Winter Feeding the Beef Herd
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Collapse ▲RADIO TRANSCRIPT
December 12, 2024
Damon Pollard
This is Damon Pollard, Livestock agent with the North Carolina Cooperative
Extension Service-Burke Center. Today’s topic is Winter Feeding for the
Beef Herd.
Winter feed costs are a cow-calf operation’s largest expense. Determining
the most viable program for a particular operation depends on the animal
type, stage of pregnancy, body condition, available feed resources, quality of
fed forage and feed cost. Dry or mature cows, for instance, require lower-
quality feed than nursing cows or young females.
Generally, winter feeding consists of harvested hay and silage. One
can estimate winter feed requirements based on dry matter (DM)intake/head/day. A 1,350-lb. pregnant beef cow typically requires 25-30 lbs. DM/day, or about one 1,000-lb. bale/head/month.
A practical rule of thumb is to increase energy intake by 1% for every
degree of coldness below the lower critical temperature (20°F) of a cow.
Regardless if you feed stored forages or graze residues, the cow’s diet must
be sufficient through the winter months to uphold a body condition score
(BCS) of 5 to 6 (9-point scale; 1 = emaciated and 9 = obese). Research
shows a cow BCS of 5-6 is optimum for maintaining body weight and
supporting lactation and fetal growth.
Supplementation may be needed when nutrient demands aren’t met by
the basic winter diet. Late gestating beef cows have minimum nutrient
requirements of 55% total digestible nutrients (TDN) and 8% crude protein
(CP). But lactating fall-calving cows or spring calving first- and second-calf
heifers have minimum winter requirements of 62% TDN and 11% CP to
maintain a 5 to 6 BCS. Those requirements will increase (TDN = 66-70%;
CP = 11-13%) for fall-calving, first- and second-calf heifers during the
winter months.
If a TDN or protein supplement is needed, compare the nutrient intake
of the diet with the cow’s nutrient requirements (based on animal type and
pregnancy status) and determine what additional nutrient(s) are needed.
Throughout the winter, evaluate cow performance (body weight and
condition changes) as a result of your winter-feeding program, especially if
additional nutrient supplementation was needed. This will tell you if you’re
correctly supplementing your cattle through the winter and maintaining body condition.