Exceptionally high temperatures and extremely low rainfall have combined to stress livestock and reduce their feed supplies. Producers can take steps to manage a situation that might cost some money now but could pay off in big ways in the long run.
"The tail on this can be pretty long if we don't manage things right in a drought year," Purdue Extension Beef Specialist Ron Lemenager said. "One thing that I think is really important for producers to consider this year is body condition. If you use condition scores of these cows as a barometer of where you're at nutritionally, we can't do much about the heat or drought, but we can make sure we don't have any nutritional deficiencies."
LASTING IMPACT: Without proper nutrition and pasture management in a drought year, beef herd performance can suffer for years to come.
In a drought year, forages are low in both quality and quantity, which can leave cows thin and undernourished. Less-than-optimal body conditions can have reproductive consequences not only this year, but next year as well.
Heat stress coupled with poor nutrition can create a double whammy by lowering oocyte and sperm quality, as well as embryo survival if fertilization does occur, Lemenager said.
"The environmental conditions we are experiencing have ratcheted stress forward into the heart of the breeding season for those that calve in the spring, meaning it's very probable we'll see more open cows than normal this fall," he said.
Lemenager said the likely increase in open cows this year means producers need to pregnancy-check cows to minimize the use of expensive feeds. When forages are in short supply, there is little reason for producers to feed non-productive animals. Instead, they can consider marketing culled cows earlier than normal to take advantage of higher market prices.