Explore the relationship between BCS, cow nutritional status, and cow herd reproductive performance, from the experts at UF/IFAS.

In our last blog, we shared the details of Body Condition Scores (BCS) for beef cattle from a UF/IFAS “askIFAS” article; that same article shared that “There is a direct relationship between cow nutritional status, BCS, and cow herd reproductive performance.” in this blog, the second part in the series, we’re sharing the relationship between BCS and cow nutritional status, and how they affect cow herd reproductive performance. See the details below.

BCS, Cow Nutritional Status, and Cow Herd Reproductive Performance

In the UF/IFAS article, the writers looked at four different studies to drawn conclusions on the relationships between cow BCS and five “important reproductive and productive outcomes” to prove that “improving cow BCS from thin/BCS 3 to moderate/BCS 5 improves every outcome measure.” They are:

  1. Calving Percentage: “Calving percentage depicts the number of calves born from all of the cows that were exposed to the breeding program; this include cows that became pregnant and those that did not become pregnant. Calving percentage is a measure of breeding and gestation efficiency.” The data shows that as cows’ BCSs increase, the number of cows that produce calves also increases.
  2. Postpartum Interval: “Postpartum interval shows the number of days that occur between calving and the establishment of the subsequent pregnancy. To meet production goals a cow must calve on an annual basis, but calving intervals greater than 85 days mean that the cow will not meet this goal.” The data shows that cows with higher BCSs have a shorter postpartum interval.
  3. Percent Pregnant: “The pregnancy percentage demonstrates the number of cows that became pregnant during the breeding season.” The data shows that cows with higher BCSs have a higher pregnancy percentage.
  4. Weaning Percentage: “Weaning percentage depicts the number of calves weaned out of the total number of cows exposed to breeding the prior breeding season. Calving percentage is derived from pregnancy percentage, calving percentage, and any post-calving death loss.” The data shows that cows with higher BCSs have a higher weaning percentage.
  5. Weaning Weight: “The calf body weight on the day it is weaned outcome is expressed as pounds weaned per cow exposed to breeding in the previous breeding season. This measure takes into account both successful and unsuccessful calving in the cow herd.” The data shows that cows with higher BCSs have calves with a higher weaning weight.

The majority of the data points also showed the advantages of a high BCS taper off or even decrease starting at a BCS of 7 or higher; benefits are found to be the greatest when a cow’s BCS is between 4 and 6.

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