Much of Cow Country USA is still dealing with severe drought conditions. For most cow-calf producers, drought is a normal part of business. It will come and it will go – and it will come back again. We just need to learn how to deal with it.
Are some cows more drought tolerant than others? Absolutely! If you have ever been through a drought, it should have been very obvious that not all cows are created equal. Some cows are able to do much more with much less. The primary difference between those cows and their herd mates is their ability to maintain good body condition with minimum feed resources.
Do drought-tolerant cows come in all shapes and sizes? No! The most drought-tolerant cows are thick, easy-fleshing, low-maintenance, 3 to 4-frame cows that weigh 1100 to 1250 pounds. Even during extreme drought conditions, these cows are able to meet their maintenance requirements, raise a calf and get bred.
Hidden Opportunity… This drought, along with record-high cattle prices, is providing you with a great opportunity to make the transition from high-input Diesel Cows to low-input Solar Cows that can increase pounds and profit per acre – in good times and in not-so-good times.
Sell your big, hard-keeping cows for ridiculously high prices – and breed your remaining cows to PCC® Solar Bulls. Before you know it, you will have a herd of low-input, drought-tolerant cows.
NOTE: If you are dealing with drought and if you have not yet listened to our roundtable discussion on Dealing With Drought, we encourage you to do so.