By Morgan Watts

Rowan Cooperative Extension

With the cold weather already here, now is as good time as any to go over cold weather care of your beef herd again.

Most of us know that when it becomes cold, we use more energy. Not only can this be said for us and our home’s energy bill but for our livestock, too, which in return causes more labor and a need for increase in forage quality.

This can be a challenge due to the fact that we have lost hours of daylight. By the time I get off work, it is almost dark which doesn’t leave me a lot of time to get home and get the livestock taken care of. Here are some tips for dealing with livestock in cold weather:

• Make sure they have access to clean, fresh water. It can be a hassle and time consuming to break water, but it is important that it gets done. Cattle’s water intake does decrease during the cold, but they still need adequate water consumption. Make sure the tanks aren’t frozen and if you are using automatic water, check it daily to make sure it is still performing like it should.
• Providing shelter is not usually an easy or practical option for a beef herd but it is important to offer some sort of wind break, whether that be solid or semi-solid fences, trees or brush areas.
• Make sure you are supplying plenty of nutrients so that your cattle can reach their energy requirements. Cows in good body condition with good winter coats have a critical temperature level of 20 degrees. When the temperature drops below this, you need to provide 1 percent more energy for every degree it drops. If you have cattle that are thinner or short-haired, their critical temperature is 30 degrees. You would need to feed 2 percent more for every degree it drops below that.

If you have any questions about livestock in the cold or the events listed below, please call Morgan Watts at the Rowan County Extension Office (704-216-8970). Also, please let us know if you have an e-mail address where you would like to receive extension updates.

Dates to keep in mind:

Rowan County Cattlemen’s Association Meeting, Jan. 3, 2019, 7 p.m., Rowan County Cooperative Extension Office, 2727 Old Concord Road, Salisbury, NC, 28146. Cost is $5 per person to help cover cost of the meal. Please call 704-216-8970 by Dec. 31 to RSVP.

North Carolina Council Forage and Grassland Winter Conference, Jan. 23, 2019, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Rowan County Cooperative Extension Office. Cost is $25 per person or $10 for students. To register please call 919-552-9111 or visit https://www.nccattle.com/nc-forage-grasslands-council/events/winter-conference/registration