- The USDA's National Animal Health Monitoring system (NAHMS) collected
data on nutritional management of beef cows. Phase one of the NAHMS Beef
'97 Study included 2,713 producers from 23 of the leading cow-calf states1.
This study represented 85.7 percent of U.S. beef cows on hand January 1,
1997, and 77.6 percent of U.S. operations with beef cows. Phase two of
the study focused specifically on herds that had five or more beef cows
and included 66.3 percent of all operations with beef cows and 85.0 percent
of all beef cows in the U.S. Producers in phase two were asked specific
questions about using body condition scores.
Producers can evaluate the nutritional status of their cow herd by doing
routine body condition scoring (BCS). Research has shown that cows below
a BCS of 5 at calving (on a scale of 1-thinnest to 9-fattest) do not breed
back as well as properly conditioned cows. Also, thin cows may be more
apt to have difficult calvings or poor colostrum for the calves. Although,
fewer than one-fourth (23.3 percent) of producers used BCS as a
management tool in their beef herds (Figure 1), use of BCS was much
higher (48.9%) in larger herds compared to smaller herds.
Early weaning has been practiced by some producers to reduce nutritional
demands and put weight back on cows while forage is available. However,
nearly one-half of producers (49.9 percent) cited the most important factor
that determined when to wean calves was the age or weight of the calf (Figure
2). In some instances, weaning calves into a feedlot where growth can be
accelerated and allowing cows to graze without nursing calves may be better
for the overall production of the operation. However about 14% of all producers
use Body condition of the cow to determine an appropriate time to wean
the calf. This is a management tool that would be advantageous to many
commerical operations as they evaluate the nutritional status of 2 and
3 year old cows several months before traditional weaning times.
