




“A cow can handle zero or below-zero temperatures. It’s the wet and windy conditions that can be tough,” Lemenager said.

Animals with wet hides often can’t create enough body heat to stay warm when it’s windy. Lemenager recommended that producers create windbreaks for their animals to eliminate the wind chill.


“For example, in a thin cow at zero degrees wind chill, the cow’s energy requirement has increased 90 percent,” Lemenager said. “She needs additional energy and protein, such as corn or distiller’s grains.”

But Lemenager cautioned farmers not to overfeed protein to late-pregnancy cows because there’s an associated risk of increased calf birth weights and dystocia, or birthing difficulties.

“If we have a really cold winter, that will increase birth weights, anyway, because of the natural way a cow responds to cold,” he said. “They reduce blood flow to extremities and increase flow inside, where the calf is growing. If it’s cold and you’re increasing protein too much, that will collectively bring up birth weights and birthing problems.”


“If animals don’t drink water, they don’t eat,” Lemenager said. “Producers should frost-proof their water supplies, either by using tank heaters or chipping ice in ponds. We often forget about reviewing our water sources, but now’s a good time to double-check those tank heaters before we get into the blistering cold of winter.”



“If you’re in an area where wintering cows on pasture is feasible, create a sacrifice area for tromping so cows don’t tromp all your acreage and damage chances for regrowth next season,” Lemenager said. “Designating one area saves a whole pasture from being abused, and it’s much cheaper than having to re-do an entire pasture.”

