If cows are fat, feed resources are not being economically used and probably are being overfed. Two likely times to check body condition of the cow herd are at weaning and 60 days before calving. The easiest and most economical time to get condition back on thin cows is between weaning and calving because the cow's nutrient requirements are low. It is difficult to economically put condition on cows after calving because of the high nutrient requirement for lactation. In fact, if cows are in moderate to good body condition at calving, they can lose some condition after calving and still have high conception rates.
Many factors influence the quality of harvested feeds.
Knowing the quality of feeds fed to the cow herd can help producers design feeding programs that best use forages of differing quality. A forage analysis can help determine if extra feed resources need to be purchased to meet the nutrient needs of the cow herd. Knowing forage quality allows producers to target low quality feeds to cattle when the nutrient requirements are low, and to target higher quality feeds for cattle with higher nutrient demands, such as superior milking cows or heifers after calving. Knowing the quality of the forage fed and the nutrient requirement of the cows, rations designed to meet the nutrient demands of the cows will avoid surprise changes in body condition. Testing forages for nutrient content may be a valuable management tool to help design efficient and economical feeding programs.