Last updated on April 22nd, 2024 at 02:51 pm
As a Canadian rancher, you know that every penny counts. It can be tough to justify adding extra expenses to your operation, especially when times are tight. But what if we told you that using Riomax® cattle lick tubs through the summer could actually save you money in the long run? It's true! Sure, using Riomax® cattle lick tubs might seem like an extra expense at first. But when you consider the value of the forages you could save, more cows bred, heavier calves, and improved herd health, it's clear that using these tubs can actually save you money in the long run. Let's do the math below! Note, the prices are in CAD.
$32,400
feed & forage savings
(30 extra grazing days on 300 head @ $3.60/day)
+ $14,400
increase in weaning weights
(+20lbs on 300 head @ $2.40/lb)
+ $13,500
increase in conception rates
(+3% on 300 head on $1,500 calf)
$60,300
additional profits
(on 300 head)
- $24,750
Riomax cost for 150 days
(on 300 head)
$35,500 CAD ROI
So, if you're a progressive rancher who's looking for a cost-effective way to improve your herd's performance and your ranch's profitability, give Riomax® cattle lick tubs a try. Your cows (and your wallet) will thank you!
FAQs
Stretch Your Pastures
Riomax tubs help you stretch your pastures further because your cattle are better able to utilize the land base or the grass, whether it is nice lush grass or dry grass. Whether you’ve had too much rainfall or not enough, the tubs help utilize everything that you do have.
Calf Health
Healthy calves eat more, gain better, and give you more money at the end of the year or when you sell them. Plus, you save money by decreasing the number of expensive treatments and the cases of pink eye and foot rot.
Weight Gain
Even though you may not be selling them until fall or even next spring, the time to start putting weight on calves is now. We want to fully optimize every opportunity during the summer to do so. This ties into the mama cow and how she is working. If she is fully optimizing her potential, she is going to have higher butter fat in her milk for the baby calf. The end result is that calf is going to grow better.
Breed Up
Esqort® and Nutrizorb® help improve breed up because they are going to keep your cows in good body condition to be rebred. They help them clean better at calving which also helps them to get rebred quicker and to get more bred the first cycle.
Flies are more than just irritating to your cattle. Flies negatively impact weight gain, breed up, and overall herd performance.
According to Altosid IGR, horn flies cause an estimated $1 billion loss to North American ranchers annually! This is even higher than losses due to respiratory diseases or pinkeye.
Cattle mineral tubs are a great feed through fly control option. Lick tubs are infused with fly control, and allowing cattle to consume fly control very consistently, since they're constantly consuming the supplement.
It's important to ensure your tub-to-cow ratio is on point so that all cows are receiving adequate levels of fly control.
Mineral tubs with fly control usually need to be put out earlier than other fly control methods. Typically, it's recommended to begin feeding it 30 days before the last frost in the spring all the way through to 30 days after the first frost in the fall. So, while feed-through options have a longer feeding season, the benefits of consistent fly control often make it worth it.