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Out-wintering dairy cattle a popular choice

A dairy scientist says out-wintering cattle is gaining in popularity as producers look to reduce costs.

Brad Heins with the University of Minnesota tells Brownfield barns can be expensive to maintain, especially during the winter.

“We don’t necessarily have any barns for cattle to go in (with this system), but we use either man-made windbreaks or natural windbreaks to protect the cattle from outside.”

He says weather is obviously the biggest challenge, so maintaining the body condition score of cattle using proper amounts of energy and feed is important.

Providing effective shelter is also crucial.

“You can use natural windbreaks like trees, but a lot of farmers have made windbreaks themselves out of many different materials.  Some use older machinery for windbreaks.  There are a lot of different options that you can use.”

Heins says out-wintering is a logical choice for beginning dairy farmers because the system does not require as much capital investment.