Winter winds can blow holes in cattle producers’ pocket books.
Combined with cold temperatures, they can drive up feeding costs
dramatically. Providing adequate shelter for cattle will pay for itself
in saved feed costs, but will also mean fewer frozen ears and less
susceptibility to disease.
Trevor Yurchak of Alberta Agriculture said reducing wind speed on
cattle by as little as 10 km-h when temperatures dip to -25 C will
improve feed efficiency by 33 percent.
“Shelter is the fastest way to cut feed costs in winter,” he said.
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“Wind and cold conspire to keep cattle from gaining efficiently.
Without adequate shelter they have to burn the feed you’ve been putting
into them to stay warm instead of converting it to flesh.”
Cattle’s hair coats act as thermal blankets, trapping heat and moisture
near the skin. Wind breaks down that blanket, forcing the body to
produce additional heat to prevent the animal from freezing.
Winds behind a shelter will “almost never exceed 15 km-h. Most times
they would be less, even in a big storm,” Yurchak said.
An average 850 pound steer protected by a shelter and still facing a 15
km-h wind at -25 and fed a balanced ration will gain about 3.2 lb. per
day. The same animal without a shelter in a 25 km-h wind will gain only
two lb. per day. Both will cost $2.24, but the sheltered animal will
have gained an additional 1.2 lb.
Alberta Agriculture recommends building porous fences or low sheds and
placing them perpendicular to prevailing winter winds.
They should be located away from riparian areas because additional snow
and manure will build up around the shelter, causing additional
manure-laden runoff.
Portable windbreaks can reduce wind losses, spread manure around a
field and keep cattle closer to their feed and water supplies, and
winter grazing.
“Whether it is trees, fences or whatever the producer chooses, shelter
is an important part of any winter feeding program,” Yurchak said.
