Where Does Your Cow's Energy Actually Go? (Dr. Ryan Rathmann)| #34 | THAT RANCHING PODCAST

It's very enlightening to me, and it's kind of a no-brainer when you stop and think about it, this conserving, better optimizing available energy.

Because we're talking the same diet, whether it's a feedlot calf or a cow out on pasture.

It's the same diet, but it's what are we doing? That's right.

to better optimize the available energy.

That's right.

Help us and the viewers maybe unpack that a little bit as to how does the body know to say, hey, we're good here.

Let's use this for weight gain.

Now, that's a good question.

Yeah.

I guess maybe the best way I can explain it is survival or Darwinism takes priority, right? You think about our own needs.

It's kind of hard to maybe explain how the body per se prioritizes it other than we just have to understand that Mother Nature knows best.

Yes.

And Mother Nature says if you can't survive, then everything else like reproduction comes second.

That's out the window.

Yeah.

Right.

And I don't care what we're talking about physiologically.

That's the case.

And the immune system is going to take priority over everything else.

I guess maybe that's the best way I could explain it without getting too scientific.

That's cool.

I like the way you're talking to me so I can understand.

But so Mother Nature is doing the prioritizing.

We don't totally understand how she does, but she knows.

So what comes second after the immune system?