Page 9 - MWC 2-3-2022s

The Midwest Cattleman · February 3, 2022 · P9
Cold Weather Nutrition for Beef Cows By Dana Zook - Northwest OK Extension Livestock Specialist
Just before Christmas, I told an additional 21% energy to is much higher and therefore fed just twice or three times
my husband that I wished the maintain body condition (32°- they will need an additional per week may benefit from
weather was more character- 11° = 21° x 1%= 21%). 4.5-5 pounds 20% cubes daily. feeding more often to distrib-
istic of the season. “Be careful So how much would pro- Increasing feeding allotments ute higher feeding levels. A
what you wish for,” he said. As ducers need to feed to meet like this could cause some di- higher quality hay can also
you all know, winter came to this increased requirement? A gestive upset if fed all at once bridge the energy gap in these
us in full force on January 1st producer feeding 20% cubes to so it may be beneficial to in- situations, but it is helpful to
with bitterly cold temps and a gestating cows would need to crease feeding at a lower level know the hay quality and how
little moisture for some. This provide an additional 3.5 – 4 before cold weather strikes much is being provided.
recent weather brings to mind pounds of cubes daily to main- and for a few days after the
the extra nutrition required tain body condition. Lactat- cold snap to recover some en-
by cattle in cold weather. One ing cows’ energy requirement ergy loss. Also, cows that are
can’t forget the February 2021
cold snap and the difficulties
that cattle had maintaining Cowman’s Kind
body condition during that
time.
There are many things that
BULL AND FEMALE SALE
impact the ability of cattle to BULL AND FEMALE SALE
tolerate cold and inclement
weather. Haircoat is the first
aspect that makes a great deal FEBRUARY 26, 2022 • 12:30 PM (CST)
of difference in cattle’s ability Post Rock Cattle Company Sale Facility • Barnard, Kansas
to withstand cold tempera- 120 BULLS SELL • 80 FEMALES SELL
tures. The amount of moisture ®
and how wet the haircoat is Gelbvieh and Balancer • Including all six year old cows.
All bulls have Genomic Enhanced EPDs and are parent veri ed.
also impacts cold tolerance.
Rainfall, melting snow or ice HE HE
HE SELLS. SELLS.
HE SELLS. SELLS.
increases cold stress. In ad-
dition, cattle in lower body
conditions (less than BCS 5),
have less tolerance for cold.
All cattle will need extra feed
to maintain body condition
and manage stress from the
cold, but those needs may vary
from one group to the next.
So how much extra nutri-
tion are we talking about? The SHE SHE
SHE SELLS. SELLS.
SHE SELLS. SELLS.
Mesonet Cattle Comfort Advi-
sor is an excellent tool for get-
ting an idea of cold conditions
and the impact they have on
cattle performance. According
to the Mesonet Cattle Com-
fort Advisor, a cow’s energy
requirement increases 1% for
each degree the cattle comfort
index is below 32. This ener-
gy need would double to 2% if HE HE SELLS. SELLS.
HE
HE SELLS. SELLS.
the animal is wet to the skin.
Let’s look at a realistic exam-
ple. At 1:30 pm on January 6,
the cattle comfort index was
11 degrees in Kingfisher, OK.
As many will recall, this was
a dry cold with no moisture.
According to the increased
energy requirement of 1% (no
moisture), cattle would need
SALE MANAGEMENT BY: MITCHELL MARKETING SERVICE Broadcast
Chris Mitchell 334-695-1371 • www.mms.bz live online. Broadcasting Real-Time Auctions

3041 E. Hwy. 284, Barnard, KS 67418 www.postrockcattle.com
Leland Clark: 785.392.0888 Kyle Cavalli: 785.531.1947
O ce: 785.792.6244 • Email: prcc@twinvalley.net
“Where calving ease, performance and eye-appeal come together.”