Across the prairies, many producers are facing extreme drought conditions. As many regions start to declare agricultural states of emergency, and with little rain in the forecast, it can feel as though producers are faced with making immediate decisions that can have long-term impacts on farm productivity and profitability.
“During a drought, feed resources are the limiting factor and producers have some tough decisions to make around finding feed or culling the herd to ensure cattle maintain a proper body condition score,” says Dr. John Campbell, veterinarian and professor in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine.
While it might seem tempting to allow cows to drop a condition score, Dr. Bart Lardner, Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Research Program Chair in Cow-Calf and Forage Systems and professor at the University of Saskatchewan, reminds producers that this can cause long-term issues such as reproductive wrecks in the fall. “It is extremely expensive to feed up a body condition score during winter,” Lardner says, adding that it is cheaper to maintain cows in good condition than to add condition later even when feed sources are limited.
Drought conditions not only can cause short-term impacts on feed quality and quantity, but also can have a ripple effect through the next several years of production. Today's post on BeefResearch.ca explores seven things to be aware of during times of drought:
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