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Condition scoring
Powerful tool gauges feeding BY: REBECCA GREAVES
B
ody condition scoring (BCS) your commercial beef cow herd doesn’t have to be difficult, and it’s a powerful tool to help farmers to lift beef cow performance, Massey University professor Steve Morris says. “The biggest ‘why’ is it gives an indication of how your feeding is going. The benefit is you can adjust feeding accordingly, maybe you draft out your tail end or low BCS animals and feed them better.” Morris is a professor in animal science, teaching and research in beef cattle and sheep, and has spoken on a range of topics, including cow BCS, at a series of recent Beef + Lamb New Zealand field days. Much like sheep, taking out the tail end and looking after them leads to better overall performance, Morris says, notably improved reproductive performance and bigger calves at weaning. “When cows are in good condition you can also take condition off at certain times, specifically post-weaning, when you want to give priority feed to your ewe flock for mating.” Beef cows are usually in their best condition at weaning, about a BCS 7 is ideal (using the B+LNZ system from 1-10, 1 being skinny, 10 being fat) and farmers can take off up to two BCS from then until about eight weeks pre-calving. Morris likens it to having hay in a stack.
Key times of the year The key time to start BCS is at weaning, when cows should be in their best condition, aiming for a BCS of 7. At that time young cows, first or second calvers, might be in poorer condition and it’s a good time to draft them off and look after them. Two month later, use BCS again to see how the condition has gone, relative to
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feeding. Six to eight weeks before calving is your last opportunity to get things right. “Draft off anything that hasn’t hacked winter so well and feed accordingly. Likewise, do the same at calving.” Aim to increase cow condition heading towards mating to 6+, so they are on a rising plane from lactation, mating and through to weaning. The beauty of this is it generally fits the hill country pasture growth curve.
BCS is a “powerful tool” to help farmers to lift beef cow performance says Massey University professor Steve Morris.
How to do it When it comes to ‘how’ to BCS, Morris says eye is fine, maybe in a race or pen initially, and consistency is key. “It’s farmer specific, someone’s seven (condition) might be someone else’s 6.5. As long as they have developed a pattern of scoring you can then do it in the paddock or through a gateway.” If looking down on a beast, for example in the race, Morris has five sites to consider: spine, short ribs, hips, tail head, and pin bones. If assessing the animal from the side and
back in the pen, consider the rump, hips and spine from the side, and look at the tail head and pin bones from behind. Morris says the B+LNZ BCS booklet, which was authored in conjunction with the team from Massey, is an excellent starting resource for farmers. For farmers who are weighing cattle, one condition score change is equivalent to about 30kg of live weight. It is good practice to weigh beef cows occasionally, and for farmers to have a handle on how big their cows are.
Country-Wide Beef
May 2021