Page 31 - MWC 10-6-2022s

fall-calving cows to lose some fall-calving cows during fall The Midwest Cattleman · October 6, 2022 · P31
condition through the winter. and winter in drought years.
This works financially because Conventional feedstuffs are
cows will be able to regain lost likely to be expensive as de-
condition inexpensively on mand is high and supply may
pasture next summer. be low.
It is not advisable to let Look for alternative feeds
spring-calving cows lose condi- such as failed crops, spent
tion through the winter lead- grains from local breweries,
ing up to calving as it is not fruit and vegetable waste
economically feasible to regain from local supermarkets, etc.
condition between calving and Any untapped waste stream
breeding seasons. that provides rumen-digest-
A possible disadvantage of ible, safe feedstuff that is less
fall-calving cows is that some expensive per unit of energy
feeds available in the fall of the (TDN) will be advantageous
year may not be suitable. As dis- during drought.
played in Figure 1, the energy
requirement is much greater
than the protein requirement
and is expensive to provide be-
cause of the tonnage necessary.
Thus, feedstuffs with lower di- WHY ARE WE STILL HERE AFTER MORE THAN 25 YEARS?
gestibility may not be good op-
tions. For example, corn stalks
can readily meet the nutrient
requirements of spring calving
cows after weaning but may
not work for fall-calving cows
except for a few weeks early
on when cows are consuming
leaves, husks, and down ears.
Other feeds such as ammo-
niated wheat-straw will re-
quire significant energy sup-
plementation to meet energy
requirements of cows in lacta-
tion and high levels of ammo-
nia intake may have negative
effects on reproductive perfor-
mance.
Fall-calving cows can be
especially challenging in a
drought. Forage production
was less than usual so cows are
thinner than usual at calving
and do not have the surplus fat
to lose condition through early

lactation and breeding. MAKE SURE YOU ARE
Additionally, alternative
forages such as crop residue or
wheat straw will require sub- IN OUR SPECIAL
stantial supplemental grains
and byproducts to meet nutri- SHORTHORN
ent requirements.
Meeting nutrient require- FEATURE
ments during the time be-
tween calving and breeding is
6TH
critical if cows are only in mod- OCTOBER 27
erate body condition because
the loss in pregnancy rate will
impact the ranch for several
years to come.
Planting cool-season annu-
als is an option, but requires
fall rains to get the crop estab-
lished, and if not established
early in the fall, forage growth
will be too little for winter
grazing. PHONE: 417-644-2993 - EMAIL: CATTLEMAN@CUTTINGEDGEUS.COM
Plan on feeding a consider-
able amount of supplement to