Warm winter, lack of snow cause concern

It’s a brown winter in many parts of Alberta. The warmer than usual temperatures and lack of adequate snow cover also has its benefits for livestock producers but many may need a second plan of attack says Barry Yaremcio, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development beef and forage specialist.

“It’s been easier for cows to make it through the winter on some of the lower quality forages this year but one of the things we are concerned about are producers who are feeding cows on swath grazing, or grazing on native pasture this time of the year where there is a lack of snow.” Research shows cows can survive on snow as long as the snow is loose and abundant in supply.

It should be noted that although cattle may perform satisfactorily using snow for moisture when the conditions are adequate, horses cannot survive on snow when grazing.

“With the warm temperatures a lot of the snow has either packed down or crusted over. It may appear as if there is a lot of moisture available for these cows but they can’t access the water from the snow because of the hard crust,” explains Yaremcio.

He says livestock owners need to have a second plan of attack because an alternate watering source for animals might be required.

It is not recommended right now that animals be watered directly out of dugouts for safety reasons. Yaremcio advises livestock producers to be cautious. “Warmer temperatures mean that ice conditions aren’t as strong as they would be in a cold winter.”

“Once water is removed below the ice level, the ice will tend to sag and basically form something that looks like a soup bowl. At a point in time, if the ice gets soft enough and there are enough animals on that ice, there could be a situation where the animals will drown.”