12 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN October 2026 WINTER NUTRITION WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE COMING OFF A DROUGHT? TRESSA LAWRENCE | CONTRIBUTING WRITER PRODUCTION Mark Chestnutt once sang, “I’m goin’ through the Big D and don’t mean Dallas.” He was not singing about drought, but that is the “D” word on many cattle producers’ lips these days. Across the state, people are dusting o their boots after yet another dry summer. As producers wrap up fall work and start to prepare for winter, cattle health is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Cows It may feel overwhelming trying to nd a place to start. Assessing where your animals currently are allows you to make a plan for feeding and supplementing in the months to come. “Cows could be fairly thin coming o of this year’s drought because there just has not been growth in the grass, and the hay production is down,” explains Karla Wilke, Ph.D., professor and cow-calf stocker management specialist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). “I think [producers should be] assessing body condition score now and guring out a plan to make sure that, when we come into calving, those mature cows are at least body condition score 5 and our heifers at 6. “It may seem like it’s far down the road, but it’s things happening now that are going to impact the health of the calf born in the spring and cows’ reproduction next summer,” Wilke adds. “If these cows are thin coming o weaning this calf, and don’t have an opportunity to make up that body condition before the next calf, then we should be concerned.” The time frame between weaning and birth is a prime opportunity to pack on some weight, especially for those cattle that do have lower body condition scores (BCS). (BCS are ranked on a scale from 1, emaciated, to 9, obese.) “Cow body condition is a great indicator of the nutritional status of a herd and serves as an e ective “It may seem like it’s far down the road, but it’s things happening now that are going to impact the health of the calf born in the spring and cows’ reproduction next summer.” – Karla Wilke
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