Stud and commercial cattle feeding with Riverina XLR8 and Beef Maintenance Pellets 

Looking to improve the weaning process led Burnett View Droughtmasters Owner Jamie Johnson to find the right pellets for the job, Riverina XLR8 Pellets. 

Established in 2017, the family owned and operated business breeds structurally sound and good-tempered stud and commercial cattle across 1000-acres in the Burnett/Bundaberg Region.  

“I started feeding with Riverina Stockfeeds about four years ago, using Riverina Beef Maintenance Pellets to maintain the live weight of my bulls after weaning,” Jamie says. 

“I found XLR8 pellets about two years later after doing my own research into improving the weaning process.” 

Riverina XLR8 Pellets is a high protein, high-energy feed designed to be fed to growing beef calves from 12 weeks of age in conjunction with hay, chaff and/or pasture. 

Formulated to enhance the growth and performance of calves, Riverina XLR8 Pellets is made with quality vegetable proteins, providing the natural building blocks for growth. 

“Learning about XLR8 pellets, I’ve included them into the weaning feeding program along with quality hay, dry lick and some molasses,” he says. 

“This year, I weaned for 19 days using one tonne of XLR8. From there, the bulls are put into the paddock where they were supplement fed with XLR8 Pellets.” 

Burnett Valley Droughtmasters recorded an average of 1.09kg per day of average daily gains from their bulls after the 19-day wean.

“The weaning process can be distressing for calves and it’s not uncommon to see them lose condition. If these bulls lost 15kg at weaning (without supplementation) and then went to the paddock where they would gain about half-a-kilogram a day, it would take an estimated 30 days to return to pre-weaning weight,” Jamie says. 

“If I wasn’t using XLR8 pellets during weaning, these bulls would require an additional 42 days in the paddock (for a total of 72 days in post weaning) to get the same weight.

“I think the benefits from the pellets comes from the time saved in the paddock.”  

Once his bulls reach the 400 to 450kg weight range, Jamie transitions them to Beef Maintenance Pellets, using the same previous lick and hay along with paddock grazing. 

Riverina Beef Maintenance Pellets is a low energy feed designed to maintain cattle live weight. Containing protein meals, Riverina Beef Maintenance Pellets supplies rumen degradable protein and bypass protein, ensuring cattle get the protein needed to sustain their average daily gains.

“We estimated our bulls were consuming about 1.2% of their body weight per day consistently while using Beef Maintenance Pellets,” Jamie says. 

Jamie says the Riverina Stockfeeds team has been great to work with.

To learn more about Riverina products or nutritional advice, chat to your local Riverina team.

Pictures courtesy of Burnett View Droughtmasters.

 To learn more about Riverina products or nutritional advice, chat with your local Riverina team.

Contact Us

Riverina Stockfeeds was established in 1927 in the Riverina District of NSW and has been manufacturing and providing Australia and international countries with high-quality dry stock feeds, grain mixes, and liquid supplements.