Winter Planning

Fall Calvers Hold the Line on Condition

Cows need extra care to thrive under the season's cold conditions. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Jim Patrico)

Winter weather can be tough on cows, even in parts of the South. Johnny and Sharon Rogers raise Red and Black Angus cattle in Roxboro, N.C., in the Piedmont region.

"If it snows in North Carolina, it always seems to snow here," Rogers laughed. "We can get from 4 to 9 inches of snowfall at a time. It will cover the ground for a week or longer."

For that and other reasons, Rogers has developed a management program to help ensure cows survive and thrive under the worst winter conditions that Mother Nature can stir up. And he does it without running up huge feed bills. Step one is a fall calving plan.

"Fall calving just fits our operation best," Rogers said. "Since we calve from mid-September through November, we try to have cows in top body condition when they are ready to breed in December and January."

Rogers wants both first-calf heifers and mature cows to have a Body Condition Score (BCS) of no less than 5.0 when they are ready to breed. Any cows that are a little deficient in body condition are put on the best forage available to get them up to speed. Open cows and older, less productive cows are culled.

One challenge Rogers works around is endophyte-infected fescue pastures he leases. He says the fall calving program helps make this less of an issue.

"Endophyte toxin levels are highest in the spring, but they get lower and lower late in the year. So they don't affect conception," Rogers explained. "In fact, I believe stockpiled fescue provides the best nutrition of any grass available during the winter in this area."

All pastures are cross-fenced for rotational grazing. Rogers grazes down enough fescue pastures in late July and early August to provide his winter feeding needs, and fertilizes with 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre.

"On an annual basis, I probably feed only about 60 days' worth of hay. There is no supplement except for some soybean hulls for our replacement heifers in the fall," he said. "I buy all my hay, primarily cool-season grass hay. I weigh the bales and have the hay analyzed so I know what I'm feeding."

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The cattleman said he actually feeds more hay in the fall than during the winter. Cows are turned onto stockpiled fescue pastures in late November.

"We provide no shelter and feed little hay in winter," he added. "Even when there is snow, cows seem to prefer digging through to get to the grass underneath. We'll turn them on to fresh pastures as necessary -- sometimes weekly, sometimes daily. Generally, we only have to feed hay from March until the grass greens up in mid-April."

While providing cows with adequate nutrition is always important, Matt Poore, Extension livestock specialist with North Carolina State University, said it is especially critical during cold weather when cattle use both body reserves and dietary energy to stay warm.

"Cattle with full rumens can generate heat for energy and warmth that animals with empty rumens cannot," he explained. Poore said nutritional needs of dry cows may be met with medium-quality hay (8% crude protein and 55% total digestible nutrients). Lactating cows may require energy in the form of grain or a byproduct feed, such as cottonseed, when fed medium-quality hay. Stockpiled fescue, however, will easily meet their nutritional requirements.

One of the most overlooked resources is water. Even when there is wet snow on the ground, cattle should have easy access to fresh water.

Monitoring BCS is important this time of year. Research shows females with a BCS lower than 5.0 will be slow to breed back and will need supplementation to get through a harsh winter.

Clyde Lane, former animal scientist with the University of Tennessee, points out it takes an 80- to 100-pound increase in weight to move up one BCS. This translates to a lot of extra feed to improve an animal's body condition.

Additional research indicates a cow's energy requirements increase between 17% and 50% after calving. Extra feed will be required for cows that calve in winter and early spring before grass greens up.

Lastly, the more severe winters are, the more important it becomes to provide some type of shelter for cows during blizzards and heavy snowstorms.

WINTER CHECKLIST

Plan ahead to ensure there are enough forage supplies available to carry the herd through the winter.

1. Analyze hay for feeding value, and develop a supplementation program to meet energy, protein and mineral needs.

2. Check and record Body Condition Scores on all cows.

3. Cull open cows, chronically thin cows and all cows with dental or health problems.

4. Group cows based on nutritional requirements so they can be fed separately.

5. Adjust rations as calving season approaches.

6. Provide adequate minerals and plenty of water at all times.

7. Provide shelter from wet and cold weather, as necessary.

8. Select sites for feeding hay and calving that are out of the mud.

(VM/CZ)

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