Last updated on October 6th, 2023 at 11:03 am
Have you ever wondered what kind of return on your investment you will see when you spend money on a good mineral program? Let’s discuss a few key factors to look out for so you can determine if you're on the right path or not. The 3 topics we will cover are:
- The importance of return on investment
- What specific components to look for in a cattle mineral program
- Tangible results that a quality cattle mineral program can provide
Cattle Input Costs: Return On Investment
Dr. Hall, a professor from Utah State University, said that the true impact of a good cattle mineral program is displayed through your return on investment. And that is why return on investment is one of the most important things to analyze when determining what a good mineral program looks like.
Return on investment is essentially the difference in the cost of your investment and the profits that accumulate as a result of that investment. It is a great way to measure the efficiency of your mineral program and can also be useful when comparing different mineral and protein supplements.
Dr. Hall, who is sometimes known as ‘The Mineral Guru of The West’, explained how a good mineral program can boost your return on investment. For example, if your herd suffers from mineral deficiencies, by supplementing them with the mineral they need, it is possible to see a five-to-one ratio for return on that investment.
If you have more severe deficiencies, and you are able to correct them through a quality mineral program, you're going to see an even greater return on your investment. Additionally, ranchers who use the Riomax® program see results like increased hay savings, which adds even more to your operation’s return on investment.
Components Of A Quality Cattle Mineral Program
There are three main factors to look for in a cattle mineral program that will deliver results.
1. 100% protected key trace minerals, without ANY sulfates or oxides. Sulfates and oxides simply contradict what is going on inside the cow’s rumen. While good nutrition and digestion packages are trying to hyper-activate the ‘good bugs’ in the rumen, the sulfates and oxides slow down that process of increasing rumen microbe populations.
A few of the key trace minerals that a good supplement should include as 100% protected are:
- Copper
- Manganese
- Zinc
- Selenium
2. A multi-component digestion system. To ensure cattle are getting the nutrition they need, it is important to stimulate the bacteria and ‘good bugs’ in the rumen. Why? The bugs in the rumen are what break down the cow’s forages, so having more good bugs that are hyper-activated will help cows extract as much as possible out of their existing feed and essentially, get more out of it.
3. Is it penciling out? A good cattle mineral program has to be reasonable and affordable. A cost-effective program is a program with a low cost per head per day. Why is cost per head per day more important than upfront mineral cost? Because it needs to be affordable in the long run; in the big picture. It’s important to make sure you're on the right path to get a good return on your investment and be sustainable for the future.
What Are The Results Of A Good Cattle Mineral Program?
One Riomax® user, by the name of Mike Stark, had been feeding Riomax® for a handful of years. One day, he got to the point where he wasn’t convinced that this mineral program was truly paying. So, he sat down with his banker to calculate where things were standing on his operation. He wanted to look at not only the cost of feed, but also his savings, and what tangible results he was seeing.
What Mike and his banker found was that he was gaining around $7,000 per ton by using the Riomax® program. That is what true return on investment looks like.
If you have been concerned about the profitability and sustainability of your operation, we’d encourage you to sit down and figure out the numbers, so you can see what is really going on. If you feel unsure as to where to begin, check out our website! We have a cost per head per day calculator, which is a great tool to help you see how things are lining up on your operation. It can also be used to compare different mineral brands so you can decipher which one has the lowest cost per head per day.
Here at Riomax®, we want to help you make the right decision for your cattle mineral program. After all, that choice is not only going to effect you; it will also set up the foundation for oncoming generations.