CATTLE TALK
This winter is the winter to invest in the
cattle to help ensure that the herd
is in condition to capitalize on the
markets this next spring and summer.
nutritional gap is extremely important if an
operation wants to optimize reproduction
and maximize weaning weights next spring.
How do we fill this nutritional gap that
occurs during the winter? Basically, a twostep approach is needed. First, make sure
the cattle have an ample supply of forage
in front of them at all times. The quality
at this time of the year is not as important
as having enough quantity in front of the
cattle. The quality of hay that is offered to
the cattle will affect the amount of hay the
cow consumes and the amount of supplement that is required to fill the nutritional
gap. Cattle can consume larger amounts of
higher quality hay resulting in more nutrition being available from the forage. On
lower quality hays, passage rate through
the digestive system is lower, resulting in
less nutrition, less hay consumption and
more reliance on the supplement to provi