Michael Gall

Product Range: MegaMin Graze & Grow 6% Phos, MegaMin Feedlot Enhancer, MegaMin Dry Season Breeder Blend and MegaMin Extra Magnesium – SWEET

Region: Jandowae, QLD

Mixed grain and beef producer Michael Gall, Jandowae, is aware of the rewards that can be achieved when you invest in the nutritional health of your livestock. Since 2015 Michael has worked with AgSolutions’ Field Advisor Paul Pritchard and Dalby Rural Supplies to provide his cattle with the best nutritional options for their current requirements. Michael first discovered AgSolutions when he asked at Dalby Rural Supplies for help with feeding cattle. He was then introduced to Paul Pritchard who formulated a ration for him using MegaMin Feedlot Enhancer along with ingredients that he had available on farm.

Last season was tough, so on the recommendation from Ben Otto at Dalby Rural, Michael started using MegaMin Dry Season Breeder Blend as a dry lick to help his cows get through the challenging times. According to Mick, “The cows were doing it a bit tough but we were very pleased when out of a group of 228 cows, 217 of them were pregnancy tested in calf. A 95% success rate is great considering we only join for three months.” The empty cows were then fed for 50 days on the ration that Paul formulated and they sold for a profit of $400/head.

For the past 12 months Mick has been feeding MegaMin Graze & Grow to his heifers during the dry. Historically they have always struggled to achieve a PTIC of 70% in the heifers so Paul suggested that they use the Graze & Grow 6% Phos and this season they have achieved an 82% pregnancy rate with 75 heifers PTIC out of a group of 92.

Supplementing livestock during the dry season has paid off for Michael and he now supplements all his cows with MegaMin Protein Supplements as soon as the manure starts to stack up. Mick reiterates, “At our home block, we have the maiden and first calf heifers on the creek with access to sorghum grain stubble and MegaMin Graze & Grow 6% Phos and we have noticed that they are in great condition and are actively grazing the dry stubble instead of chasing the very small green pick around the creek.”

After the cyclone in March there had been no follow up rain, resulting in an average oats crop. Due to the harsh times there was no paddock feed and the cull heifers and steers were put on the oats and they started scouring profusely. Because of his success with supplementing stock with MegaMin during dry times, Michael decided to use MegaMin Extra Magnesium Sweet in this scenario. When Michael first put the lick out, the cattle were eating it but were still producing loose stools. Paul advised him to provide access to hay to increase the fibre content of the diet. The manure immediately firmed up and the cattle also began to eat more lick and were noticeably calmer.

When Paul and Ben visited Michael in July he told them,

The cattle had been on the MegaMin Extra Magnesium Sweet for three weeks and their coats were looking better and they were stopping to ruminate instead of constantly walking the paddock. The steers which weighed between 240-310kg were now moving forward and eating on average 66 grams/head/day of supplement. Next year Iím going to start with MegaMin Extra Magnesium Sweet and hay on the first day that they go onto oats,” concludes Michael.

At AgSolutions we like working in partnerships with our rural stores to achieve successful outcomes for farmers such as Mick and together we are ‘Helping Australia Grow’!