Winterizing the Cow Herd - Part 1

What a year it has been, wet, to drought, a veritable bounty of variety. That’s what living in Eastern Washington is all about. Sometimes it lulls us into a false sense of security, weatherwise. And for sure this influences our responsibilities and approach to managing our cow herds.

I remember my dad reminiscing about one fall in the 1950s when the temperature changed from the mid 50°F range to minus 10°F or so in a couple of days. The implication was that the newly seeded winter wheat did not fare well, and it certainly put cattle under stress, especially with those wide temperature swings i...