109 Mature cow size and impacts on cow efficiency

Understanding Cow Size and Efficiency

Cattlemen have debated cow size and efficiency since the early days of the business. While efficient cattle production has been researched for over a century, it remains remarkably misunderstood. This misunderstanding can be costly for the industry as well as individual cattle operations because important and expensive management decisions are erroneously made based on misinformation or lack of...

Beef Cow Efficiency- Revisited

Relationship of Cow Size, Cow Requirements, and Production Issues

Introduction Proper nutritional status is critical for optimal production efficiency in the beef cow herd. Meeting the nutrient requirements of the productive cow is a prime factor in the cow’s reproductive success and overall herd profitability. However, beef producers often take a “one size fits all” approach to feeding the cows in the cow herd. This singular approach to nutrient supply for t...

Optimizing Cow Size and Efficiency to Maximize Profitability

Over the years, a number of studies have evaluated the concept of size and profitability. Thanks to the efforts of researchers conducting these studies, it should be easier to determine an answer that may best fit a given farm or ranch environmental and economic conditions. In it simplest form, it can be generalized that size is usually related to production, but more resources are needed to ma...

Effects of barley grain particle size on dairy cow performance