Submitted by: agcomm,  Thu Nov 13 11:02:19 1997


                        November 13, 1997
 
Think Cow Condition Now for Calving Success Next Spring
 
     The relatively mild weather of fall and early winter is the
time to get cows ready for calving next spring, says a North
Dakota State University beef specialist. 
     "In spite of the hard winter last year, thin cows this
spring and the limited rain and pasture growth, cows in the state
are generally in good shape," notes John Dhuyvetter at the NDSU
North Central Research Extension Center near Minot.  "But how we
manage our cow herds in the next several months will have a
significant influence on how successful calving and breeding will
be next spring and summer."
     Dhuyvetter says fall and early winter provide a window of
opportunity to improve cow condition.  Cows' nutritional needs
are low this time of year because they're no longer producing
milk for a calf, they don't need to produce much body heat yet
and next year's calf is early in development with minimal
nutritional requirements. 
     "Those conditions make it possible for cows to gain weight
on fairly cheap feeds and forage compared to later in the
winter," Dhuyvetter says.
     Cows should have at least a body condition score of 5 on a
1-9 scale at calving, he notes, so putting on some extra weight
now will help reach that goal next spring.  Cows in poorer
condition than that are more likely to have calving and
rebreeding problems and have smaller calves with more health
problems. Cows with some flesh and fat cover have lower feed
maintenance requirements than thin cows.  
     "It's very difficult and costly to make substantial
improvements in cow condition late in gestation," Dhuyvetter
says.  "A little extra condition on cows as they enter late
winter provides a management buffer for high stress periods that
would otherwise require ration changes and adjustments."
     Dhuyvetter says cows with late-weaning calves, those on poor
fall pastures or those that don't get supplemental hay soon
enough are most at risk.  Where weaning is delayed or fall
grazing is inadequate, creep feeds and supplemental forages can
help cows attain good body condition.
                              ###
NDSU Agriculture Communication
Source:  John Dhuyvetter (701) 857-7682
Editor: Tom Jirik (701) 231-9629