INTRODUCTION
A feedlot demonstration trial was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of Tasco^® on the health of recently delivered feeder cattle at different feeding rates. The number of pulls and re-pulls at different feeding levels of Tasco^® were evaluated against those of cattle fed a standard Tasco^® feeding rate of 2oz/head/day the previous fall.

The treatment groups were fed Tasco^® at the following rates:
T1= 2oz/head/day for 16 days
T2= 3oz/head/day for 8 days followed by 2oz/head/day for 8 days
T3= 3oz/head/day for 16 days

RESULTS
When compared to the historical feeding rate of 2 oz of Tasco^®/head/day, administration of Tasco^® at an increased rate of 3 oz resulted in a reduction in the number of animals first pulled for sickness (high temperature). Additionally, when the number of re¬-pulled animals due to continued high body temperature was monitored 5 days after the initial pull, Tasco^® treatment at the higher rate of 3 oz resulted in no animals (0 re-pulls) compared to the historical control rate of 4 percent re-pulls.

CONCLUSION
Previous studies and trials have shown that the addition of Tasco^® as a feed additive improves the health of feeder cattle and improves their immune response under stressed conditions.

In this trial, control cattle were fed Tasco^® at a rate of 2oz/head/day and had a pull rate of 17.1% after 5 days, comparable to the rate when animal received Tasco^® the previous fall (12.2%). When the Tasco^® feeding rate was increased to 3oz/head/day for 8 days followed by 2oz/head/day for 8 days, the pull rate improved to 3.3%. The trend continued, with a pull rate of 2.6% after 5 days, when the feeding rate of Tasco^® was further increased to 3oz/head/day for the full 16 days. There were no re-pulls or morbidity at either of the 3oz feeding rates. This trial suggests that there is a cost benefit in increasing the Tasco^® feeding rate from a standard feeding rate of 2oz/head/day to 3oz/head/day for the first 8 days followed by 2oz/head/day for 8 days or to 3oz/head/day for 16 days during extreme stress conditions.

This initial demonstration trial shows an improved performance in the number of first pulls and re-pulls in starter beef cattle with a feeding rate of 3oz/head/day compared to the traditional dose of 2oz/head/day. Further trial replications are required to confirm these results and show statistically significant decreases in mortality.