Matthew Clark – Trial

Product Range: MegaMin BovaMag Range

Region: Milmerran, QLD

• Increased Daily Weight Gains
• Increased Productivity
• Improved Overall Health

Matthew & Kass Clark lease two thousand hectares of property at Karriba, south-west of Millmerran. The operation is targeting back grounding cattle for Mort & Co through Summer and Winter, and are rewarded for the weight gain of the cattle over the time they are on the property. A field trial was conducted in 2021 with Matthew to identify the production benefits of MegaMin BovaMag Super Sweet for backgrounding Angus cross steers grazing forage oats over a four- month period. Prior to taking on the lease at Karriba, Matthew worked at a local rural store in Millmerran where he had experience working alongside the AgSolutions nutrition team to assist other local producers in the area.

“We plant a multi-species mixed pasture which includes radish, brassicas, peas, vetch, rye grass, barley and linseed to benefit both the cattle diet and soil health. Our focus is on regeneration and aim to leave the land in a better condition than we got it for the next generation. Over the trial period cattle were rotated each month between three paddocks to remove paddock variation. No additional supplementation was provided to cattle within the control group, where as cattle in the supplemented group had free access to MegaMin BovaMag Super Sweet.”

Cattle with access to BovaMag looked healthier with improved coat condition and we saw them grazing the oats more than cattle in the control group. Although cattle in both groups suffered from Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) in the first two weeks, the increased feed efficiency enabled the supplemented cattle to gain an extra 100 grams per head/day. It cost around 15-20 cents/head/day to supplement with MegaMin BovaMag Super Sweet and based on the extra weight gain and the market price of $5.70 per kg, our supplemented cattle returned an extra $43.71 per head at the end of the trial. We worked this out to be a 271% return on our supplementation investment.”

“At the end of the 112 days, 67.1% of the supplemented group were already at the target sale weight of 420kg in comparison to only 51.1% of the control group. We look to replicate the trial again and alleviate some of the variants of weather and work with the Zoetis team to ensure cattle are vaccinated and protected the from BRD. We like the AgSolutions products as they are balanced and have a good consistency. The cattle get the nutritional requirements for a small amount and don’t require a large intake.”