Managing cattle herd health and nutrition effectively throughout the year is key for livestock producers, but these considerations become even more significant as winter approaches. We ask a lot of the herd during the coldest parts of the year. Cows are calving and going through lactation, all while preparing for breed back. Feed resources are […]
Category: Winter Maintenance
A Guide to Cold Stress in Cattle
Zip up the overalls and strap up the insulated boots. The temperatures are about to dip. As cattle producers, we know how to bundle up and face the bitter cold. However, your cow herd can’t put on the extra layers required when the temperatures dip below freezing and the snow begins to blow. Although cattle […]
How to Provide Winter Cattle Shelter for your Herd
Providing adequate winter cattle shelter is essential for herd health and well-being during the coldest months of the year. Yes, cattle are fairly cold-tolerant. However, the combination of wind chill and moisture can lead to cold stress, which leads to lowered performance and decreased immune response. At VitaFerm®, providing quality nutrition is our main priority. […]
How Cold Can Cows Tolerate?
As livestock producers, we have a lot of concerns. We worry about input costs, if we made the right breeding decisions and where cattle prices will be when we are ready to sell. All these are issues that you likely deal with regularly. Another concern for many ranchers is the weather. Now, cattle are hardy […]
Managing Your Cows in the Winter
The changing of the seasons is inevitable. That’s true whether you’re running Angus cows in North Dakota or Hereford and black baldie cows in south central Mississippi. However, when you’re a cattle producer whose livelihood depends on those mama cows, the changing seasons mean making a few adaptations to cow nutrition and care to make […]
4 Tips to Successfully Wintering Stocker Calves
It’s no doubt, agriculture is a risky business. There are a lot of uncertainties, especially when you add the environment and the ever-changing weather into the mix. But with a good plan and some of these best management practices in place, you can come out in the springtime with healthy, growthy calves that are ready […]
Top Tips to Make the Most of Winter Pastures
Imagine cattle herds grazing tall, nutrient-rich grasses year-round, with no worry of snow cover or dormancy. Although this utopic scenario sounds pretty great, it’s just too good to be true here in cow country, U.S.A. A majority of the land producers have to graze on during winter months is mature, dormant forage that is low […]
Tips to Manage Cold Stress for Calves
It’s never too early to start planning how you’re going to get your newborn calves off to a thriving start, especially in the coldest months of the year. If you are 30 to 60 days away from calving, you need to start now to ensure that your calf crop will have the nutrients it needs to get a jump […]
Increased Nutrient Requirements for Cows in Winter
Old man winter has arrived in much of the U.S., which means colder days as many producers are preparing for calving season. And just as the temperatures decrease, the cows’ nutrient requirements can increase. “During extreme cold, the cows’ nutrient requirements can increase up to 10-25%,” said Lindsey Grimes-Hall, BioZyme® Inc. Nutrition and Field Sales […]
Don’t Skimp on Winter Supplementation
Even though the first few weeks of fall have just “officially” passed, it is never too early to begin thinking about winter. It seems like producers and meteorologists alike have been discussing that this winter could be bitterly cold and snow covered, and if you are one of the many people who refer to the […]
