If you hang around a feed store or sale barn in late winter and early spring, you’ll hear the same advice repeated like clockwork: “They probably need more protein.” It’s almost automatic in cattle nutrition conversations. Cows looking a little thin? Add protein. Calves not gaining as you expected? Add protein. Grass just starting to green up? Add protein.But the reality for many cow-calf operations is that protein usually isn’t the main issue. Most of the time, it’s actually energy that’s lacking.
And when energy intake is short, nothing else works the way it should. Body condition slips. Reproductive performance stalls. Milk production levels off. Even immune function can take a hit. You can add more crude protein, but if cows don’t have enough digestible energy to fuel rumen microbes and maintain metabolic demands, that extra protein won’t solve the root issue.
This doesn’t mean protein isn’t important for beef cattle. Protein plays a key role in rumen function, growth, and herd performance. However, in late winter and early spring, when forage quality drops, hay is harder to digest, and early grass is wet but low in dry matter, energy is often the real limiting factor.
Before spending more on protein tubs or high-protein supplements, pause and ask the key question: Are my cows short on energy rather than protein? This is crucial for improving performance.
Let’s look at why energy is so important for cattle in late winter and early spring, why it’s often the nutrient that runs short, and how you can tell if your herd’s problem is really a lack of energy rather than protein.
If you asked most cattle producers when cows tend to lose body condition, January would probably be the first answer that comes to mind.
