Balancing Cattle Nutrition With Genetics Key To Ranch Success

"Adequate nutrition allows animals to display their greatest potential," he says. "Genetic potential and nutrition are additive, in the sense that if we're able to provide nutritional benefits above and beyond what's required for maintenance, and if the animals have the genetic potential to perform, we'll be able to see the differences in phenotypic performance." "It's important to keep the brood cow herd on a consistent plane of nutrition," [Cosby] says. "If it's a bred cow, she's taking care of two calves. One by her side, and one gestating. We've found out that how we treat those cows during gestation can affect the progeny's potential, both positively or negatively." "The cow carrying the calf can have an effect on the calf before it's born," he says. "If you're fall calving in the Central Plains or Upper Midwest, you can see a tough body condition score of 4 or below in February or March. Their calf is probably being creep fed. In the period when the cow drops weight and before she gains rapidly when the grass comes on, next fall's calf could be affected, which is part of the gestational nutrition theory."