42 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN November 2025 ® BY CONNOR AGRISCIENCE SILAGE BARRIER FILMS CONSIDER THIS improve BCS? Do young cows need a different plan than older cows? Assessing BCS several times a year allows producers to be proactive instead of reactive and can head off problems later in the winter or the subsequent spring during calving. Lactating Cows Grazing Poor Quality Forage Producers may want to utilize the quantity of forage the summer rains provided. The dry, gestating cow requires about half of the TDN a lactating cow does. Therefore, weaning calves and returning dry cows to pasture can be a way to make use of low-quality forage without depleting cows’ energy reserves. She will need energy later in the winter to maintain herself through cold and snow, and it is a better use of her energy reserves than to be lactating for a 500-pound calf. If the BCS assessment reveals cows need to gain some condition, producers may want to provide a protein supplement to increase digestibility, allowing her to increase her BCS. Knowledge Is Power – Testing Hay Quality Sending hay samples to a commercial lab for analysis takes the guesswork out of feeding cows. Today’s cow herd is worth too much to guess what to feed the momma cow. Testing hay quality in the fall helps producers know how much supplemental feed such as protein cubes or bulk commodities they will need to feed. It can also help determine which hay to feed in which phase of production. For example, low-quality hay may be designated for winter feeding while the better quality hay can be set aside for after calving. Visually assessing hay can be deceiving. Alfalfa that has been rained on prior to baling may look brown and low quality. A lab analysis may reveal that may actually have 18 to 20 percent crude protein despite its appearance. Therefore, a producer who assumed that hay to be poor quality and fed a protein supplement with it would likely be wasting protein and money. ~NC~ WINTER PITFALLS OF SUMMER RAIN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 40 NC Trade Show Exhibitor
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