Nutritional Disorders in Beef Cattle - FSA3071

Nutritional disorders associated with both forage and feed consump­ tion can have a large impact on the profitability of beef cattle operations. Forages are an important component of beef cattle production systems in Arkansas. Most cow­calf and stocker cattle enterprises in Arkansas rely heavily on forage­based nutritional programs. Forages are used for both livestock grazing and hay production. Arkansas has over 4.4 million acres of pastureland and harvests over 1.3 million acres of hay each year. Grains and by­product feeds are also included in the nutritional programs of many Arkansas cattle herds. These concen­ trate feeds are often fed as nutritional supplements to cattle during periods of low forage quality, when forage supply is limited, as part of perfor­ mance testing programs or when feeding animals with elevated nutri­ tional requirements.