When Alberta Agriculture did a survey in 1988, it found that just under
10 percent of the province’s producers were scoring the body condition
of their cattle.
A similar survey 10 years later showed the number had risen to 24
percent, an indication that a lot more Alberta producers were learning
the value of scoring.
Erasmus Okine, a professor in ruminant nutrition at the University of
Alberta, hopes the trend continues.
Research done by the University of Alberta and Alberta Agriculture
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shows how important body condition scoring can be.
With feed and straw at a premium this year, that knowledge can be
important and could trim the costs of wintering a cow by $100 or more.
Research shows feeding costs can be lowered if cows have a body
condition score of four rather than two as they go into the winter.
Cows with higher body condition scores have more fat on their frames,
giving them more insulation against the cold and moderating the need to
eat more feed when temperatures dip and winds pick up.
“It is important for you to get your cows in good fleshy condition in
fall before they come into winter.”
To illustrate, Okine gave the example of two 1,200 pound cows on full
feed.
The cow with a body condition score of four will need about 24 lb. of
good quality hay per day when the temperature is Ð15 C and the wind
speed is 20 km-h. Based on hay prices of $150 per tonne, that’s $1.80
per day.
The thinner cow, with a body condition score of two, will need 26 lb.
of hay per day under the same conditions. That’s $1.95 per day. Over
the course of the winter, the difference in feeding costs between the
two animals can quickly add up.
The importance of body condition scoring is equally apparent when the
temperature drops to Ð25 C with winds at 20 km-h.
The fleshy cow then needs 27 lb. of hay per day, which will cost $2.04.
The thin cow, with a body condition score of two, will eat 29 lb. of
hay at a cost of $2.19.
More recent research has found that it makes sense to get a cow to a
body condition score of four before winter and then letting it lose
some condition so that it scores three by the end of the winter.
A condition of three is still adequate for a cow going into calving and
breeding.
Starting off with a body condition of four and moving to a three over
the course of 150 days translates into savings of 1,400 lb. of hay or
the equivalent of 800 lb. of grain.
Okine said that under current hay prices, that works out to $95 per cow.
But to achieve those kinds of savings, producers need to understand how
to score the body condition of their animals.
“It’s a hands-on approach to figuring out how much fat is on the
animals,” he said.
“Eyeballing is not good enough if you’re going to this system.”
The University of Alberta and Alberta Agriculture research also looked
at what would happen if a cow started the winter with a score of two
and ended 150 days later at three.
To achieve that, Okine said, an extra 1,600 lb. of hay or 900 lb. of
grain would have to be fed. That equates to an added cost of $109 per
cow, based on current hay prices, and again illustrates why body score
condition is an important part of managing winter feed costs.
“Getting your cows into good body score before winter is important,”
Okine said. “You can do that very efficiently with your pastures.”
Research also sheds light on the importance of shelter to break the
wind during winter.
Okine gave this illustration:
With no wind on a day when the temperature is Ð15 C, the thin cow with
a body condition score of two will need 20 lb. of quality hay per day,
which is a daily cost of $1.53.
When the wind speed rises to 10 km-h, the cow’s daily hay needs will
rise to 22.4 lb., and when wind speeds reach 20 km-h at Ð15 C, it will
need to eat 26 lb. of hay per day. At current hay prices, 26 lb. of hay
will cost $1.95.
The difference in daily feed costs for a thin cow in no wind and the
same cow in a 20 km-h wind was 42 cents.
“That tells you shelter is important for that particular animal,” Okine
said.
As well, the fleshy cow’s daily hay intake at Ð15 C stayed constant,
regardless of whether wind speed was zero, 10 km-h or 20 km-h.
“It begins to drive home the point,” Okine said. “For the thin ones,
you had to increase the feed. Therefore, the costs went up.”
