UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Many areas of Pennsylvania are experiencing drought or near-drought conditions. While dry conditions can make humans uncomfortable, they can pose a more serious threat to livestock on farms.

"Beef herds can be severely affected by drought at this time of year," says John Comerford, associate professor of animal science in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. "Beef producers need to consider certain management practices during periods of drought and short feed supply."

Comerford offers the following suggestions for producers concerned about the impact of drought on their animals and their farm profitability.

--Be sure plenty of fresh water is available to the herd at all times.

--Be sure there are enough bulls available to service the cow herd. "Droughts can hamper a herd's reproductive management because of the combination of high temperatures and lack of rainfall during the prime breeding season for spring-calving cows," Comerford says. "In fact, it wouldn't hurt if there were a few extra bulls on hand."

Yearling bulls could become overtaxed with more than 15 cows in the breeding group under drought conditions, he explains. "That figure rises to 25 cows for a two-year-old bull and 30 to 35 cows for a mature bull." Semen content and quality can be affected by this kind of weather, which may mean extended calving seasons and delayed rebreeding.

--Provide correct mineral supplementation for the cow herd. "Salt, calcium and phosphorus will be most important," Comerford says.

--Consider weaning the oldest calves immediately. "Weaning calves takes the pressure off of depleted pastures," Comerford says. About 1 pound of a soybean meal-equivalent protein supplement will be needed for calves of this age. Cows with weaned calves also will need energy and little protein at this time. "Their lactation is about over, but they need energy to cycle in time to be rebred for next year," Comerford notes.

"Determine the amount of energy supplement needed by the availability of pasture or the energy value of stored forages," Comerford says. "Corn is relatively cheap right now as a source of energy for both cows and calves. Supplementing poor quality forages with corn may be the most economical feed for cows whose calves have been weaned, or for calves that have no pasture available." Calves can be removed from the pasture, but will need about 1 percent of their body weight daily of a grain mix plus hay to maintain comparable growth rates to nursing cows on pasture.

--Check the cow herd for pregnancy 60 to 75 days after the breeding season to determine how severely the weather affected breeding. "It's possible that fewer cows than normal will be bred, so you'll have to decide early whether to winter non-productive cows," Comerford says.

--When it does rain, rotate the cows on the pastures as much as possible to take advantage of available grass.

For more information about livestock management during a drought, contact the Penn State Cooperative Extension office in your county.

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EDITORS: For more information, contact John Comerford at 814-863-3661.

Contacts: Gary Abdullah gxa2@psu.edu 814-863-2708 814-865-1068 fax