With forages in tight supply, some are looking for ways to cut corners on their operations and may be examining cow rations.

Because cow nutrition should never be shortchanged within the herd, timely protein, energy and mineral supplementation can help producers supply the necessary nutrients to cows through all stages – even when forage qualities are low.

Now is the time that spring-calving cattle require energy and protein the most to get back in shape after weaning.

Today, most spring-calving cows are in the midst of the phase between weaning their most recent calf and starting their next lactation.

This period of 90 to 120 days is the optimal time to rebuild body condition and prepare the cow for the next lactation.

Proper cow condition – and herd production – begins with understanding current body condition scores (BCS).

The key to optimum production is to keep cows in the correct BCS during each stage of production.

On a nine-point scale, cows should have a BCS of 5 (two to three ribs showing at most) when they wean their calves and should ideally return to a BCS of 6 (no ribs showing, fat in the tailhead, fat in the brisket and rounded across the top of the flank) at calving.

A BCS of 6 pre-calving will help the cow to better care for her calf in utero, transition into lactation and allow her to provide necessary nutrients to her next calf for additional potential marketable pounds.

Depending on body type and size, there is a 60-pound to 80-pound weight difference between a BCS of a 5 to a 6 score.

Cows must be fed a proper balance of nutrients during their second and third trimester to regain the condition that was lost raising the last calf crop.

This means cows must gain roughly 0.5 to 1.0 pound per day during the window between calves to meet this goal.

In addition to regaining condition, nutrition is critical during the gestation period to care for the calf in utero and prepare for the next lactation.

Not feeding proper levels of protein, energy and minerals during the second and third trimester can result in weakened fetal development, lower production potential of the next calf crop and decreased conception rates the following year.

For optimal fetal growth, proper nutrition must occur all 285 days of pregnancy. From the day of conception, the calf in utero is developing its complete system.

In fact, the calf’s entire nervous system, its vital organs and all muscle proliferation are developing through gestation. This fetal growth and development requires additional nutrients from the cow.

Research shows that if the cow is not fed adequately from pregnancy to calving, the calf will have a more difficult time reaching its full potential later in life.

Research also shows that cows fed inadequate levels of nutrition produced heifer calves with an average of 13 percent lower conception rates when they reached breeding age versus heifers born from cows who were supplemented with protein.

Studies at Texas State A&M University Agricultural Research and Extension Center and Oklahoma State University further showed the impact of underfed cows during the end of gestation and into lactation.

The trials illustrated significant benefits from properly conditioned cows in terms of milk production, calf weaning weights and days to return to estrus.

The correlation between all of these studies is the amount of protein, energy and mineral supplied to the cow herd during late gestation and into the calving season.

In addition to the benefits to the calf in utero, the next calf crop and the cow’s future production potential, gestation is the most economical time to add condition to the cow, as she is not producing milk and her maintenance requirements are lowest.

In the studies, the benefits in long-term production resulting from a balanced protein, energy and mineral supplementation program were substantial.

Supplement programs can help cows secure the nutrients they require. Ration supplementation should be created based on the cow herd’s current and desired BCS and the nutrients provided through the forage.

The higher the quality of forages offered, the lower amount of supplement that needs to be fed. Comparatively, lower-quality forages must be supplemented with higher protein and energy levels.

For example, if a producer’s forages are running 10 to 12 percent protein with 60 percent TDN, the needed supplement will likely be around one pound per head per day plus free-choice minerals.

If grasses are under 6 to 8 percent protein, as much as two to four pounds of protein and energy supplement may be needed per cow per day dependent on cow stage of production and cow size.

To prevent overfeeding or underfeeding of nutrients, many producers feed supplements with intake-modifying technologies.

These technologies allow the supplement to be offered free-choice so that cows can consume the supplement when forage does not provide enough protein and energy. This helps to keep body condition levels adequate through gestation and into lactation.

For additional information on body condition scoring and protein and mineral supplements click here.