Conception Rates

In the past few years we have had trouble with conception rates in some of our younger spring-calving cows.  Some might say it was a result of different factors such as the weather or poor nutrition and others might say it was a management issue.We all know how frustrating this can be because once she doesn't breed she turns into a fall calving cow which can cost you money. Overall, I believe it is hard to pin it on one thing but from different observations I have noticed the better body condition the cow is in the more likely she is going to be bred come next calving season. According to Karla H. Jenkins, a UNL Cow/Calf, Range Management Specialist, younger cows that are considered thin or have a body condition score of less than 5 had a 36% to 66% pregnancy rate, compared to younger cows with a body condition score of 5 or higher having a 91% pregnancy rate.With all that being said, I believe is it important to feed your cows the extra protein or nutrients needed in order to maintain a better body condition score so this does not happen to you. Even though some producers consider this to be too expensive, in the long run it is actually going to save you money because those cows that aren't producing calves every spring are losing you more money than what you could put into them through feeding and maintaining the proper body condition score in order to get them to breed back.
(Body condition score chart:  CD3WD)