Page 24 - WCA Ketch Pen August 2020

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No significant differences in BW were observed between NWHIGH and EWLOW at calving, BCS were greater for EWLOW than for NWHIGH. Our findings suggest that even though EWLOW cattle were allowed to lose more BCS during the winter period, the ability to put on BCS during the summer utilizing early weaning more than compensated for the loss- es. For the subsequent calving season, only the NWLOW group tended to have a lower rebreeding rate.
We concluded that early weaning is an option to increase the BW and BCS of cows during the summer. Therefore, early weaning has the potential to be a useful tool during drought conditions or other times when grass is limited. It can be beneficial when cows enter the winter grazing season in better body condition. Allowing cows to cycle weight during periods when feed resources are limiting has been an important management tool for many years. However, it is of paramount impor- tance that severe nutrient limitations do not take place because of the po- tential negative impact on the developing fetus. Together, early weaning and winter supplementation gives the possibility of allowing producers to feed less protein supplement during the winter and may represent a sig- nificant cost savings. Feeding less than 70% of the normal supplementa- tion regimen may result in significant BW and BCS losses and reductions in reproductive performance.
Obviously, the calves from the early weaned cows must be main- tained on a separate feeding regimen and there are costs and benefits to that dynamic as well. Producers will have to evaluate all of the economic implications before implementing an early weaning program to respond to whatever conditions are thrown at us.
As always, if you have questions or would like to discuss nutrition and management of your herd, please contact me at 509-335-8759 or don.llewellyn@wsu.edu.
@commissionerhilaryfranz
@washingtoncattlemen
Ketch Pen www.washingtoncattlemen.org
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August 2020