Western Farmer-Stockman May 2006
31
Livestock
Cows have discriminating taste buds
By CATHY ROEMER
Key Points
TUDYING cow behavior can be
profitable for producers, says
Glenn Shewmaker, forage specialist, at the 2006 Idaho Alfalfa and
Forage Conference in Twin Falls, Idaho.
“Cows aren’t dumb like we think they
are,” he says. “If you observe them, you
realize that.”
Shewmaker believes that by observing cows’ eating habits, producers
can capitalize on forage use and production.
“The paradigm theory is that cows
don’t sort what they eat, so we mix
everything up and feed it to them,” he
says. “The reality is they do sort their
feed, and not all cows will eat or need
the same mix of feed.” Shewmaker says
animals are good selectors of highquality feed, and can figure out what
they need and don’t need.
Studies from several Western universities came together in an overview of
animal behavior in relation to vegetation and ecosystem management.
Palatability plays a role in what
cows will eat, but as important is their
innate ability to seemingly know what’s
best to meet their body’s energy needs.
They can eat too much of a good thing,
and animals, like humans, will long remember a bad eating experience.
Shewmaker says nutrients increase
palatability for animals, but when allowed to graze naturally, they will
choose from a mix of forage depending
on what nutrients their system relays to
them.
■ Cows are more intelligent than we may
realize.
■ Cows will choose from a mix of forage
depending on their nutrient needs.
■ Feeding options, such as winter forages
and perennial pastures, can cut costs.
S
Plant variety spices up feed
Fred Provenza from the Department
of Rangeland Resources at Utah State
University found that “when presented
with a variety of different plants, livestock will consume more total nutrients per day than with only one or two
plants available.” The reason, he says,
is that an animal will only eat so much
of one plant type before it becomes satiated on that plant and wants to eat
something else. “Diversity is the spice
of life,” Shewmaker says.
Combining livestock eating behavior
with intensive management grazing can
be the next step to producer profit and
efficient labor, not to mention more leisure time, says Chad Cheney, University
of Idaho Extension agent for Butte
County.
Intensive management grazing in-
THEY SAID IT
“As a hay producer, I
liked the information that
cattle are selective in their
grazing preferences. That
is something I can keep in
mind when looking at harvesting time
lines.”
Jim Blanksma,
Mountain Home, Idaho
“I lease ground for
grazing, so this gave me
some pointers as to how
we might manage our
ground in the future.”
Garrett Dewsnup, Almo, Idaho
cludes rotating livestock from one
parcel to another, monitoring how much
they will eat and checking how long they
remain eating at a specific site. Cheney
says prioritizing goals is the first step
when considering a change to intensive
management grazing.
“Too often, goals in managing grassland resources are backward,” Cheney
says. “Production strategy usually
comes first, then resource conditions,
followed by financial considerations
and last, lifestyle.” Successful intensive
management grazing can aid in putting
lifestyle first by rethinking strategy,
Cheney says. “A lot of times we do stuff
to cows because we feel good about
doing it,” he explains.
Using intensive management grazing
will help a producer decide how many
cows and what their needs are. With
scheduled grazing, fertilizer can be sitespecific.
Roemer writes from Jerome, Idaho.
FFA Brings
At a Glance
“LifeKnowledge” to
• Monsanto is one of five corporate Founding Partners
of the FFA’s LifeKnowledge program.
Classrooms Across America
• LifeKnowledge is designed to bring leadership, personal
growth and career education to agriculture students
around the country.
• The program is expected to impact more than eight
million students over the next decade.
With LifeKnowledge, leadership lessons can be seamlessly integrated into the
technical classroom. With this strategy, all students can develop as leaders.
S
tudents inevitably pick up a little “life knowledge” as
they pursue an education. The FFA recently introduced
a program to ensure that all agricultural students
attain key life skills such as leadership, personal growth
and career success. These components are the cornerstone
of “LifeKnowledge,” created by the FFA and supported by
Monsanto and other founding sponsors for providing
agricultural students with “real lessons for real life.”
Through its $500,000 gift to The LifeKnowledge Center
for Agricultural Education, Monsanto became one of five
corporate Founding Partners, joining the ranks of John
Deere, The National Pork Board, Chevrolet and Cargill.
“The LifeKnowledge Center takes a unique approach to
leadership education,” says Dennis Sargent, FFA Foundation
division director. “This program was designed to bring a new
level of skill and leadership to the youth who will someday
join our workforce and lead the agricultural industry for
decades to come. We’re dedicated to helping every student,
every day, in every classroom learn leadership.”
The LifeKnowledge program will touch the lives of more
than eight million agricultural students over the next decade
and will also strive to create professional growth opportunities
for teachers. Already, 11,000 teachers have been trained on how
to integrate LifeKnowledge lessons into their curriculum.
Although it has been less than three years since its
inception, LifeKnowledge has already begun to enhance the
academic lives of agricultural students across the country.
n active
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For more than 50 yea ms to bene¿t American youth
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in agriculture. A al Agricultural Sales Career
includes the Nation National Dairy Production
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This information
provided by Monsanto.
“We’re receiving
positive feedback from
students and teachers
alike,” says Andy
Armbruster, FFA
Education Specialist.
“Teachers are seamlessly integrating
LifeKnowledge into
their lesson plans.
They may be teaching
a class on agriculture,
but an emphasis on leadership or diversity may be included.”
Positive First Year Feedback
More than 800,000 students are expected to participate on
an annual basis, and feedback has been positive so far. “The
result has been students that I feel are more responsible, with
an understanding that they are accountable for their actions
and for the success they can achieve,” says Leah SchwachtgenClarkfield, a Minnesota teacher who has incorporated
LifeKnowledge into her classroom. To date, 89 percent of
teachers polled say they prefer teaching with the LifeKnowledge
curriculum, and 91 percent say it improves their students’
academic performance.
In addition to developing and strengthening life skills
and building confidence, the program is structured to make
youth feel involved in and connected to their communities.
“Monsanto is proud to be involved in this program, which
will combine academics and LifeKnowledge skills to prepare
agricultural students to solve problems, think critically and
realize unique classroom experiences,” says Glenn Stith, Vice
President, U.S. Branded Business, Sales & Marketing. “As
a company focused solely on agriculture, Monsanto has a
personal interest in supporting the education of our future
agricultural leaders.” Stith has a long involvement with the
FFA, from serving as state officer in his youth to serving as
Chair on its national sponsors board for 2007.
Photos courtesy of FFA.
Focused on agriculture.
Committed to the future of farming.