Livestock Nutrition Tip: Calving Season
Mar 16, 2026
By Dakotaland Feeds Staff Nutritionist, Dr. Roxanne Knock, PhD
If you’re a cattle producer, calving may have already started for you or will start before long. Once the calves are on the ground, our attention sometimes gets taken off the cows and directed toward the farming operation. But now is a critical time to get the cows ready for the next breeding season.
Nutrient demands are highest as cows go into lactation. This makes it essential to get the right feed in front of the cow. If we short the cows on any nutrients right now, it will negatively impact her chance to re-breed and to do so on time. It can also negatively impact her milk production, and we could lose out on weaning weight.
We have options for energy and protein supplements that will fit any operation. Mixer wagons work wonders to help blend off rougher hay with some silage or distillers, allowing us to make use of feed that might otherwise be wasted. We can put a supplement in your wagon to provide all the minerals, vitamins and medication, which helps us make sure all the cows receive it and controls our cost by not allowing overconsumption. Tubs or blocks can also fit when mud prevents the feed wagon from running. Cubes are an option if you are just feeding bales; they allow you to supply some additional protein and the required vitamins and minerals while still controlling costs.
Bum calves are often thought of as a waste of time, but with the markets the way they are, these calves are worth a little bit of effort. Using a solid nutrition program for these calves can help get them to fit in with your calves in the fall. That means utilizing a high-potential milk replacer like LAND O LAKES® Amplifier® Max. The Amplifer® Max milk replacer is a 22% protein, 20% fat blend that contains unique probiotics and prebiotics to help optimize feed intake and gain while establishing a favorable gut bacterial population. While getting milk, the calves should be introduced to dry feed with the Purina® AMPLI-CALF® Grower and then to the Intense Calf® whole shelled corn mixer program.
The Intense Calf® pellet is easy to use because you mix it with 66-75% whole shelled corn - that’s it - pellets and corn. We want the calves to eat about as much as they want. We can put this in a self-feeder if the calves are well acclimated to feed. Along with some good quality grass hay, this can turn your calves into gaining, healthy-looking calves. Many times, calves do not receive adequate protein for their young stage of life, which leaves them looking pot-bellied and light-muscled. Adequate protein is a must for these calves, and that is what the Intense Calf® provides. You couldn’t ask for a simpler program that works this well.
Agtegra Cooperative's livestock nutrition partner, Dakotaland Feeds, was formed in 2000 as a joint venture between Farmland Industries (now part of Land O'Lakes Purina Animal Nutrition) and both of Agtegra's legacy cooperatives, South Dakota Wheat Growers and North Central Farmers Elevator. Today, Dakotaland Feeds manufactures and distributes dry feeds, minerals and liquid supplements, and Dakotaland Feeds sales representatives work with Agtegra Feed locations to ensure customers have the feed they need when and where they need it.
If you’re a cattle producer, calving may have already started for you or will start before long. Once the calves are on the ground, our attention sometimes gets taken off the cows and directed toward the farming operation. But now is a critical time to get the cows ready for the next breeding season.
Nutrient demands are highest as cows go into lactation. This makes it essential to get the right feed in front of the cow. If we short the cows on any nutrients right now, it will negatively impact her chance to re-breed and to do so on time. It can also negatively impact her milk production, and we could lose out on weaning weight.
We have options for energy and protein supplements that will fit any operation. Mixer wagons work wonders to help blend off rougher hay with some silage or distillers, allowing us to make use of feed that might otherwise be wasted. We can put a supplement in your wagon to provide all the minerals, vitamins and medication, which helps us make sure all the cows receive it and controls our cost by not allowing overconsumption. Tubs or blocks can also fit when mud prevents the feed wagon from running. Cubes are an option if you are just feeding bales; they allow you to supply some additional protein and the required vitamins and minerals while still controlling costs.
Bum calves are often thought of as a waste of time, but with the markets the way they are, these calves are worth a little bit of effort. Using a solid nutrition program for these calves can help get them to fit in with your calves in the fall. That means utilizing a high-potential milk replacer like LAND O LAKES® Amplifier® Max. The Amplifer® Max milk replacer is a 22% protein, 20% fat blend that contains unique probiotics and prebiotics to help optimize feed intake and gain while establishing a favorable gut bacterial population. While getting milk, the calves should be introduced to dry feed with the Purina® AMPLI-CALF® Grower and then to the Intense Calf® whole shelled corn mixer program.
The Intense Calf® pellet is easy to use because you mix it with 66-75% whole shelled corn - that’s it - pellets and corn. We want the calves to eat about as much as they want. We can put this in a self-feeder if the calves are well acclimated to feed. Along with some good quality grass hay, this can turn your calves into gaining, healthy-looking calves. Many times, calves do not receive adequate protein for their young stage of life, which leaves them looking pot-bellied and light-muscled. Adequate protein is a must for these calves, and that is what the Intense Calf® provides. You couldn’t ask for a simpler program that works this well.
Agtegra Cooperative's livestock nutrition partner, Dakotaland Feeds, was formed in 2000 as a joint venture between Farmland Industries (now part of Land O'Lakes Purina Animal Nutrition) and both of Agtegra's legacy cooperatives, South Dakota Wheat Growers and North Central Farmers Elevator. Today, Dakotaland Feeds manufactures and distributes dry feeds, minerals and liquid supplements, and Dakotaland Feeds sales representatives work with Agtegra Feed locations to ensure customers have the feed they need when and where they need it.