The first mistake you made is recommending "bringing in stockers...."
and
connecting it to what I had to say about a SUSTAINABLE livestock care
system. Environmentally adapted livestock (i.e. locally adapted--not in a
year, but 2nd, 3rd, etc. generations) is an extremely important component
(I'm not saying 100% Dave) in developing healthy nutrition-balancing through
livestock adaptation. I'd be the first to mention/note the need for
nutritional augmentations for the vast majority of our current animal
husbandry practices in North America, that truck mixed herds of livestock
all over the country.
Heck, there's even a developing science on the subject matter-----again,
another Utah State scientist, Fred Provenza, along with others, has spoken
frequently on nutritional adaptation/calf "education."
Regards,
Tom Wrchota
So run a closed herd that will "environmentally" adapt to only the
minerals
available from your pasture and I'm not sure how you will avoid the problem
of your gene pool narrowing to where you have cousins breeding cousins,
brothers bopping sisters, and fathers breeding daughters. Great shades of
Arkansas where when husband and wife get divorced, they're still brother and
sister.
And you still think you can address the lack of some minerals germane to
certain geographic locations, like selenium with genetic adaptation to the
environment?
Free choice is Russian roulette. You're never sure if the critter is
getting any, enough or overdoses. Critters tend to consume what tastes
good. Sometimes poison plants taste good. If critters eat what's bad for
them, certainly they'll avoid eating somethings that are good for them.
Dave G.
