of breeding herds, reduces death losses, and 
permits replacement of costlier sources of feed 
or forage on the range—especially in winter. It 
makes grass range throughout the West suit- 
able for wintering young animals as well as 
mature breeding stock (Harris 1968; Marion et 
al. 1956; Pope et al. 1956; Smith et al. 1967). 
Where browse comprises much of the diet, 
protein supplement is less advantageous be- 
cause desirable browse species usually contain 
adequate protein (Cook and Harris 1968). 
On California annual range, protein supple- 
mentation during the mature-forage stage has 
been found economical for weaner calves, year- 
ling cattle, and brood cows. Calves gained an 
extra half-pound per pound of cottonseed cake, 
and retained 75 percent of this advantage 
through the subsequent green grazing period; 
breeding cows produced a higher calving per- 
centage (83 vs. 66) and heavier calves, and re- 
turned 0.4 pound of weaned calf per pound of 
supplemental feed (Wagnon et al. 1959). 
Elsewhere, protein supplementation some- 
times extends gains of calves or yearlings on 
maturing spring or summer range, such as 
crested wheatgrass in the Northwest, but not 
necessarily at a profit (Wallace et al. 1963). 
On such range in Utah, protein supplement 
during summer and fall increased gains of lac- 
tating cows, but not of calves or yearlings 
(Harris et al. 1968). Obviously, increased 
weight must be marketed if supplementation is 
to be profitable. A weight advantage on young 
animals can disappear during the following 
season of high-quality forage, when thin ani- 
mals tend to gain fastest (Morrison 1954). 
Southern ranges are deficient in digestible 
protein much of the year (Campbell et al. 
1954; Halls et al. 1957), but response to pro- 
tein supplementation appears restricted some- 
what by limited digestible energy. On bluestem 
range in Louisiana, protein supplement from 
October to May (plus limited hay in late win- 
ter and minerals year around, produced profita- 
ble calf crops (80 percent) and weaning 
weights (483 pounds) (Duvall and Whitaker 
1963). However, supplementing only from No- 
vember through March seems as effective and 
more profitable (Duvall and Hansard 1967). 
On wiregrass ranges in Georgia, supplemen- 
tation with protein concentrate has not been as 
effective as with improved pasture which pro- 
vides more energy (Southwell and Hughes 
1965). For example, range plus 0.6 acre of im- 
proved pasture in spring and summer produced 
about 90 more pounds of weaned calf per cow 
than did range plus 1 to 2 pounds of protein 
meal per cow daily. Digestible energy of native 
wiregrass forage in late winter was considered 
too low for economic utilization; cattle were 
wintered on hay and field gleanings. 
The equivalent of 1 to 2 pounds per day of 
cottonseed or soybean meal per cow and one- 
fourth to one-third pound per sheep are cus- 
tomary rations that have been profitable. 
Higher rates are often fed as a convenient, but 
expensive, energy supplement. 
To save labor, protein supplements may be 
fed two or three times weekly; results are sim- 
ilar to those obtained with daily feeding (Har- 
ris 1968; Melton et al. 1961). Also, protein 
supplement can be self-fed safely by using salt, 
or salt and mineral mixed, to control intake 
(Cunha et al. 1964; Harris 1968; NAS-NRC 
1963). As much as 2 pounds of salt per day is 
not toxic to cattle if they have ample drinking 
water. 
In mixtures of 20 to 25 percent salt with cot- 
tonseed meal, yearling cattle have consumed 
from about one-half pound of salt daily in the 
Southwest (Ares 1953) to approximately 
three-fourths pound in Oklahoma (Nelson et 
al. 1954). These rates of salt maintained pro- 
tein-meal intake at desired levels of 1.5 to 2 
pounds daily. The recommended procedure is to 
start with a mixture of 20 to 25 percent salt 
with the protein supplement, and then to re- 
duce the salt content to increase total consump- 
tion, or vice versa. Where a mineral mixture is 
also being fed, the desired amount should re- 
place an appropriate portion of the salt 
(Cunha et al. 1964). 
Minerals 
Sodium and chlorine requirements of range 
livestock are satisfied by the usual practice of 
feeding loose salt, rock salt, or block salt free 
choice on range. Young, growing cattle and 
mature sheep need 10 to 12 grams of salt per 
day, or about 0.8 pound per month; and 
lactating cows, about 1.8 pound per month 
(NAS-NRC 1963, 1964). Free-choice consump- 
tion varies widely with season and _ location, 
but 20 pounds per cow is commonly used in 
planning annual requirements in the West 
(Morrison 1954; Stoddart and Smith 1955). 
On experimental ranges in Louisiana, Georgia, 
and Florida, cattle have consummed 23 to 36 
pounds annually in mixtures with phosphorus 
sources and other minerals (Cunha et al. 1964; 
Duvall and Whitaker 1963; Halls and South- 
well 1954). 
Phosphorus is the major mineral deficiency 
of range forage (NAS-NRC 1963). Calcium, 
on the other hand, is rarely deficient, except in 
the Southeast. Phosphorus and calcium occur 
together in the principal sources of phosphorus 
supplements—steamed bone meal, defluori- 
nated rock phosphate, and calcium phosphate 
—so providing adequate phosphorus with these 
sources will take care of calcium deficiencies. 
Supplementation is needed for young cattle 
and lactating sheep when range forage con- 
tains less than 0.20 percent phosphorus, and 
75 
