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. […]
Tag: Managing Winter Environments
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 […]
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 […]
How to Keep Water Tanks Clear in Winter
Cold weather and water never make for a good combination. You may have seen pictures floating around the internet of salt water bottles in water tanks to help keep them from freezing completely over. The idea is that even if the tank forms a layer of ice on it, your cattle could push the bottle down […]