Beef exam 2

Lock these in!!!

Day 0

• day she calves (parturition).

  • Within stage 1 = postpartum interval and she is lactating the first 82 days. 

When do we see some of the highest pregnancy losses?

we see it in the first 30 days after conception.

When does the cow transition from phase 1 to 2?

• at the time of conception. She conceives the next calf and goes through the early gestation and this is the remainder of her lactational output for the day 0 calf. 

When is phase 3?

• Phase three is when we wean the day 0 calf off and we use the 205 weaning age. In 206-315 is when the cow is in her lowest phase because she's in mid gestation and not lactating. This is a time of a lot of flexibility in terms of cow nutrition and change in management of body condition before she is in the final 50 day stage. 

When is the cow in stage 4?

• her late gestation stage 

  • setting up for gestational fetal growth, but also preparing that cow for parturition and going into that next lactation.

Brood Cow Intake:

• Need to have kind of a ballpark idea of where these cows are eating on a percent body weight basis.

• Know how that intake changes over different stages of production.

• When looking at intake, we are looking at Dry Matter intake (not factoring in moisture). We look at intake percentages between 1.5 - 3% of body weight.

• Low quality forages have lower intake capacity. These are low nutrient dense feeds and they have reduced feed intake compared to high quality feeds. 

  • And so that's one of our challenges, is in order to get the total grams of nutrients, they need more of that low quality feed, but they can't consume as much of it.

  • They can overconsume the high quality if we do not restrict the feed. The capacity to eat nutrient dense feed is high! 

What should a brood cow’s dry matter intake be?

• We look at intake percentages between 1.5 - 3% of body weight.

How long is stage 1?

1-82 days post calving

Stage 1

Calving to Breeding: 

4 basic functions for cow

• Lactation (for calf she just gave birth to), Uterine involution (uterus needs to shrink → need a lot of protein for muscle repair), Ovulation (need enough energy and protein for this), Conceive

  • Nutrition → Reproduction → Profit

If you do not have adequate nutrition → we don't have adequate reproduction and if we don't have adequate reproduction → there is nothing to sell because there is no calf (not a profitable system).

• Highest nutritional requirements

  • Increase nutrient requirements by 30-40% compared to a maintenance phase. 

• Cost of feed is critical

  • 30% increase in forage intake

    • Try to time this with best pasture growth

    • Supplement when needed.

    • Use high quality feeds. Have enough pasture. 

    • Want them to calf before the forages, so that when they have peak lactation requirements, there is a peak in forage to support them.

How long is stage 2

83-205 days post calving

Stage 2:

Breeding to Weaning

3 basic functions for cow

• Lactation, Maintain pregnancy, Put on body weight

Forage use maximized

• This is where we try to group up those cows because we have cows calving over the span of a couple months.

• But with AI you can breed all in the same day.

• The cows are lactating and we are breeding them → goal is for all of them to maintain the pregnancy and manage their body condition. 

  • Need to manage that body condition through that early gestational phase.

• We see some of the highest pregnancy losses in the first 30 days after conception. 

  • So we really want to make sure that we are meeting nutritional requirements depending on which management system we're in, where we are, whether we're spring calving or fall calving, there's some value in limited forages because of the season, we tend to be hitting this this phase during some for its forage challenges. So making sure that we can, you know, budget whether we need some supplemental concentrate.

    • If we are close to the 205 days of lactation, maybe we can do early weaning. 

• Or if the forages are limited and we want more calf growth, we creep feed those calves so that instead of grazing the forage they're going to that concentrate feed. It will not stop them from nursing, but it will take a little bit of that forage pressure off. 

Good idea to preg check cows: 30, 40, or 60 days after breeding. Any open cows get sold. Go ahead and sell those cow calf pairs off the farm.

• This saves resources so you are not feeding a cow that will not have a calf in the next season.  

Several alternatives when forage is limiting

• Feed concentrates to cows

• Early wean calves

• Creep feed calves

• Sell cows

How long is stage 3?

206-315 days

Stage 3:

Weaning to Mid Gestation

2 basic functions for cow

• Maintain herself, Maintain pregnancy

• Want to optimize cow nutrition for fetal development.

Lowest nutritional demand

• Great time to add weight if needed

Maximize forage utilization

• Feed poorest quality hay, while still optimizing and enhancing that performance of the cow.

Great time to increase weight/BCS if needed

How long is stage 4

Mid Gestation to Calving

3 basic functions for cow

• Fetal nourishment, Prepare for parturition, Prepare for lactation

Affects of limited nutrients

• Decreased if the cow is shorted nutrients

  • Birth weight, Calf survival %, Immune system function (the colostrum doesn't have right antibodies, so calf doesn’t have them either), % calf crop weaned, Conception rate, Milk production (impact longterm), Weaning calf weight

• Proper nutrition in this phase is so important because it sets her up as to whether or not she's going to be in good enough body condition and good enough body reserve to make it through phase 1 and conceive the next time. 

• Increased (still negative)

  • Dystocia, Post partum interval

• If she is short on nutrients and her body condition decreases as she goes into parturition, she could be weak. Her muscle tone will be low. Her calf may have lower birth weight, but the risk of dystocia is still there.

  • It will take her longer to recover! Longer time till she cycles again. She may not conceive in the goal of a 60 day calving season. 

• This is the highest exponential fetal growth rate during this last phase. 

Her body is preparing for parturition. She is developing that colostrum, so I need to feed her well so the quality of the colostrum is good! 

When do we creep feed?

• Do this in the 2nd stage. Do this to optimize calf growth.

What are the benefits of Creep feeding?

• The calves need to be trained to know where to feed. This also encourages producers to get out there and work with their animals a little bit more frequently. They're putting that feed out there, moving that creep feeder around. So they're putting their eyes on their animals a little bit more.

 

Only calves access feed

• Adequate energy and protein

• Enhancement of energy and protein

• Calves are not extremely efficient during this phase, the rumen is still developing. So adding the creep feed benefits rumen development. But it takes a high quality feedstuff 

  • The younger the calves are, the higher the digestibility, which means you need more concentrated feeds. These can be more expensive, but the calves need these!  

What are the drawbacks to creep feeding?

• Management

• Feed and equipment costs

• Cow does not benefit → the calf is still nursing! The calf is just getting supplemented! 

• Not good for all calves → if the calf goes to a stocker, it may not be beneficial. Need to make sure we know the risk if the calf is too fleshy out of weaning. 

  • Fat heifers in the pre-weaning phase can put on udder fat deposits. This can compromise their milk production later in their production lives. 

So just trying to balance optimizing growth not necessarily maximizing growth or body fat when we make these management decisions.

T/F: Fat heifers in the pre-weaning phase can put on udder fat deposits. This can compromise their milk production later in their production lives. 

true!

What is heifer managment?

• Feed separately from cows for first 2 years

• Target gain first year of 1.0-1.5 lbs/d

  • 65% of mature BW at Breeding

  • They hit puberty around 50-55% of their mature body weight, but we want them around 65%. 

    • So we need to know what a herd body weight average is so that we can kind of that growth of those heifers so that they reach that target by breeding.

• Target gain second year of 0.5-1.0 lbs/d

  • 85% mature BW at Calving

How long does it take for cattle to reach their mature body weight?

It takes 3 years for cattle to reach their mature body weight. 

So if we are thinking about a mature cow that's 1,300 pounds, she needs to be about ____pounds when we breed her. And she needs to be about____ pounds when she has that first calf.

So if we are thinking about a mature cow that's 1,300 pounds, she needs to be about 845 pounds when we breed her. And she needs to be about 1,100 pounds when she has that first calf.

• From the first calf heifer, that 2 yr old. From the time she’s 2-3 (she is going to breed again, lactating. And she still needs to put on about 200 pounds of her body weight during that 2nd to 3rd year. 

  • So we shouldn't just look at first calf heifers through that first time they calve. We really need to be monitoring and managing the first calf heifers that are coming into the herd and those heifers during their second gestation with additional nutrient management. 

Why is BCS so important?

• Well managed beef herds need to maintain a 365 day calving interval.

• This is important because we need to make sure she is in body condition when she calves, so that she can go through that early lactation, high nutritional demand and then be ready to calve again.

  • Cow Gestation = 283 days

  • This leaves 82 days to rebred

T/F: Cows under a BCS of 4 will not even cycle again until 80 days.

True!  She has a low chance of breeding again and staying in our calving season is limited. 

• We really need to have those cows coming back into estrus within that first 55 days, so they have a couple cycles before they are outside of that 365 days! 

• The later she calves, the later she is every year after that.

What does a low plain of nutrition mean?

•  they were below their nutritional requirements.

  • This impacted their body weight and affected the birth weight of their calf!

  • But the big difference there is looking at number of calves born alive a really the number of heifers cycling again within that next breeding season

    • 20% less heifers cycling if they were on an energy restricted diet.

When should you BCS?

At weaning

45 days after weaning (“bounce back”)

• This is a great time because the nutrient requirements are down! She's going to be able to exceed her nutrient requirements pretty easily.

• Look at her after she weans off her calf, monitor her about a month and a half later. Is she increasing body condition even without changing nutrition?

60-90 days before calving

• Adjust nutrition program

• Separate cows based on BCS

• If she is not in good condition, you have a little time to manage those cows and adjust nutrition. Bump up the feed resources if that half or if that cow is not in ideal body condition as she is going into stage 4.

At calving

• May have “false” results due to heavy lactation

• Could underestimate the actual body condition of your cow

• Look at the actual body condition of the animal, not just how round she is in gestation.

Beginning of the breeding season

• Adjust nutrition program

• Separate cows based on BCS

• Make sure they have nutrients to get pregnant and stay that way in early gestation. 

If you want your animal to gain body condition fast, what do you do?

The faster you need those cows to gain body condition, the higher the quality of feed resources you need to put in front of them for them to achieve that goal.

How can we evaluate nutrition from a distance?

• Forage quality 

• Gut fill → look in loin, behind ribs, in front of hips, in paralumbar fossa 

• Feeding Behavior and Intake 

• Look at poop. Is it really runny? That means there may be too much water in the feed. They may not be able to capture it, maybe it's really high in protein, really high in energy that it's running right through them. Want rumen pushing! We want to see the rumen full. Smooth look between ribs and hips. 

• Dry poop = they cannot digest enough food. 

• We want a solid but wet texture.

How much is a brood cow acreage?

$100 - $240 per acre —> typically see about $160

Tall fescue pastures in NC average _____ yield annually.

3-5 ton

Tall fescue pastures in NC average 3-5 ton yield annually.

• 8,000 lbs forage DM @ ___utilization

60% utilization: never graze off all of the grasses. You need to have some left over so that the grasses grow back.

• 8,000 x 60% = 4,800 lbs/acre (carrying capacity) on an annual basis. This happens through good management 

1,200 lb. brood cow needs (stocking rate) @ 2.8% BW DMI

1200 × 0.028 × 365 days = 12,264 lbs/year → over 10x her body weight. 

• 12,264 lbs/ 4800 lbs = 2.6 acres/cow → where we average in high quality forage management systems in NC! 

T/F: The less inputs in the forage and the less ability you have to move animals around or plant different forages, the more land you need per cow! 

true

2.6 acres * $160/acre = $416/cow/year for pasture

• ($1.14 /hd/day) → to feed cows just grass!

true!

How much does hay cost?

• $120-240/ton @ 85-88% DM

  • Ton = 2000lb

  • Hay bales tend to weigh 600-800lb

    • If you are getting a $40 bale and it's 600lb then it is $0.07 per pound. Or 0.0667 x 2000 = $133 per ton!

Determine the price per ton (As fed)

• 4x5 bales @ $60/bale @ 750 lbs =

• Convert 750lbs to terms of tons (0.375) then $60/0.375 ton = $160/ton

5x6 bales @ $90.00/bale @ 1200 lbs

$139/ton: That bigger bale is more per bale, but you got more mass, so it's actually a better price per ton.

T/F: south east forages are typically inadequate?

TRUE! Sodium, Chloride, Magnesium, Copper, Zinc, Selenium 

What are some mineral deficiency symptoms?

• Rough, discolored hair: Copper deficiency in black cattle presents as a reddish color. Being on fescue with a bad mineral program will result in this! Angus should not be Gelbvieh brown

• Low breeding rates → people breeding in early spring need to incorporate more magnesium in the diet because there is so much potassium in the forage that is blocking magnesium. Even though the magnesium was originally adequate, we need a higher magnesium level to counterbalance the potassium. Marketing of breeding minerals that contain high levels of magnesium. 

  • Potassium is elevated in spring growth in plants. 

• This is where we see grass tetany in cattle! Low magnesium: imbalance of potassium and magnesium (which are both positive ions). 

• Low body condition 

• Increased health problems

T/F: NC is a selenium deficient state

TRUE!!!!  If producers do not provide adequate selenium, we can see reproductive issues like retained placentas. Or increased dystocia. 

• Be warned! You can overdose if you supplement too much selenium, this is why you need a vet prescription to get a shot of selenium.  

T/F: Depending on the fertilizer sources on the field are going to change the mineral profile of the plants. This changes the mineral needs of the cattle. 

true

T/F: There are base minerals that are sold, but these companies adjust those formulations based on where they are selling that product. 

true

WHAT is one of the biggest mineral supplementation challenges?

Empty mineral feeder syndrome is one of the biggest challenges: you cannot just put minerals out and have 6 months go by without checking to see if it needs to be refilled. 

• Keep it out in front of the cows and they will self regulate! Once they have regulated from the period of not having enough, they will balance out and they will stabilize that intake. 
  

• They may overeat in the beginning because they are deficient.

Mineral cost:

• Mineral pricing: $25-$60 per 50 lb bag.

  • Most commercial minerals are 4 oz intake/day with some 2 oz intake available → do they only need 2 oz to get enough absorbed into their body to meet their needs, or do they need to eat 4 oz because it is not as bioavailable and they have to eat 2x as much to get the same concentration into their bloodstream. 

• Not every mineral is created equal! 

  • If you feed limestone as the calcium source, they need more of it than a calcium carbonate source because it is harder to digest! 

• Cheaper = need more of it! 

$40/bag 4 oz intake mineral

16 oz in a pound. 

• How long with it take for 100 cows to consume one bag?

  • 4 oz/16 oz = 0.25 lbs/cow/d x 100 cows = 25 lbs/d

  • Two days/bag

    • Put the mineral out pretty regularly or you need to keep more mineral feeders stocked up. 
      

What is the cost/head/day?

• $40/50 lb/ bag = $0.80/lb x 0.25 lbs/cow/d = $0.20/cow/day

• $73/cow/year

$400 in pasture + $73 in mineral = $473 + amount for hay (getting up to $800 range).

As plants go through their life-cycle, there is a change in _________

forage mass

Why do we want low lignin?

• We want low lignin because that is the hard and fibrous material of the plant that is very indigestible. 

What do brood cows eat?

• Dependent on stage of production

• Mature, dormant forage

• Lower digestibility

• Protein supplement to increase intake

• These are our momma cows. They go through the 4 phases. We need to be away from their needs in each phase. 

  • What forages can be used? If they are in these lower nutritional demands, we can use some of those mature forages. We can use dormant forages. 

• Dormant forage - seasonal grasses can go dormant, where they look dead. However, they still have nutritional value. 

What do growing cattle eat?

• Lush, growing forage

• Moisture may limit intake

• Hay supplementation may increase gain (DMI)

• This group includes calves that are raised alongside of the cows, or calves that were weaned off (like in a short term backgrounding situation before we sell them), raising stocker cattle (so need growth before finishing the system). 

• Replacement heifers also are growing. 

• Lush grass is often filled with water, which can dilute nutrients. 

• Grasses in NC are around 70% water or more. Some spring grasses can be 90%+ water. 

  • For every pound of grass, they are only getting 0.01 lbs of nutrients (minerals, carbs, vitamins, etc).