A significant percentage of NSW beef breeding herds calve in spring, which means that at present most cows are dry.

Because they are not lactating and their feed requirements are much lower it is easy to forget about them at this time of the year.

But that should not be the case.

Managing the condition (measured in fat scores) of your breeding cows during the next few months is a more important task than you may think, because it is critical to make sure they calve in the optimum fat score.

Cows which calve in a fat score of less than three have a significantly lower chance of becoming pregnant again within three months of calving (and hence will not calve at the same time the following year).

Research shows one third of cows which calve in fat score 1-2 will not cycle within 90 days of calving, but 90 per cent of cows calving at fat score 3-4 will.

Frosted, carry-over, summer-grown feed or drought-induced feed shortages mean that many cows would be receiving barely a maintenance diet.

Cows metabolise body fat to compensate for this dietary shortage.

Managing body condition loss of one fat score between calving and joining is acceptable as long as your cows calve in fat score 3-4.

If the loss is more than this, calving interval will be extended or the cow may miss calving.

Among the things you can do are:

• Most importantly, monitor the condition of your breeding herd and do not wait until the cows have fallen to the critical fat score two levels;
• Draft cows into management groups based on fat score.
• Wean/sell any late calves from last season;
• Put calved cows on the best feed available;
• Use supplementary feed;
• Early wean calves from low condition cows