Last updated on October 5th, 2023 at 03:37 pm
5.5 minute video about lowering input costs without sacrificing body condition
A rancher up in North Dakota always says, "Winter feed costs eat ranchers alive."
So what are we going to do? Sit back and get gobbled up? Succumb to the biggest expense in the ranching industry: winter feed costs?
It leads to an important question. How does Riomax® reduce winter feed costs? And how do you hang on to cow condition at the same time?
Let’s answer some of these critical questions, so you can prepare for a successful winter, without breaking the bank.
- How exactly does Riomax® reduce winter feed costs? (And the science behind it)
- How can you ensure that you do not sacrifice cow condition while reducing your feeding costs?
Here at Riomax®, we love what we do, and here’s why: it's about dollars. It's about survival. It's about helping you, as North American ranchers, to reduce input costs on your ranch through the winter.
How Riomax® Reduces Ranch Input Costs
The simplest way to explain how Riomax® is able to lower your costs is that it enables your cattle to run more efficiently.
But how?
Every Riomax® product, whether it's tubs, loose mineral, or paste, is infused with Nutrizorb®. Nutrizorb® is a multi-component digestion pack that is designed to feed the microbes in the rumen. So really, it’s not just feeding the cow. Riomax® is feeding the things that feed the cow. It is stimulating and hyper activating the good bugs (rumen microbes) that have the job of breaking forages down.
Watch a demonstration of how Nutrizorb® works!
No, saving winter costs is not as easy as the push of a button. But, with the right science, working with Mother Nature, and empowering cows to better utilize every mouthful they take, Riomax® enables your cows to be content with less.
That does not mean your herd is being shortchanged or undernourished. It simply means that because of the increased efficiency and increased ability to squeeze more out of every mouthful, your cattle are able to meet their nutritional requirements with fewer inputs.
Fundamentally Different Protein
You may be thinking, well, protein is protein, isn’t it?
While that is true, there are actually 2 fundamentally different ways for cows to receive protein. The standard protein tub, as you well know, usually has a consumption of between half a pound and two pounds per head per day. Your cows go to the protein tub and gobble up 2 pounds of it; 2 pounds of direct-fed protein. Nothing wrong with direct-fed protein tubs, they’re conventional and traditional.
What Riomax® is doing is just different. Instead of just feeding protein directly to the cow, Riomax® feeds the rumen microbes. These microbes, or ‘bugs’ as we like to call them, are the very things that feed the cow.
By stimulating the activity and biology in the rumen, so there is more microbes and they are more active, Riomax® can increase digestion efficiency. In other words, it increases the amount of nutrient uptake that is realized from every mouthful. Secondly, once the microbes die (they have a very short life span), they become true, microbial protein.
Instead of being a direct-fed source of protein, Riomax® is an indirect protein source. Through the use of indirect supplementation technology (IST), Riomax® works with the rumen bugs and Mother Nature.
Learn more about indirect supplementation technology and how it increases herd efficiency!
Maintaining Cow Body Condition & Performance In Winter
Cow condition throughout winter is extremely important. Is it possible to hang on to cow condition while lowering your input costs? Absolutely.
When you use the right tools, you can help your cows run more lean and mean without sacrificing performance. By working with Mother Nature, working with the cow, and working with the bugs in the rumen so there's more of them and they do a better job of breaking down forages, your cow can meet her nutritional needs with fewer inputs.
Stop. Start. Keep.
By using the right tools, it is entirely possible to reduce winter feeding costs AND maintain body condition. Dare to be different, so you can stop the bleeding, start lowering your winter feeding costs, and most importantly, keep ranching.
Keep ranching, and bring back profitability and sustainability!