Review: Sustainable phosphorus use in the United States beef cow-calf industry—Requirements, forage, soil, and water content, supplementation, and nutritional recommendations for producers

Abstract

Purpose

The objective is to explain the current understanding of the biological importance of P to beef cattle congruent with current established requirements as well as describe the current management toward P supplementation, nutritional recommendations, quantify forage, soil, and water mineral concentrations, and identify existing knowledge gaps specific for improving sustainable use of the mineral in United States cow-calf production.

Sources

Peer-reviewed literature, abstracts, experiment station progress reports, technical bulletins, and reports were the primary sources of information reviewed.

Synthesis

Phosphorus is essential for beef cattle productivity and health as well as a potential water contaminant. Although efforts have been made in recent years to improve our understanding of requirements for growing and finishing beef cattle, relatively little work has been done focused on the cow-calf segment of the industry. Because grazing beef cattle frequently use surface water sources, producers play a critical role in minimizing P introduction to waters. Soil and forage P levels and responses to supplementation vary widely and studies including both animal and agronomic components of P utilization are very limited. Concurrently, data directly evaluating the effect of specific best management practices for improving sustainable P use within cow-calf production systems on surface water quality are few and would be beneficial for industry guidance and producer adoption.

Conclusions and Applications

Long-term cow-calf studies reporting intake and production outcomes that also include soil and forage P levels are needed for developing industry benchmarks and accurate supplementation recommendations. Best management practices implemented holistically are key for minimizing the industry’s use of supplemental P while optimizing animal health and production, particularly in areas where public water quality is of concern.