Does anyone supplement with Riomax?

[AmandaQ]

The Riomax tubs look pretty interesting. Just wondering if anyone here uses it and if so, how do you like it?

 

[bird dog]

One of my friends is a rep for the company and also uses them on his cows during winter to make his hay go further. He swears buy them but he is a rep. He runs his cows on cruddy lease pasture and claims they do fine on it. I know where his place is and its 8 acre per cow type land.

They are too expensive for my cheap butt. I was worried about the dominant cow getting the most out of them but he says they just lick a short time before moving on. Unless you have a lot more cows than you have let on, and as good as you take care of them, I would think it would be a unnecessary expense.

 

[gcreekrch]

We tried some and weren’t happy with cost of overconsumption. Was a very expensive trial.

 

[wbvs58]

We tried some and weren't happy with cost of overconsumption. Was a very expensive trial.

I think the manufactures get greedy and add attractants to it to make sure they sell enough. I have a very basic mineral that I have been happy with, the cows will leave it alone when they don't need it but consume heavily when they do, mostly P driven but the last couple of lots I bought the texture is different and it has a distinct smell of copra meal and of course the cows go straight to it whether they need it or not. This has obviously been sales driven, I wish they would just leave it alone.

Ken

 

[AmandaQ]

One of my friends is a rep for the company and also uses them on his cows during winter to make his hay go further. He swears buy them but he is a rep. He runs his cows on cruddy lease pasture and claims they do fine on it. I know where his place is and its 8 acre per cow type land.

They are too expensive for my cheap butt. I was worried about the dominant cow getting the most out of them but he says they just lick a short time before moving on. Unless you have a lot more cows than you have let on, and as good as you take care of them, I would think it would be a unnecessary expense.

I'm worried my pasture isn't enough for my three cows. I was worried it wasn't't enough for two and then the surprise calf showed up. I am not subdividing the pasture as Mark taught me I should. I'm not moving them from pasture to pasture enough. (My front arena pasture is little and only has one big tree for shade. In Hotlanta weather, I just can't take their shades spots away right now. So they are staying in the back pasture right now, which I am pretty sure is around 3 acres fenced.) My pasture is looking a bit overused, the weeds are plentiful and I was looking for something that would help the pasture and keep my cows happy. The Riomax lady told me I wouldn't need to feed them hay in the winter but that seems way wrong. She wasn't a sales person, just the admin assistant. She also told me a 60lb tub would be enough for my three cows for over a month. And that would cost $133 per tub. If my hay consumption would go down, this is a doable option for me. I just don't know if I should believe their marketing spiel!

 

[AmandaQ]

We tried some and weren't happy with cost of overconsumption. Was a very expensive trial.

How long did you try it? I was warned they would overeat for a couple of months and then level off. Did your cows just keep overeating? I don't need big cows, I like mine regular sized!

 

[aprille218]

Can you mow your pasture to help control the weeds and encourage grass growth? With only a 3 acre pasture a riding lawnmower might even work if the pasture is pretty level.

 

[AmandaQ]

Can you mow your pasture to help control the weeds and encourage grass growth? With only a 3 acre pasture a riding lawnmower might even work if the pasture is pretty level.

It has some flat spots that could likely be mowed but is also hilly in spots. Can I mow a pasture and still expect there to be grass for the cows to eat?

 

[gcreekrch]

How long did you try it? I was warned they would overeat for a couple of months and then level off. Did your cows just keep overeating? I don't need big cows, I like mine regular sized!

The salesman told me one story when we bought the first 2 ton and then tried to sell me more by saying they would level off in 90 days. Cows did not eat less feed and it would have gone from a 10K experiment to a 30K experiment. I can buy a lot of feed for $30K.

 

[chaded]

The way to help your pastures is to get the cattle completely off of it and rest it. If they are on it they are grazing it and will keep it grazed. When it grows back even just a little bit they are there to nip it right back off. The more you overgraze the longer it takes to recover and the more weeds you have to deal with.

You either will rotate them or basically create a feedlot and bring them feed (grain and/or hay).

 

[AmandaQ]

The salesman told me one story when we bought the first 2 ton and then tried to sell me more by saying they would level off in 90 days. Cows did not eat less feed and it would have gone from a 10K experiment to a 30K experiment. I can buy a lot of feed for $30K.

This is what I came here to find out. THANK you!!

 

[GoWyo]

I'm worried my pasture isn't enough for my three cows. I was worried it wasn't't enough for two and then the surprise calf showed up. I am not subdividing the pasture as Mark taught me I should. I'm not moving them from pasture to pasture enough. (My front arena pasture is little and only has one big tree for shade. In Hotlanta weather, I just can't take their shades spots away right now. So they are staying in the back pasture right now, which I am pretty sure is around 3 acres fenced.) My pasture is looking a bit overused, the weeds are plentiful and I was looking for something that would help the pasture and keep my cows happy. The Riomax lady told me I wouldn't need to feed them hay in the winter but that seems way wrong. She wasn't a sales person, just the admin assistant. She also told me a 60lb tub would be enough for my three cows for over a month. And that would cost $133 per tub. If my hay consumption would go down, this is a doable option for me. I just don't know if I should believe their marketing spiel!

Cows need a certain minimum amount of dry matter roughage per day. Where a tub or other supplement can help is if the forage quality is poor as it will add protein to feed their rumen microbes and help them digest poor quality feed. I don't know about eating less feed - seems it it helps them digest it better, they will eat more. Anyway, if you don't have any grass, a tub isn't going to help anything.

 

[AmandaQ]

Cows need a certain minimum amount of dry matter roughage per day. Where a tub or other supplement can help is if the forage quality is poor as it will add protein to feed their rumen microbes and help them digest poor quality feed. I don't know about eating less feed - seems it it helps them digest it better, they will eat more. Anyway, if you don't have any grass, a tub isn't going to help anything.

I have grass and weeds now. I need to get someone to come see my pasture and tell me its condition. My husband thinks it's fine (but with more weeds now than before we had cows.) I'm trying to head off a problem!

 

[bird dog]

Is there somebody around there that could spray it for you?

 

[AmandaQ]

Not that I know of but I can start asking around. Maybe the company that brought the lime will spray it. Maybe my husband! We were thinking about using GrazeOn.

 

[bird dog]

Spray it now and then again in March. Grazonext is a good product. I kept up 8 acres for years using a 25 gallon sprayer with a 6' boom and a side x side. If your coverage is good you can be weed free by May.

 

[SBMF 2015]

@AmandaQ for the size of your herd you can supplement them with bagged protein much cheaper than tubs. A Purina 36-O or Kent 34 baby beef is less than $20 bag. 1 lb per cow per day is all they need. Maybe mix with some shell corn or cracked corn.
Tubs are convenient but you pay for that convenience.
I use liquid protein. Same concept as tubs. The liquid is cheaper but the initial investment was much more.
Any time you supplement cows wether it’s grain, hay, or protein it’s an added expense. It’s just part of it.

 

[Dave]

@AmandaQ for the size of your herd you can supplement them with bagged protein much cheaper than tubs. A Purina 36-O or Kent 34 baby beef is less than $20 bag. 1 lb per cow per day is all they need. Maybe mix with some shell corn or cracked corn.
Tubs are convenient but you pay for that convenience.
I use liquid protein. Same concept as tubs. The liquid is cheaper but the initial investment was much more.
Any time you supplement cows wether it's grain, hay, or protein it's an added expense. It's just part of it.

Tubs are the most expensive way to supplement. They add nothing which can't be done cheaper and better with a different supplement. I use alfalfa to add protein to the cow's diet.

 

[bird dog]

They may be the most expensive product, but when labor is considered they may be cheaper. I know they are if you have cattle in a different location to where you have to drive. Alfalfa around here is only for the horse crowd. Most folks supplement with range cubes.

 

[PPRM]

The way to help your pastures is to get the cattle completely off of it and rest it. If they are on it they are grazing it and will keep it grazed. When it grows back even just a little bit they are there to nip it right back off. The more you overgraze the longer it takes to recover and the more weeds you have to deal with.

You either will rotate them or basically create a feedlot and bring them feed (grain and/or hay).

Also, with continuous grazing, they will start by eating the most nutritious feed and slowly move on until at the end the only feed left is of no value.