Don’t Cut Corners On Cow Diets

By Raylene Nickel

Cutting corners on cow nutrition may save on feed costs in the short term, but the long-range consequences could be more costly and more far reaching than expected.

Research has shown that calves born to cows whose diets were nutritionally restricted during gestation experience long-term losses in performance, as compared with progeny born to cows receiving 100% of their nutritional requirements throughout gestation.

“Studies reported instances of compromised maternal nutrition during gestation resulting in increased neonatal mortality, intestinal and respiratory dysfunction, metabolic disorders, decreased postnatal growth rates, and reduced meat quality,” says Rick Funston, University of Nebraska reproductive physiologist.