1. For bulls, injuries and body condition should be addressed immediately after the breeding season. Body condition should be added gradually to ensure the bull is ready to perform in a sustainable fashion for next year’s breeding season and is capable of making it through the winter.
2. For cows, BCS should constantly be evaluated regardless of the stage of production. Cows are in a constant state of production where they are either getting ready to breed, getting ready to calve, raising a calf or raising a calf and getting ready to breed. Large fluctuations in BCS will hinder her ability to effectively do her job.
While I did say we should constantly be monitoring a cow’s BCS, there are three reasons it is extremely important before winter:
1. A cow is most likely getting ready to wean a calf (if she hasn’t already) and is likely coming out of her first trimester of pregnancy. It is in the fall and winter months she has the most potential to add BCS in order to be able to start the process of raising a calf all over again.
2. Although this is a time of recovery, the forage she has available is most likely mature, dormant and of low nutrient quality and quantity.
3. Remember, when she gets ready to calve she has come out of a low-nutrient-quality winter, is calving when high-quality forage is in short supply and is at peak lactation when forage quality is still not optimal.
Constantly evaluating BCS in our cows, especially before winter, is essential so we don’t see a larger number of thinner cows at breeding in the spring. Cows that are thin have a higher probability of not breeding, but is it really their fault?
Did we effectively manage them in the prior phases of the production cycle and provide the necessary resources for her to do her job? This all comes full circle back to managing a continuous production system and always being prepared for the next phase. To summarize, if we want our cattle to be productive in the spring, we need to be managing and evaluating their needs the previous fall. 
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Matthew Garcia
- Beef Cattle Specialist
- Utah State University
- Email Matthew Garcia
