By Erika Lundy
When used as part of a proper strategy, growth implants for beef cattle can reduce the cost of production in beef cattle herds while improving daily gain up to 20 percent and efficiency up to 15 percent. With more than 30 brands of implants available for feedlot cattle as of this spring, Iowa State University extension program specialist Erika Lundy said beef producers can tailor their strategies to meet their operation’s specific needs.
“There are at least 1,100 possible implant combinations in a reimplant program, and more than 39,000 possible combinations if cattle are fed long enough to receive three implants,” she said. “Our newly revised publication, ‘Growth Promotant Implants for Cattle’ offers suggestions on developing a system based on available implants and individual requirements of an operation.”
Iowa Beef Center director and feedlot specialist Dan Loy said it’s vital to develop a strategy and find the right implants for that strategy.
“In terms of improving performance and decreasing cost, the most important implant is the last one used prior to marketing,” Loy said. “The new publication explains definitions and timing of terminal and early implants, provides directions on proper implanting technique, and includes some common questions and answers for those considering implants.”
The publication also contains a table of implants available as of spring 2016 categorized by potency and active ingredient. In addition, the table illustrates which animal class (suckling, stocker or feedlot) is approved for each individual brand of implant.