tion can do is increase the use of your annual forages. You can do this through grazing and supplementing the cows. You can do cell grazing, which is confi ning the entire herd into a small area each day so they will eat everything that is available, including forage they may fi nd less palatable. The rancher can also use intensive cow production to improve pas- ture production and practice better management of the herd. “In some
Last-Trimester Nutrition Important to Cow’s Continued Success
By Gary DiGiuseppe The last trimester of gestation is critical to the cow’s continued per-
formance. The fetus is rapidly growing and the cow needs to maintain a good body condition score (BCS) to ensure that she will be able to endure the twin rigors of lactating and rebreeding upon the birth of the calf. Those nutritional demands are among the reasons for the rising
interest in the concept of intensive cow production. Dr. David Hutcheson of Animal Agricultural Consulting Interna-
tional in Scroggins says the minimum target for BCS during late ges- tation is 4. BCS is measured on a scale of 1 to 9, with 1 being gaunt and 9 being obese. At BCS 4, muscling is still full; only the foreribs are visible and the
spine is slightly visible. Hutcheson says the last 90 days prior to calv- ing is the time to sort off thin cows to elevate their body condition. If a cow has a score of 4 during this period, it is diffi cult to increase that score to 5 or 6, which is what is needed to give her a good chance at delivering a healthy calf and rebreeding. “The last 60 days before calving are critical,” he says. “During this
last 60 days there is a tremendous, rapid growth of the fetus. This re- quires more energy and protein for the cows, as well as trying to get them in shape if they’re not in shape.” The nutrient needs for cows at late gestation are shown in the table
below.
Nutrient needs 60 to 90 days before calving Body Weight, pounds
Dry Matter Intake, pounds/day
Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN)/day
Net Energy of Maintenance, Mcal/day
Protein, pounds/day Calcium, pounds/day
Phosphorus, pounds/day
1,100 22.7 12.3
20.7
1.93 0.06 0.04
1,200 1,300 1,400 24.4 13.2
25.8 14.1
22.2
2.07 0.06 0.04
23.5
2.22 0.07 0.04
27.3 14.9
25.1
2.35 0.07 0.04
cases, you can increase the stock- ing rate, because you are bringing in some of the energy and protein,” Hutcheson says. “You can look at harvested feed and co-products to lessen the reliance on traditional pasture systems. In parts of Texas, including northeast Texas, we are still in moderate drought.” The system can also be used to
produce good quality replacement heifers at a lower cost. If you are weaning the calves and retaining them for a while, intensive cow production allows you to get better growth from feeder cattle, some- thing feedlots are looking for.
Semi-confi nement management Hutcheson says there is a mis-
conception that intensive cow pro- duction requires keeping the ani- mals in confinement. “It can be what you call ‘semi-confi nement,’” he says. “It can just be in a pad- dock. I am working with several producers from Arizona to Texas and beyond who are doing that, and every system is different. “Right now, I have 1,000 cows
on a couple hundred acres that are getting ready to wean their calves, and we are feeding silage and other ingredients.” The relatively inex- pensive feed, with little need for new equipment, maximizes re- turns that are already averaging a net profi t of $200 or more on each weaned calf. Both forage and supplemental
feed fi t into the system, at whatever is the best cost for the producer. Hutcheson recommends analyz-
ing the nutritional value of stored hay. If it will be fed to cows prior to late gestation, the nutrient lev- els are probably high enough so the only needed supplementation would be minerals. For a cow in
tscra.org December 2015 The Cattleman 67
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