Cold stress increases a cow’s energy requirement and can pull down her body condition. Thin cows can result in weak calves being born in the spring and/or poor breed up. Winter storms have already swept across the Plains, giving indications this could be a long, cold winter for cows already thin due to summer drought stress.
The threshold at which cattle have to start using energy to maintain their body temperature is called the lower critical temperature (LCT). Cows in good condition (BCS 5.0; 1-9 scale) that have a heavy winter coat that is dry do not need to use energy to maintain…
