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Cow-Calf Wrap-Up

One more slide on cow-calf conclusions. In theory, a beef cow should calve how often? Every year. And so throughout the duration of 12 months, she constantly has changing energy requirements and protein requirements and minerals and so forth. When does she have her highest nutrient requirements? During lactation. Really for about three months, she has extremely high nutrient requirements compared to the rest of the year. What are her nutrient requirements during dry? So she’s dry, the calf is weaned, it’s fall and she is in mid gestation at this point? Not very high, right? Very easy to meet her nutrient requirements. It should say dry late pregnancy not day late pregnancy. In dry late pregnancy, nutrient requirements do what? Increase again. And then she will calve and she is lactating again. In addition to the cow's changing nutrient requirements, remember what happens to forage quality over the duration of a year. How is forage quality when cows calve? They are calving in the spring, late winter calvers. If you know one, you can remember the other, right? For spring calving, in general. Forage quality is best when they calve and as they get later in pregnancy, forage quality gets worse. Forage quality, mainly due to environmental factors, are constantly changing as is a cow's nutrient requirements. Remember that this is different than dairy, different than poultry, different than swine. What is the goal with respect to those three species? Maximal efficiency is correlated highly with what do you think? Profitability. It is different with cow-calf producers. It is productivity versus economic efficiency. So the highest productivity may not be always the most economically viable.

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