Separating Fact from Fiction: Evaluating New Technologies and Common Cattle Nutrition Myths

Summary

Episode Overview

Episode Title: Separating Fact from Fiction: Evaluating New Technologies and Common Cattle Nutrition Myths
Podcast: Cattle Chat by the Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State University
Hosts: Dr. Brad White (BW), Dr. Philip Lancaster (PL), Dr. Dustin Pendell (DP)
Date: July 24, 2026

This episode delves into two central themes: how to critically evaluate the suitability of new technologies or products in beef operations, and debunking (or confirming) common myths related to cattle nutrition. The hosts blend practical advice with scientific insight, offering producers frameworks for decision-making, while also clarifying persistent misunderstandings about cattle supplements, minerals, creep feeding, and heifer nutrition.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Evaluating New Technologies for Cattle Operations

[02:33 – 13:36]

• Framework for Assessment:

  • The team discusses the process for deciding if a new tool, technology, or product is the right fit for a cattle operation. Their key advice: start with research and run a partial budget analysis.
  • “What are all the costs? What are all the benefits? And there’s going to be some intangibles that you can’t put dollar value signs on.” – DP [04:31]
  • Crucial Costs to Consider:
    • Upfront hardware (collars for virtual fencing, etc.)
    • Possible hidden costs (subscriptions, hardware replacements)
    • Effects on labor efficiency (“maybe you don’t have to spend as much time moving cattle if you can just use your iPad” – DP [03:13])
    • Reductions in existing maintenance (e.g., fence repair)
    • Ongoing/recurring costs vs. sunk costs (existing infrastructure shouldn’t factor into future savings but ongoing maintenance should – DP & BW [07:38])
  • Benefits to Consider:
    • Tangible: labor saved, increased productivity, joining premium marketing programs
    • Intangible: data for future decision-making (“How do you put a dollar value on data?...maybe next year you can go back and look to help make future better decisions.” – PL [05:17])
  • Methodology:
    • Use spreadsheets for “what if” analysis to model break-even points and run sensitivity checks (e.g., cost of labor, hardware).
      • “I would recommend using a spreadsheet as opposed to pen and paper… just do a bunch of what if scenario analysis.” – DP [06:47]

• On-Farm Trials & Internal Testing:

  • Simple on-farm tests are “not a research project” but can offer useful within-herd insights if producers set clear parameters for success and measure outcomes rigorously. (PL [10:35])
  • “Knowing what is success before you start… that ties into Dustin’s spreadsheets there and decide that before you try it.” – BW [12:14]

2. Busting Common Cattle Nutrition Myths

[13:37 – 22:09]

Myth #1: Supplements are Not Needed When the Grass is Green

• Partial Truth/Depends: Green grass may supply protein and energy, but not necessarily minerals.
  • “Typically we don’t need… energy or protein supplements when I’ve got lush green grass. But… my lush green grass can still be deficient… especially if I’m going into rebreeding.” – PL [14:11]
  • “The important part of that is how you define the word supplement. If we’re talking about mineral, yes, you probably need that.” – BW [14:51]
• Sampling Protocols: Proper pasture sampling is required for a reliable mineral analysis, but it can be costly and variable by year, stage of plant, etc. (PL [15:54])

Myth #2: Increased Mineral Feeder Consumption Means the Cows Are Deficient in a Specific Mineral

• Generally a Myth: Most variation in mineral consumption is due to salt content in grazed forage, not other minerals.
  • “Generally the consumption is based on salt… they will find a salt lick or whatever else, wild animals do, to increase their salt intake.” – PL [17:19], [17:55]

Myth #3: Creep Feeding Reduces the Amount of Grass Cows Need to Eat (Economic Value)

• Myth: Creep feed gives calves another feed source, but does not decrease milk or truly reduce cow forage consumption.
  • “Milk is still generally his favorite. He’s not generally going to decrease his milk intake or the pressure on the cow.” – PL [18:47]
  • “Most of the research says that it has little impact on the nutritional balance of the cow.” – PL [19:43]
  • Economic value varies yearly—“work through the cost of the creep feed versus the cost of the grass.” – DP [19:43]
• Definition: Creep feeding means only calves can access a feed, not cows (BW [20:08]).

Myth #4: Overfeeding Pregnant Replacement Heifers Leads to Calving Difficulties

• Nuanced: Only extremely overfed/fat heifers (body condition score 8+) are at increased risk due to excess fat in the birth canal—not just modest overfeeding.
  • “Feeding them, overfeeding them, can increase birth weights a little bit, but it’s not a huge increase… maybe five pounds…” – PL [21:03]
  • “What I’ve seen more is more on the light end... if they’re a little bit low on the body condition score, a four, they actually may have more dystocia problems because they run out of energy.” – BW [21:43]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Intangibles in ROI Calculations:
  “There’s going to be some intangibles that you can’t put dollar value signs on.” – DP [04:31]

• On Salt Hunger:
  “Cattle, and most all animals, will do is crave salt and they will find a salt lick…” – PL [17:55]

• On Defining Success in On-Farm Trials:
  “Knowing what is success before you start… and decide that before you try it.” – BW [12:14]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Time | Segment | |----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:33 | Beginning: How to evaluate new technology for your operation | | 03:13 | Considering hidden and ongoing costs; example of virtual fencing | | 04:31 | Partial budgets and intangibles in technology evaluations | | 06:11 | Using spreadsheets for ‘what if’ scenario analysis | | 07:38 | Dealing with sunk costs and cost comparisons between methods | | 10:03 | Internal testing: challenges and scientific rigor | | 14:08 | Myth #1: The truth about supplement needs on green grass | | 17:00 | Myth #2: Mineral feeder consumption and salt cravings | | 18:47 | Myth #3: Creep feeding does not reduce cow forage intake | | 21:03 | Myth #4: Overfeeding and calving hardships – body condition explained |

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Tone & Takeaways

The BCI Cattle Chat crew adopts a friendly, practical, and scientifically grounded tone. They frequently highlight the variability in cattle management decisions (“it depends”) and offer clear, stepwise approaches for producers considering new investments or nutritional changes.

Takeaway Message:
Carefully evaluate both the numbers and the context before adopting new technology or changing cattle nutrition practices. Evidence, context, and a little spreadsheet work offer the best route to better herd management. Don’t just believe the myths—ask, test, and think it through.

Transcript

[Philip]

Foreign.

[Brad White]

BCI Cattle Chat. I'm Brad White. Happy to have you with us and happy to have our crew here in the studio. Morning, Dustin.

[Dustin]

Good morning.

[Brad White]

Morning, Philip.

[Philip]

Good morning, guys.

[Brad White]

We're a little bit short today just because it's summer and people are in and out, but we've got a couple good topics to discuss. We're gonna talk about evaluating when somebody presents you with a new technology or service or product, how you decide if it's the right fit. Fit for your operation. We're also going to play myth busters, and Philip and Dustin are going to get to do some nutritional myths and. And how can we bust those or are they true? So we'll talk about those topics. But if you have a question or a topic you'd like us to address, you can always send us an [e-mail]. we're also looking forward to going to the state fair. So we're going to be at the state fair later this fall and actually going to be there and do a podcast there while we're at the birthing center. And hopefully you can join us for that. But one of the fun things about the state fair is, is fair food, which makes me think of summer food. And I've got a challenge for you guys today. As you think about foods you can only get or are better in the summer, can you think of anything better than a BLT for a summer food? You gotta. You gotta top a BLT with a summer.

[Philip]

I was. That's where one of the things I was going with was a blt. But I can get that in other times a year in the summer.

[Brad White]

It's just not as good.

[Philip]

It's not. But the other one that I think would probably be true was corn on the cob.

[Brad White]

Oh, yeah, That's. That's hard to be.

[Dustin]

And.

[Brad White]

And you can have both at the same time. Yes. A lot of times we'll have BLT and corn on the cob.

[Dustin]

So I'm not a big tomato fan, so that's. The BLT's not. Not for me. Corn on the cob is a good one. I think I can top it.

[Brad White]

Yeah.

[Philip]

What do you got?

[Dustin]

Brisket. Smoke a brisket or a big ribeye. I just smoked a. I think it's like a 23 pound rib roll.

[Brad White]

Yeah.

[Dustin]

Yeah. And that was really good. I don't know that you can top that. The only problem was there's so much food for just a few people. It's like you're gonna be eating that for months. Actually, we will I've got it ready to go for chili next.

[Brad White]

That's a nice thing and you can do that anytime.

[Dustin]

But it is, it's better in the summer.

[Brad White]

It is better in the summer. It's much better out there sweating by the smoker.

[Dustin]

But it also be really good in the winter.

[Brad White]

So the first topic I wanted to discuss was, and this happens frequently is an operation will go to a show or somebody will come visit them and say, hey, we've got this new tool, technology, piece of equipment, something that may help your operation. And a lot of times you're forced with the decision of does this make sense for me or not? And I know the first answer. I'm just short circuit it, Dustin, is it depends exactly. So how do I, what does it depend on? And how do I dive into the details and figure out and really thinking about it from an economic standpoint?

[Dustin]

So yeah, the first thing, I guess I mean it, like you said, it depends. But it's, it's easy. But it's really not a real easy. I mean it takes a little time. Maybe for me I would go out, start doing my research, trying to understand the technology, all the benefits and the costs. And this is where you might need to do a little research to understand some of the costs and some of the benefits. And then where it gets a little tricky is trying to put dollar value sometimes on some of the benefits. Because I mean, sometimes you can't. But so yeah, I mean, I think through the costs, what are the upfront costs? So thinking just pick some technology, virtual fencing, right? So what are some of the upfront costs? You got the hardware, maybe, maybe a collar, et cetera. And but are there any hidden costs? You got to think about the hidden costs, right? Maybe subscription fee to think about. So you gotta think through all the potential costs. And that's where again, doing some research might help. And then also while you're thinking about that, are you reducing any costs, maybe the labor? You don't have to spend as much time moving cattle if you can just use your iPad or something like that. So things like that.

[Philip]

So you're talking about like basically kind of coming up with a partial budget

[Dustin]

moving from one technology. It would be. Yeah, exactly. What it would be is a partial budget going from whatever you're currently doing to a new technology. Think about all the, the benefits of that. So you're talking maybe it's reducing labor efficiency or maybe again depending on the technology, could be a reproductive. Right. Maybe some kind of AI technology. And then you try to put dollar values on some of those. And so it can be a little tricky sometimes, but that's how I think about is what all the cost, what are all the benefits? And there's going to be some intangibles that you can't put dollar value signs on. If you're collecting all this data. How do you put a dollar value on data? Because you're not going to be using that data maybe today, but maybe next year you can go back and look

[Philip]

to help make future better decisions. Yeah, that's a tough one to do. I mean, and sometimes too one a thing that's hard to do is put the, well, just evaluate the benefit in my situation. So maybe the company's got some research or whatever showing that it improves animal productivity or whatever in some different situations. But is that going to be this? Am I going to get the same level of benefit in my operation as they did in those operations? So spending some time really understanding the scenario and the situation that they evaluated that technology in. Because we know with, at least with feed additives, there's lots of feed additives out there on the market and that they, a lot of them are kind of situation dependent on whether they work and what type of diet they're added to and other things like that.

[Brad White]

Well, and I think as you pointed out, you're going to figure the costs and potential benefits and maybe use a spreadsheet or something like that. A lot of times we don't know those costs or benefits. Which is the nice thing about the spreadsheet is you can do a what if analysis. So you can plug in a number and a lot of times you won't have a specific number, but you can plug in a number and you can play with it and see if it changes the bottom line much. Right. If I assume my labor is going to be 10 hours versus 100 hours, how much does that change it? Where's the cut point where that changes my break even? Because essentially I have to compare this new technology to whatever I'm doing currently, correct?

[Dustin]

Yep. No, And I would recommend using a spreadsheet as opposed to pen and paper, just because you draw these what if scenarios in Excel. And again is what if my labor is 20 bucks an hour, what if it's 30? Or what if the input cost is versus that? And so it's real easy, just do a whole bunch of what if scenario analysis.

[Brad White]

So let's take one of those scenarios you mentioned, virtual fencing, and that's one that is a popular potential option. So there I might need to compare that to what I'm doing currently, which could be cross fencing with electric, which I could figure that out. What does that cost? But I already have some, I'll call them sunk costs. I don't know if that's the right word. I've already got poles and cross fences and all of those things. So do I. If I'm doing that comparison, do I factor those in or not?

[Dustin]

Well, those.

[Brad White]

Because I've already bought them.

[Dustin]

You've already bought them. They're already there. So like you said, this is kind of a sunk cost. So moving forward, you don't need them, but you're not going to save on

[Brad White]

replacement repairs, but you're not going to

[Dustin]

go pull them out. So maintenance expenses. Right. So that would be one of the reduced. That mentioned the reduction in costs. Right. There's no annual maintenance on. On upkeep of the fence. So that would be how you would incorporate that into your analysis that way. But yeah. You're not going to go rip those out and throw them away. I wouldn't think so, but so.

[Brad White]

And I also like that you put in some of the recurring costs is one of the things that we have to keep an eye on because subscriptions, things like that I think can be. You need to factor those in and it can be a challenge over time.

[Dustin]

Yep. You got, I mean hidden or replacement collars or if it's an ear tag, whatever it is, you got to replace those. So I'm trying to think through all the possible costs.

[Brad White]

Yep. Now on the. Some of the other things that we think about may be harder to put a specific cost or benefit on. And one of those would be something like say an electronic identification tag. So if I'm going to use an electronic identification tag, it may help me a little bit. But maybe there's some benefits down the road or maybe there's some broader industry benefits which are harder to figure in. If I'm part of some sort of traceability type program, which I can see the value of that, but it's hard for me to capture that value. How do I figure something like that?

[Dustin]

So I mean, there's a few things maybe. Yeah. I mean, you got data, you're able to use it in the future. How do you put a valid dollar value on that? It can be hard sometimes. You maybe you just don't. You just know that it's there. I'm getting this additional benefit. But if you are able to join a marketing program, some kind of premium marketing program, now all of a sudden you can figure out what the premium is. So you could put it that way. Yeah, I'm not sure. I mean, it's just hard sometimes. You might not be able to, or you might not be able to until a year or two later, once you've been able to accumulate data or whatever the technology, whatever it is we're talking about and see how it actually is improving your decision making.

[Brad White]

Yeah. And what do you, what do you guys think about the scenario of somebody approaches me and let's say it's with something different. Let's say it's a product that I would apply to my cattle. What about the internal test? You say, well, I don't know if this is going to work on my operation or not, but if I just try it out on some of the cattle this year and let's say it's a parasiticide, something that's going to handle parasites. Okay, well, maybe I'm going to switch and try it this year and see if it works or not. Is that a reasonable approach or are there any challenges with that?

[Philip]

I think there are some challenges. You know, you got to think a little bit about how you're doing it. It's not a. It's not a research project, but you want to be able to have a true comparison of. Of the benefits of that product. So how are you going.

[Brad White]

Because to do the research. Right. It's actually quite expensive.

[Philip]

Yeah.

[Brad White]

Would likely be cost prohibitive to do it on your operation to have. Have somebody else do the research, if you can.

[Philip]

Yes. And so, you know, thinking about, let's say, a parasiticide. Well, okay, so maybe we're going to just take a few fecal samples and look at fecal egg counts or something like that in, in cows that got this one versus some cows that got my original one or my previous one that I was using or whatever. The. There's. But. So, but I'm not. Without going into too much detail, you get. You got to think about how. How are you going to evalu worked, quote, unquote, worked or not? And what does works mean? You know, is. Is equal reduction in fecal egg counts. This is. That worked. If it's a, If a, if it's a less expensive product and it gives you the same outcome, then I might say that that's. That worked. But if it's the more expensive product and I still just have the same reduction in fecal egg counts, then that may not be something I consider that worked. What's my definition of worked? Because I think it's very important you

[Brad White]

bring up a Great point there is knowing what is success before you start, which is the same way. And that ties into Dustin's spreadsheets there and decide that before you try it. And if you try it out, you still would like to have that compared to some research that's actually been designed in a way to test that product.

[Philip]

Yeah. And I think that's one thing that producers can, could really benefit from. And we see it a lot more and we see it happening even more, I think in larger operations like feed yard operations and I think maybe even some dairies and things like that where they're wanting to do some of their, a lot of in house research instead of just trusting outside research or company research. And so they can evaluate it in their own system and whether it quote unquote works or has a benefit in their, their system. And I think there's a lot of technologies and things like that that cow calf producers would benefit from thinking about how to actually evaluate it in their own system. And, and instead of just deciding yes or no, I'm gonna start using it.

[Brad White]

Which would tie in what you said to what Dustin said is that would help you kind of fill out that spreadsheet, right?

[Dustin]

Oh yeah.

[Brad White]

Of here's what it is and what it does. I do wanna, I think that's good plan for evaluating some of that new technology. I also wanted to get into some of the myths and we found some of these myths. And I'm just gonna ask you guys and you can say whether it's a myth or whether it's true from the nutrition standpoint and then kind of back it up. And the first one is supplements are not needed when the grass is green.

[Philip]

Do I get to pick? Partially true.

[Brad White]

Yeah.

[Philip]

Typically we don't need like energy or protein supplements when I've got lush green grass. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the grass is providing all the mineral requirements because the mineral content of the grass is highly dependent on the soil content of the mineral. And so I have lush green grass if I have rain, but that the rain didn't change the mineral content of my soil. And so my lush green grass can still be deficient in or marginal in some important minerals, especially if I'm going into rebreeding and things like that.

[Brad White]

So the important part of that is how you define the word supplement.

[Philip]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brad White]

If we're talking about mineral, yes, you probably need that. If we're talking energy and protein, we may not. And when the grass is green is not a great definition because grass goes through different growing stages. And certainly when it's dormant, it's a different criteria, but.

[Philip]

Well, and even as grass plants mature, the mineral content changes and the plant becomes less digestible. And so the minerals in it, even though if they're, you measure them and they're in there, they may be less available because the, the plant is not as digestible in itself.

[Brad White]

Well, and where I was going too is green does not give you the quantity. So grass can be green and short and I may want to have something out there because they don't have enough to get there.

[Dustin]

And so quick follow up question for that is so if the grass is green and how do we know know what they may or may not need?

[Philip]

So that gets difficult without a lot of expense because measuring mineral content in feedstuffs is pretty expensive. And so the best way is really to take some samples of your pasture and send them to a lab and get an analysis. Problem is it can vary from year to year. Obviously it's going to vary some based on the stage of maturity of the plant that did. When you take the sample, there's lots of things you need to think about, about getting the representative sample that you want to evaluate at different times a year and things like that.

[Brad White]

So I think that one you're saying, if you say supplements is protein and energy. Correct. You actually don't need that. If you're saying supplements is minerals, you actually do need that. When the grass is green you could,

[Philip]

you could it all. It's depend, it's highly dependent on your area. We're going, we are very, we, we have a whole episode here of it depends.

[Brad White]

Okay, so, so this one I'm going to stay on the mineral theme. Increased mineral consumption by the cows or disappearance from the mineral feeder means that they really need that mineral or they're really short on some specific mineral.

[Philip]

I'm going to say that's generally a myth because generally the consumption is based on salt. And so based on the amount of salt they're getting from, I mean grass has salt and it has sodium and chloride in it. And based on the salt content of the grass and the forage and things like that and will dictate kind of how much salt they're going to consume from the mineral.

[Dustin]

So, so are you saying that if there's not very much salt then they're probably going to have more consume more mineral?

[Philip]

They may, yeah, they may consume more mineral. Yeah. Because that is one thing that cattle and in most all animals will do is salt, crave salt and they will find a salt lick or whatever else, you know, wild animals do to. To increase their salt intake.

[Brad White]

Exactly why we had a salt lick installed in our kitchen. It keeps everybody happy.

[Dustin]

I was thinking a sugar lick, like so I'd be over there eating all that mineral.

[Brad White]

Well, you can do both and then you just test preference, salty or sweet. So this one's kind of for both of you guys. Creep feeding is economically valuable because it reduces the amount of grass that the cows have to eat.

[Philip]

I'll take it from the nutrition side of things. Not necessarily. Because creep feeding is going to provide another source of feed stuff for the calf. Right. So now he's got three things to choose from. Milk from the cow, grass from the pasture, and creep feed. Milk is still generally his favorite. And so he's not generally going to decrease his milk intake or the pressure on the cow. He's generally going to replace the forage consumption with the creep feed. Because creep feed would be his, probably his second favorite. I have seen some research where they show a improvement in body condition score by creep feeding. But in general, most of the research says that it has little impact on the nutritional balance of the cow.

[Dustin]

I mean, I just follow up, I guess on the economic side. Right. You if it's not really reducing, I mean, if the calf's still going to go to the mother primarily, I don't know that it's going to reduce that much. But again, you want to work through the cost of the creep feed versus the cost of the grass and kind of see how that pencils out. Some years it might work, in other years it will not work. So.

[Brad White]

So I think it's that one you're saying that may be a myth. That that is. And we probably need to define creep feeding. So creep feeding a feed or supplement that the calf can get to that the cow can't get to. But more discreetly thinking about the time frame that people are creep feeding. So you can put out creep feed for a long period of time or a short period of time. And that greatly changes the economics. Cause you're using purchase feeds to put out there. And so back to your spreadsheet Dustin, you'd want to pull that up. Next one. And this is focused specifically on replacement heifers. So if I have a replacement heifer or a cow that's pregnant with her first calf, overfeeding them during gestation can lead to calving difficulties.

[Philip]

Yes and no. Feeding them, feeding them, overfeeding them can increase birth weights a little bit, but it's not a huge increase. It's like maybe five pounds of birth weight. Drastically overfitting them and making the heifer or the fat and getting too much fat in that birth canal can definitely cause some calving difficulty issues.

[Brad White]

But you're talking. Let's talk about that in terms of body score. By the time she gets to a body score, eight.

[Philip]

Yeah. Yes. That's why I say you're drastically overfeeding.

[Brad White]

But you're talking about at that point, kind of a finishing heifer. Right. We've got one on full feed or getting to that point because it is too often that if they're a little bit low on the body condition score, a four, they actually may have more dystocia problems because they run out of energy when they go to calves.

[Philip]

Yeah. Muscle energy is not available.

[Brad White]

So. So the. What you're saying is the. The feeding doesn't change that birth weight dramatically in those calves, but if you get them over fat. Yes, could be a problem. But I guess what I've seen more is more on the light end of feeding those heifers. So. Good, good discussion there, guys. On. On both the myths that we talked about and how you figure out your return on investment of. Of what you might add into your operation. If you have questions, comments, or things you'd like us to talk about, you can send us an [e-mail].