When Winter Hits the Herd

This Week In Ag #150

“Bring your pets indoors” public service announcements flooded the airwaves and digital platforms in much of the country this past weekend. And for good reason. Temperatures dropped well below freezing in the South, Plains and Midwest, with wind chills in the north reaching anywhere from -20 to -50 degrees, while heavy snow and ice impacted most of the country. Many dogs, cats and other fur babies aren’t equipped to handle those conditions. But what about those giant fur babies, namely cattle, who literally make their home on the range?

This is when having a built-in heating system comes in real handy. Cattle are excellent heat regulators. Their unique four-stomach anatomy, especially the rumen, acts like an internal furnace. Cattle don’t even start to feel cold until temperatures drop below 20. That said, once conditions dip below zero, extra animal husbandry is required.

Keep ‘em “fed, watered and dry” were the sage words Grandpa passed down to Dad and I. While our cows roamed the pasture, they had access to barns and shelters. This helped keep the wind and snow off them, and we bedded them down with generous amounts of straw from the wheat and oats we grew.

When temperatures drop, feed requirements rise. Cattle consume 10-25% more hay in the extreme cold. This helps provide energy and keeps that internal furnace blowing. And while water consumption drops from summer levels, momma cows can still require up to 10-12 gallons of water per day during winter conditions.

Livestock aren’t the only ones braving these savage elements. It’s true that AI, robotics, apps and other forms of modern technology are making farming less labor-intensive. But that doesn’t apply to ranching. Raising livestock still requires plenty of hands-on attention. There are no snow days for cattlemen.

Images from western lifestyle brands such as Ariat and Wrangler often romanticize working in a winter wonderland. But doing chores in ice, snow and Arctic temperatures tests your labor of love. As the saying goes:

Everybody wants to be a cowboy until it’s time to do cowboy sh!t.

Exploding trees and frostbite don’t deter them. The more extreme the conditions, the more you must check on your herd. The more you must feed them. The more you must bed them down with straw. The more you must bust ice from water tanks. If you’re calving, you may need to help dry off newborns or even assist heifers by pulling calves. Or if she’s birthing in the open pasture, you’ll need to get her and her calf to shelter.

As I write this, my wife and I are at our farm in Illinois, gazing out the window, enjoying the beautiful snow-capped view of the big red barn and rolling pasture and reminiscing about all the scenes I’ve just described. Except now, we no longer need to put on our boots, button up in Carhartt’s and cowboy up.