Winterizing the Cow Herd - Part 1

What a year it has been, wet, to drought, a veritable bounty of variety. That’s what living in Eastern Washington is all about. Sometimes it lulls us into a false sense of security, weatherwise. And for sure this influences our responsibilities and approach to managing our cow herds.

I remember my dad reminiscing about one fall in the 1950s when the temperature changed from the mid 50°F range to minus 10°F or so in a couple of days. The implication was that the newly seeded winter wheat did not fare well, and it certainly put cattle under stress, especially with those wide temperature swings in the absence of their winter hair coat. Cows are tough, but when the temperature change is more than 40 degrees, that’s stressful and even mature cows can suffer the consequences.

Fast forward to more recent memories. Do you remember the “Alberta clippers”? Those times when the cold dips down out of Canada with subzero temperatures, dry light snow, and lots of wind. Just another example of conditions that put beef cattle in peril. There is good news though; we can manage through such circumstances. We just need to plan.

Winterizing the cow herd means planning and anticipating, and taking advantage of what we can control (management) to soften the blow from circumstances we can’t control. Let’s look at some categories of planning and some key points in each:

Preparation

• Low-stress weaning practices and backgrounding to get cows and calves ready for the next phase of the production cycle.

• Working with your veterinarian to be sure fall vaccinations and parasite control are up to date for the cow herd. Keeping disease resistance at a higher level than disease challenge is the goal. Proper parasite control ensures that nutrients delivered are going to the cow and not the parasites.

• Preg-check to determine the reproductive status of the beef herd. There’s a great investment of time and resources that goes into a beef herd before a cow has her first calf. Knowing how the cows are performing reproductively has, just as with feed, a significant impact on profitability.

Environmental

• Windbreaks can reduce the wind chill on cattle. These might be natural windbreaks utilizing trees or topography, or structures built as windbreaks or for other purposes. I recall one February when our cows were still in the calving areas, and they were able to situate themselves near hay sheds and other buildings to get out of the wind. That makes a lot of difference in cow energy expenditure to keep the cows warm.

• Cleanliness is of great importance. Cattle with a great winter coat cannot stay warm if they are caked with mud and dirt. The ability to insulate their bodies depends on a clean hair coat.

• Sometimes we don’t have much control over this one, but acclimation can help cattle stay warm. It is that time that allows their coat to grow to get ready for winter. It can also mean cattle getting used to a diet before times of stress.

• Bedding can also help keep animals warm and dry. This one is pretty much operation specific. Some producers may be grazing out on clean pastures and others may have cattle up close in dry lots. Either way a clean place to lie down is important.

• Handling—avoiding moving livestock or other activity that requires a lot of energy expenditure is important as it uses a significant amount of their feed energy.

We have all seen the frightening images of cattle being dug out of snowbanks from drifting snow. While this isn’t a common occurrence in Eastern Washington, it’s sure something to think about. Low areas where snow accumulates can also put animals at risk. Does your Emergency Action Plan consider continuous accessibility to your cows in case of blizzard? If you can’t get to them, you can’t get them feed and water.

Take a walk through of your calving facilities—many of our area producers calve early and may have calves on the ground during periods when snow and cold can be an issue in some years. This also holds true for our producers that have fall calvers. Provision for the young animals is a priority.

Be sure to grab a copy of the newspaper next week for more tips on winterizing your cattle herds.

— Don Llewellyn is the WSU Lincoln County Extension Director in Davenport. He can be emailed at don.llewellyn@wsu.edu