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Whether you're managing a feedlot or running cows on pasture, stress affects your cattle. Weaning calves, breeding cows, working fat cattle, and extreme weather are just a few examples of stress events that occur as a normal part of the production cycle. Stressors can have many negative effects. Stressed calves at weaning take longer to go on feed, while stressed fat cattle will back off feed for a few days after the stress event. Cows under stress may struggle to get bred, back off feed at a time when nutrients are vital to their growing fetus, or even abort a pregnancy. While these stressors are unavoidable and often necessary, we as producers do what we can to minimize the effects that stress can have on our livestock. As cattle prices remain high today, it is all the more important to combat stress in cattle to ensure the best return on investment.

The weather in Northwest Iowa and surrounding areas has certainly taken a toll on cattle so far this year. From hot, humid days to hail and flooding, our work is cut out for us. This is where products such as Purina’s Supermix Beef Abate can really come in handy. This supplement is designed to combat negative impacts on metabolic and digestive function during periods of heat stress in all stages of beef cattle. At a feeding rate of only 0.25 lbs/head/day, Beef Abate is an efficient and economic tool to fight off heat stress. This product only needs to be fed 2-3 days before and 2-3 days after a heat event occurs. Through multiple studies and trials, this product has been shown to reduce intake loss and health decline during heat events.

While Beef Abate is a great tool to combat heat stress, there are still numerous other sources of stress for cattle. For these issues, we can look to another supplement for help. Purina’s Supermix RX3 is a pelleted supplement designed for weaning and receiving cattle, containing RX3 Immune Support Technology to help prepare calves’ natural defenses to optimize their response to stress and common health challenges.