Hard to believe that we are already in September; summer is over, temperatures are getting cooler (somewhat) and the days are getting shorter. With this time of year most people are focused on weaning and getting their cows rebred for next year’s calf crop. It is also important to have a supplement program in place during this time as well.
Forage Quality Decreases
Going into late summer and early fall many of your warm season forages are entering the mature stage of their growth cycle. During this stage they become more fibrous and the nutrients they provide decreases. This makes it difficult for your animals to put the weight back on after nursing. Providing a supplement can fill in the gaps as well as unlock the energy still in the forages.
Fetal Programing
This is the current understanding that when all of a cow’s nutrient requirements are met before, during and after gestation her calves will perform better. The old rule of thumb was that you save the best feed for the third trimester, which is still true, but also cannot afford to ignore the first two-thirds as well. You don’t want to short cows on protein during early-to-mid gestation.
Calves will benefit from supplement
Studies have shown that calves perform better when they are on a good trace mineral and vitamin program. They have been shown to handle the stress of weaning and take to eating faster when their requirements are met beforehand. Vaccines and shipping fever treatments are shown to be more effective if the calf has a good trace mineral status.
Cheapest time
The easiest time to put weight back on spring-calving cows is during the post-weaning phase. During this time it requires less supplements to reach their nutritional requirements because she no longer has a calf on her. Providing supplements can also release more energy from lower-quality forage (increased weight gain and efficiency).
Supplement promote better grazing
As some water sources dry up during fall cows are less likely to travel to certain areas. This will mean certain parts of the pasture won’t be grazed creating underutilized areas. Supplements can be used to draw cows to these areas making an even distribution. Our previous article here discusses how you can use supplements to promote a more even grazing distribution.
Reproductive Performance
Fall-calving cows need additional supplementation to maintain their proper body condition score. This will allow them to get their estrus after calving quickly which allows them to get bred back quickly. Proper supplementation will also help them with producing enough milk for the calf.
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