Feed a free choice mineral year around. get a decent tub, or mineral feeder. the option of drilling holes into the bottom is excellent. I will tell you that I oversee the manufacturing of wind and rain minerals at work and we supply 800,000 head of cattle mineral per day out of my facility. make sure that your mineral is right for your soil/grass type. I would also suggest altosid in your mineral for fly contol in the summer months. If your area is high/low in selenium, ensure that you are supplying your herd with the correct mineral. If you pasture on land that has chicken manure applied to it, make sure that your cal/phos ratio is correct. I won't go on and on, and dont feel the need to plug my wind and rain mineral, but I will say that it is a very important part of your herd's nutritional focus to keep a well nurished mineral in front of them year around.