Managing cows in drought conditions

Note: This is Part 2 of a 2-part Beef Cattle Mythbuster series.

Now back to the discussion of nutrients. Those of you that have heard me give presentations on forage quality and nutrition will probably remember that I emphasize protein being the “first limiting nutrient” when dealing with low quality forages. That means until the deficiency of protein is corrected, performance (keeping up body condition and milk production) will not be very good in those cows. During drought our forages have reached vegetative maturity, dried out, and can be very low in protein—just like winter forages. A cow...