Justin A Ramirez, M.S. - Livestock Nutritionist

12/09/2025

Horses produce stomach acid 24/7. That’s why constant forage is key to preventing ulcers. 🐴🍃

If you give this a try, share your experience in the comments!

11/26/2025

These are the 3 things you need to know when evaluating your horses feeding program.

11/25/2025

Winter supplementation strategy, consider planting oats or rye over winter.

11/16/2025

Most heifer problems come down to hay quality.
Test it. Sort it. Feed the right group the right hay.
Your gains and breed back will thank you.

11/11/2025

Howdy!
If you’re a member of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers, your November edition of The Cattleman should’ve arrived at your mailbox by now.

After presenting at one of TSCRA’s ranch gatherings in Uvalde, TX, I was blessed to have been asked to be interviewed for one of their spotlight articles that was released in their November edition.

While this article is written with a beef focused mindset, it certainly carries over to all species, including our performance horses.

Whether I’m consulting on a beef cattle or equine program, mineral absorption can certainly be affected by the water quality they’re exposed to.

While water is the number one nutrient for all animal species, it is often the one overlooked the most when building a nutrition program.
Consider testing your water if you’re looking at building a solid program from the ground up.

The cherry on top was being able to get a picture with my son Witten. It’s been one of my goals to have an article in The Cattleman and being able to share that with my son is one of the greatest feelings in the world.

Feel free to read this article and share your thoughts or questions!

Holler if I can be of any help in your program.

God Bless and Gig ‘Em!

07/26/2025

Howdy!
Here’s a little behind the scenes at our ranch. We exclusively do artificial insemination in our breeding operation done by myself personally.

We’re preg checking females by tail bleeding to get results on site.

Today, July 26th, this percentage Simbrah cow at a BCS of 6.5 was confirmed bred 28 days post AI after using sexed semen to ensure we’ll be having another heifer on the way.

She calved May 19 and started cycling back 40 days later on June 28.

When females are in 5-7 BCS, research suggests they’ll be cycling around 40 days and typically will be bred back within 60-90 days. These windows are also factored by water and mineral quality.

This percentage Simbrah is well within the research data and one of the reasons I preach to producers I work with, monitor that body condition score and keep out a mineral they will consume to keep preg rates from slipping.

Big myth is just because they’re not eating it regularly, doesn’t mean that they don’t need it.

If you’re keeping a salt block, protein tub, and a loose mineral, but wonder why they’re not eating it.
Well, salt is the attractant and chances are they’re getting the salt from the salt block and not the mineral.

With performance like this, it’s hard to argue that research data isn’t repeatable. When it’s repeatable, we select those genetics and use heifer sexed semen to keep those genetics going.

This of course is the same in all species. The challenge with equine is we can tend to over supplement which can create deficiencies.

Hope this helps shed some light on this topic.

Cheers to another heifer on the way!

God bless and Gig ‘Em!

07/12/2025

Howdy!

Last week I had the opportunity to speak at the Ranch Gathering hosted by Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers at the Oasis Outback restaurant in Uvalde, Texas.

Most recent feedlot numbers indicate a lower number of cattle entering our feedlots. This suggests our overall numbers are either lower than projected, or livestock producers are retaining more females to grow their herd.

My presentation was focused on the importance of nutrition on reproduction, more specifically, the effect of nutrition on fetal development and fetal programming.

Research suggests that offspring born from females not receiving proper energy, vitamins, and minerals, could be predisposed to lower performance, fertility, and more likely to have chronic sickness throughout their lifetime.

This is also true for our horses as well.

I’ve included a link for your reference to get your feet wet on fetal development in horses.

In short, the diet for mares, regardless if they’re carrying their own foal or if they are a recip mare carrying an embryo with superior genetics, Their. Diet. Matters.

I can’t tell you how many times I hear, “oh this is a recipe mare/cow, I don’t want to put much into her because she’s just a sale barn cow or pasture mare.”
The mother could be inferior genetically by your standards but the fetus is still being affected by her diet in utero and will eventually nurse after calving/foaling. That females body condition will also have an effect on lactation and developing that calf/foal.

Keep in mind, the first trimester is where our tissues and organs are developed, lungs, heart, etc.
If you’re looking at improving genetics, the diet/environment plays a huge role in how that animal will perform throughout its lifetime.

Unfortunately, once that baby is born, those changes are irreversible.

I had some great conversations after my presentation with many producers appreciate about their new perspective on nutrition.

Ultimately, my goal to educate and challenge ourselves to do the best by our animals. God has entrusted us to be good stewards of our livestock and horses.

Thank you to all in attendance and Cargill for giving me the opportunity to share something I’m really passionate about.

Holler if I can be of any help in your program.

God bless and Gig ‘Em!

https://www.veterinary-practice.com/article/broodmare-nutrition-foetal-programming-epigenetics

07/09/2025

Howdy,
Big shout out to the Independent Cattlemen’s Association for having me as a guest speaker at this year’s convention in San Marcos.

Some early feedlot numbers are declining suggesting that producers may be retaining some females to rebuild their herd.
My presentation was covering the effects of nutrition on reproduction with emphasis on fetal programming and fetal development.
The better we take care of our females while they are bred, the better those calves will perform throughout their lifetime.
Research suggests females will be cycling sooner, have greater success at first breeding, and cattle will have overall better marbling, and carcass traits at processing.
While our base numbers are at an all-time low, we can certainly maximize the potential of what we have.
This of course, applies to all species not just beef.
God bless and Gig ‘Em!

06/28/2025

Thank you Brushy Creek Sires for having me out to present information on the effects of nutrition on reproduction.
Happy to hear the changes we’ve made in the diet are leading to better semen quality and volume.
Thank y’all for the opportunity to work yall!

Thank You to Our Sponsor!

A huge thank you to Cargill and representative Justin Ramirez for their generous support in sponsoring our AI/Palpation class. Your partnership is truly appreciated and makes it possible for us to provide valuable educational opportunities. We’re grateful for your commitment to innovation and learning!

06/25/2025

Howdy Yall,

I’ll be presenting tomorrow at the 51st Annual Independent Cattlemen’s Association Convention over the Effects of Nutrition on Reproduction. If you’ll be in the San Marcos, TX area, stop on by!
In this presentation I’ve added some really neat information on fetal development/fetal programming.
Often times I come across breeders in different species that don’t put an emphasis on the mother’s nutrition because they’re using a recip.
Just because the mother may not be as genetically superior as the baby she’s carrying, doesn’t change the fact that what her diet consists of is influencing the development of that baby in utero.
You could be holding back those genetics severely if that mom is not receiving proper nutrition in her diet.
If this subject is something of interest, let me know what species you want more info on and I’ll get the next write up on it.

God Bless and Gig ‘Em!

06/19/2025

Howdy yall,

I’ll be speaking at the Gonzalez ICA chapter meeting this evening at the VFW Hall. If you’re in the area and want to learn more on how you can maximize your cattle’s genetic potential, stop by!
The ICA is a great organization to be a part of and we’ll soon be rolling out a forage testing program.
Stop by to say howdy!

God Bless and Gig ‘Em!