Achieving supplement target intake is essential to deliver the needed nutritional supplementation to cattle and to control supplementation cost. ADM Alliance Nutrition self-fed products are formulated to provide nutrients at levels that optimize utilization of the base forage diet. Intakes below product recommendations do not provide adequate nutrient supplementation to the cow. Intakes above the target provide an excess of nutrients and increases supplementation cost. Product lines that include effective intake controllers enable producers to achieve target intake levels through product selection. Since the 1950s, Alliance Nutrition’s brand Mintrate Block line, with varying degrees of block hardness, has been used to manage intake in diverse situations.

As management practices, base forages, and cattle genetics change, it is important to document that product lines such as Mintrate Blocks continually meet industry needs. A study evaluating the differences among varying hardness degrees of Mintrate blocks was conducted at the ADM Alliance Nutrition Beef Research Center to validate intake control ability of the Mintrate Block product line. Mintrate Block target intake range is 0.6 to 1.2 lb/day for a 1,200 lb cow. However, different intake levels may be targeted depending upon individual situations and management goals.

Experiment Specifications
The study involved 10 pens of 10 fall calving pairs and two pens of 10 replacement heifers. Cows were black baldies with mature weight of approximately 1,200 lb. Intake of Red (medium palatability, product No. 520), Brunette (hard palatability, product No. 523), and Brunette XH (extra hard palatability, product No. 531) Mintrate Blocks were determined. Blocks for the experiment were taken from the Mintrate Block production location and probed to confirm they met manufacturing hardness specifications.

Empty tub containers were used as block feeders. Use of tubs for block containers prevented loss of block pieces on the ground and ensured accurate determination of intake. Cattle were kept in dry lots and given free-choice access to round bales of grass hay (8.9% crude protein and 45% TDN on a DM basis). Cattle were fed blocks for a three-week acclimation period.

The experiment was designed (Latin square design) so that each pen of cows received all three Mintrate Blocks. Each block type was fed over a three-week period. Previous experience has shown that with cattle acclimated to blocks, intake levels can be determined in about three weeks. Calves were about four months old at the start of the experiment and probably consumed some block. However, all block intake was attributed to cows.

Experiment Results
Cows consumed Red blocks at 1.45 lb/day (Table 1), which is above the target intake range. Brunette blocks were consumed at 1.13 lb/day, which is within the target intake range. Intake for the Extra Hard blocks was 0.41 lb/day, which is below the target intake range. Based on these values, label target intake for this management and production situation would have been achieved with the Brunette blocks or mix of Brunette and Extra Hard blocks

This experiment also demonstrates the variability in intake that can occur with seemingly similar conditions. Cattle in this experiment were of similar genetics, fed the same source of hay, and were housed in similar pens. Even with all these efforts to achieve low variation, individual pen intakes (averaged over all three block hardness's) ranged from 0.77 to 1.28 lb/day (Table 1). This illustrates substantial intake variation can occur among groups of similar cattle under similar conditions, and greater differences when conditions are variable. Over consumption of self-fed supplements during the first two to three weeks of feeding is not unusual and occurred in this experiment. During the acclimation period, block intake averaged 1.6 lb/day compared to 1.0 lb/day during the experiment.

Conclusion
Experiment results confirm intake differences among Red, Brunette, and Extra Hard Mintrate Blocks and that these differences can be used to achieve target intakes for cattle with differing intake pressure on self-fed supplements. Brunette blocks were consumed at about 80% of the Red block, and the Extra Hard block was consumed at about 30% of the Red block consumption.

Table 2 provides guidelines for selection of block hardness options based on forage quality. In the experiment referred to in this article, a harder product was needed, in comparison to the block corresponding to forage quality (Table 2), to achieve target intake of nursing cows in dry lot. Alliance Nutrition Mintrate Block hardness options provide a management tool for producers to control block intake under various production and management situations, and to achieve optimum supplementation level and costs for their operation.

 

     Table 1  Block Intakes (lb/day) by Pen and Individual Block Treatments
 

Mintrate Block
Pen	No. 520 Red (medium palatability)	No. 523 Brunette (hard palatability)	No. 531 Brunette XH (extra hard palatability)	Average
1	1.17	0.80	0.46	0.81
2	1.00	0.88	0.44	0.77
3	1.54	1.48	0.61	1.21
4	1.29	0.99	0.21	0.83
5	1.69	1.34	0.50	1.18
6	1.41	1.03	0.45	0.96
7	1.85	1.53	0.46	1.28
8	1.51	1.13	0.28	0.97
9	1.73	1.12	0.42	1.09
10	1.80	1.36	0.33	1.16
11	1.06	0.92	0.44	0.81
12	1.38	0.97	0.32	0.89
Average	1.45	1.13	0.41	1.00
Low	1.00	0.80	0.21	0.77
High	1.85	1.53	0.61	1.28
Target	0.6 – 1.2	0.6 – 1.2	0.6 – 1.2

Source: ADM Alliance Nutrition, Exp. 6089.

     Table 2  Mintrate Block Recommendations Based on Forage Quality