Nutrition
Nutrition Articles
Early Fall Management Practices Bring Happy Cows and Financial Harvests
The forages are coming into the yard and more is moving down the highways. Dry pastures are not supplying the needed intake to support BCS (Body Condition Score) in some cases and additional harvested forages are being given to some cow herds already. Reviewing good practices are always helpful as they carry financial rewards for implementing them. This time period between the dwindling of pasture forages and the main feeding season is an opportunity to save money by feeding crop residues rather than higher priced hay.
For the main group of producers who calve in March the cows can be assessed and their BCS will predict what approach can be taken in a best cost feeding program. For those whose cows are doing well and have had sufficient rain for pastures you are continuing to graze monitoring body condition with a target of 2.5 to 3 BCS to bring cows into the wintering area later on into November or December. Being purposeful in assessing and feeding when necessary will assure good colostrum development in cows which starts several weeks ahead of calving next March. As much as possible be predictive about using additional forages rather than reactive to what happened weather wise. Two things we watch in the cold weather is wind and long periods of cold. While wind breaks help to reduce the cold impact on cows, bedding is king in mitigating the hard effects on the body that wind, cold and snow inflict. Without bedding cows will sometimes use the windbreaks and sometimes won’t. Where no bedding is provided the cows often opt to stand thereby reducing contact with cold surfaces. Using a Highline® Bale Pro® allows a quick and easy way to provide bedding and feed additional forages as needed. When a Bale Pro® equipped with a Feed Chopper™ feeds the cows they will waste less of the medium and low quality forages that are being fed. The time period between month four and month seven is where an opportunity exists to use forages that are the lowest in nutrients to maintain the BCS of the herd. Generally the cost of crop residues is lower than hay so all efforts should be used to include as much as a properly balanced ration will allow.
For producers calving in January and February their cows are placed on pasture in late April and May which coincides with peak lactation periods. Pastures where forages are a blend of mixed grasses and at least 20% legumes can supply all needed nutrients to support pregnancy and lactation. These cows would most likely be bred before turning out on pasture but would have a clean-up bull present with them while grazing. Where only grass pasture is available some cows may not be able to consume enough pasture to meet protein and energy needs so a vigilant eye needs to be on carrying capacity of the pasture and a quick preemptive response taken before BCS begins to slip. Maintaining BCS is less stressful to animals and owners than trying to rebuild BCS when weather is turning colder. Using a Highline Bale Pro® equipped with a chopper and grain tank can adequately supplement the cows using available forages and grain minimizing time by blending both together. January calving cows on pasture in the second month of lactation need 11.3 Mcal/day of Net Energy for maintenance (NEm) and about 720 grams/day of protein (CP) to start with. This amount changes over time. To consume this on pasture the cow must consume at least 90 lbs of forage/day on average. The rumen is the limit and once full no more can be eaten. On average about 90 to 100 lbs can be consumed by the average mature cow but not always for heifers. For a cow eating 90 lb (40.9 kg) each day of forage with 20% dry matter on improved pasture she is getting 11.7 Mcal NEm and 1389 grams of protein which meets the needs of the animal.
As pasture conditions change through the season evaluation of cow BCS and carrying capacity of the pasture can allow the manager to make intelligent decisions with stored forages which lead to best cost feeding and financial advancement.