Spring Pasture
Stocker cattle—typically weaned calves weighing between 400 to 700 pounds—are often grazed on spring pasture as an economical way to add weight before entering feedlots. With proper management, spring grazing can provide high-quality forage, efficient animal gains and reduced feed costs. However, successful stocker grazing in spring requires attention to forage growth, animal needs, grazing techniques and health management.
Curious about who you’re getting advice from? Gain Smart® is a renowned brand of mineral supplements designed to enhance cattle health, optimize growth and improve feed efficiency. Our products support commercial producers looking to maximize their operations. And best of all, Gain Smart products ensure balanced nutrition for livestock.
BioZyme® Inc., the makers of VitaFerm® and a leading fermentation company pioneering advancements in animal nutrition and health, developed the Gain Smart brand. Through innovative research and high-quality manufacturing, BioZyme creates powerful solutions that improve animal performance and support producer profitability in the agricultural industry.
Our mission: undeniable positive impact on the health and wellness of your animals and your business.
Understanding Spring Pasture
Spring is a critical season for forage growth, especially for cool-season grasses like fescue, ryegrass, orchardgrass and brome. As temperatures warm and daylight increases, these forages rapidly produce lush, nutrient-rich biomass. Spring growth tends to be high in protein and digestibility, often exceeding the nutritional requirements of growing stockers. This “spring flush” presents a valuable opportunity to maximize weight gain while minimizing the need for expensive supplemental feed.
In many areas, legumes like clover and alfalfa also begin to grow in the spring. These forages contribute additional protein and enhance soil fertility through nitrogen fixation. Well-managed pastures with a mix of grasses and legumes offer a balanced diet that supports efficient animal growth.
Selecting the Right Stockers
Success with spring pasture grazing begins with purchasing the right type of calves. Many stockers are weaned, vaccinated and already started on feed or pasture. They should be healthy, uniform in size and age, and adapted to your region. Preconditioning—providing calves with basic health protocols and training them to eat feed and drink from waterers—reduces stress and enhances performance on pasture.
In spring, lighter-weight calves can be purchased and grown quickly on the flush of forage. Weight gains of 1.5 to 2.5 pounds per day are common with good forage and management. Breeds that perform well in forage-based systems, like British and British-cross cattle, are particularly appropriate to this phase of production.
Grazing Strategies for Maximum Gain
Effective grazing management is key to making the most of spring pasture. Several methods can optimize both forage utilization and animal performance:
1. Rotational Grazing
Rotational grazing divides pasture into multiple paddocks, allowing stockers to graze one paddock at a time while others recover. By controlling grazing pressure, rotational grazing prevents overgrazing, maintains plant health and encourages uniform forage utilization. Rotations may occur every few days, depending on forage growth and stocking density.
2. Mob Grazing or Strip Grazing
These more intensive forms of rotational grazing involve moving cattle daily or even multiple times a day using electric fencing. The goal is to encourage even grazing, reduce selective feeding and improve nutrient cycling through manure distribution. These methods require more labor but can result in higher gains per acre.
3. Set Stocking
This simpler method allows cattle continuous access to a pasture area. While it requires less labor, it can lead to uneven grazing, decreased forage quality and lower pasture longevity. If set stocking is used, it’s crucial to monitor forage availability and adjust stocking rates accordingly.
Stocking Rates & Timing
Stocking rate—the number of animals per acre—is a critical variable that influences both animal performance and pasture health. In spring, pastures grow rapidly, allowing for higher stocking densities than in other seasons. However, overstocking can quickly lead to pasture degradation once the initial flush slows down.
A good rule of thumb is to begin grazing when grasses reach 6 to 8 inches in height and to move animals when the stubble height is around 3 to 4 inches. Regular pasture walks can help assess growth and make timely decisions about rotation or removal of cattle.
Stockers can be turned out onto pasture as early as conditions allow—typically late March to early April in temperate regions. Wet soils should be avoided to prevent compaction and damage to emerging forage.
Nutritional Considerations
While spring pasture typically supplies more than enough protein and energy for stockers, certain nutritional considerations still apply:
Mineral Supplementation
Spring pasture forages are often deficient in key minerals like magnesium, copper and selenium. Providing a free-choice mineral is essential to prevent deficiencies and support growth.
One great mineral option is Gain Smart, a line of vitamin and mineral supplements for stocker cattle that promotes healthy, economical pounds. Gain Smart supplements contain AO-Biotics® Amaferm®, a prebiotic research-proven to enhance digestibility. They include organic copper, iodine and zinc for maximum bioavailability and hoof health and provide nutritional support for a healthy immune system.
Bloat Prevention
Legume-rich pastures, especially those high in clover or alfalfa, can cause frothy bloat in cattle. Feeding poloxalene (bloat guard) supplements or managing grazing pressure can help mitigate this risk. Introducing cattle gradually to lush pastures can also prevent digestive upsets.
Water Access
Adequate, clean water is essential for optimal intake and weight gain. Water should be placed strategically to encourage even grazing and reduce the forage trampling.
Monitoring Weight Gain & Performance
Tracking performance is crucial to evaluate the success of a spring stocker program. Weighing cattle at turnout and again at regular intervals, like every 30 to 45 days, provides valuable insights into average daily gain (ADG) and helps determine when to market the cattle or adjust the grazing strategy.
Stockers gaining less than 1.5 pounds per day may indicate forage shortages, parasite burdens or underlying health issues. On the other hand, high gains (over 2.5 pounds/day) suggest excellent forage quality and management.
One of the advantages of feeding calves Gain Smart mineral is that calves that get Amaferm typically gain an additional quarter-pound per day. Those research-proven results are backed with real-life outcomes.
“I’ve run enough tests with minerals that I can tell you if you use the Gain Smart® mineral, you’re going to out-gain and outperform any mineral out there. I generally have seen anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 pound more gain per day on my calves. That’s the only way you can make money on cattle is to grow cattle and get a return on your money,” said Dakota Dalrymple from Alabama.
Health Management on Pasture
Health challenges can quickly reduce performance in a stocker program. The transition to spring pasture, commingling of cattle from different sources, and exposure to parasites all present health risks. To maintain a healthy herd:
Vaccinate Before Turnout
Ensure calves are vaccinated for respiratory diseases, clostridial diseases and pinkeye. Work with a vet to tailor a herd health plan.
Deworm Strategically
Parasite loads can build quickly on spring pasture. Conduct fecal egg counts to determine the need for deworming and rotate pastures to break parasite cycles.
Monitor Closely
Stockers should be observed daily for signs of illness, injury or poor performance. Early detection and treatment are key to maintaining herd health and profitability.
Another advantage of the Gain Smart mineral is that it helps keep your calves healthy while grazing spring pasture. We know that 70% of the immune response starts in the digestive system. By feeding a supplement like Gain Smart with the research-proven prebiotic Amaferm, calves’ digestibility is enhanced and they stay healthier.
“I believe in minerals. The most common problems you have with cattle are with mineral deficiency. I saw the VitaFerm® Gain Smart® Program on The American Rancher one night, and I thought I could use that. Since I started feeding Gain Smart, I’ve had less than 1% death loss. I have virtually no foot rot or pinkeye problems at all,” said Tom Carter, Virginia
Environmental & Soil Benefits
Grazing stockers can also provide environmental benefits when managed responsibly. Rotational grazing improves soil structure, increases organic matter and enhances water infiltration. Manure from grazing cattle returns nutrients to the soil, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers. Legumes in pastures fix nitrogen, further contributing to soil fertility.
Careful grazing management can also improve plant biodiversity, reduce erosion and sequester carbon, making stocker grazing not only economically viable but ecologically sustainable.
Depend on Gain Smart for Healthy, Efficient Pounds
Grazing stockers on spring pasture can be one of the most efficient and profitable phases in the beef production chain. With high-quality forage, rapid animal gains and the potential for low input costs, spring presents a window of opportunity that should not be overlooked. Success hinges on selecting healthy calves, managing grazing to balance animal and forage needs and maintaining strong herd health protocols.
When grazing spring pasture, be sure to feed a vitamin and mineral supplement like Gain Smart, for stocker cattle that promotes healthy, economical gain.
Gain Smart offers 4 different free-choice vitamin and mineral supplement formulas to fit any feeding scenario. All formulas consist of the following:
- AO-Biotics® Amaferm®, a prebiotic research-proven to enhance digestibility.
- Include organic copper, iodine and zinc for maximum bioavailability and hoof health.
- Provide nutritional support for a healthy immune system.
The 4 Gain Smart formulas for stocker cattle include:
- First, Gain Smart Stocker, which maximizes efficient gain.
- Second, Gain Smart Stocker Wheat, which maximizes efficient gain on wheat or small grain pasture.
- Next, Gain Smart Stocker HEAT®, which maximizes efficient gain when temperatures are above 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Contains HEAT technology, a combination of essential oils and garlic, to support animals when heat and insects are a challenge.
- Finally, Gain Smart Stocker Balancer RU1600 maximizes efficient gain and balances high-grain diets when mixing TMR rations. It includes rumensin for improved feed efficiency.
Get your Cattle Gaining the Smart Way Today!
Have we convinced you that Gain Smart, powered by Amaferm, is the best way to supplement cattle on spring pasture?
The Amaferm in the Gain Smart supplements helps calves absorb and digest the nutrients in all grasses and feedstuffs. Furthermore, it contains balanced vitamins and minerals to help your calf perform. The Gain Smart HEAT formula contains technology to help mitigate heat stress.
Finally, research proves that cattle fed Gain Smart powered by Amaferm gain .25 pounds more per day. That’s something to get excited about!
Now that you know about Gain Smart, you can get your calves gaining today.
Gain Smart is available at any of our local authorized BioZyme Dealers. Locate the dealer nearest you.
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