Phosphorus supplementation for improved productivity and profitability of beef businesses – Part 1

This is the fourth webinar in the BeefConnect ‘Improving beef business performance across northern Australia’ series.

In this webinar, Tim Schatz (Northern Territory Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade) and Simon Quigley (University of Queensland) discuss the findings of two phosphorus research projects in detail and how phosphorus supplementation can improve the productivity and profitability of beef businesses:

1. Quantifying the benefits of phosphorus supplementation – Kidman Springs research results, Tim Schatz
2. Growth of steers in response to phosphorus in the diet, Simon Quigley

Quantifying the benefits of phosphorus supplementation – Kidman Springs research results

Research at the Kidman Springs Research Facility (Northern Territory) is providing new information on the benefits of phosphorus supplementation of females on phosphorus-deficient country in Northern Australia. It is showing that there is large return on investment from:

• increased pregnancy rates,
• lower mortality rates,
• higher weaning weights, and
• more kilograms of calves weaned per female.

Download a copy of Tim’s presentation slides Quantifying the benefits of phosphorus supplementation (PDF, 3MB).

Full presentation (27:53)

Playlist

1. Kidman Springs phosphorus supplementation project
2. What’s a good return on investment?
3. Phosphorus status of land in northern Australia
4. Brief history of phosphorus research in northern Australia
5. Kidman Springs phosphorus trial
6. Trial methodology
7. Supplement content used (wet and dry season)
8. Cattle growth of the trial treatments
9. Breeder reproduction of the trial treatments
10. Differences in first lactation heifer results
11. Preliminary economic comparison
12. Cows with opportunity to wean a second calf
13. Updated economic comparison
14. Time needed to see a return from phosphorus supplementation
15. Acknowledgements
16. Video of trial cattle

Growth of steers in response to phosphorus in the diet

In this webinar Simon Quigley presents the results of recent research at the University of Queensland on the response of growing steers to increasing amounts of phosphorus in the diet. The research demonstrates the increased growth of steers when phosphorus supplements are included in the diet and the effect of diet phosphorus content on feed intake of growing steers. Download a copy of  Simon’s presentation slides Growth of steers in response to phosphorus in the diet (PDF, 2MB).

Full presentation (19:20)

Playlist

1. Growth of steers in response to phosphorus in the diet
2. Response of growing cattle to phosphorus supplements is variable, it is affected by:
   i. Severity of phosphorus deficiency (soil, plant)
   ii. Quality of available pasture (protein, energy)
   iii. Phosphorus reserves/demand of the animal and variability in phosphorus intake (supplement)
3. The trial – growth of steers in response to phosphorus in the diet
4. Trial depletion phase
5. Trial repletion phase
6. Relationship between phosphorus intake and liveweight gain
7. What’s driving the results?
8. Phosphorus diagnostic tests
9. Take home messages