Drought Stressed Soybean Supplementation for Beef Cows

Abstract

Three experiments involving gestating and lactating beef cows were conducted to determine the effects of winter supplementation with whole or rolled drought stressed soybeans (DSSB). Gestating spring calving cows grazed abundant dormant native tall-grass prairie pasture and were individually fed one of four treatment supplements for 88 d prior to onset of parturition. An intake and digestibility study for these four treatments was performed on four cows in a Latin square design. Lactating fall calving cows and heifers, with ad libitum access to bermudagrass hay, were individually fed one of three treatment supplements for 100 d through the winter. These experiments demonstrated the importance of winter protein supplementation, and indicated that DSSB can be an effective winter protein supplement for beef cows. The slight advantage to processing the soybeans did not significantly affect cow and calf performance or pregnancy rates.