When was the last time, you knew ahead of time, that your car would run into the ditch, in a blizzard? Or maybe, you absolutely knew that the Tornado warning on the radio was for a tornado that was headed directly at your home? I’m guessing these events have never occurred with certainty. That is why you may pack a survival kit in your car every winter, or why you head for the basement or some other tornado shelter, when you hear the warnings. If possible, many of us purchase insurance to protect against such unknown events. You make certain choices in life, to be prepared, just in case…….
When was the last time that you knew in February, that your newborn calves would break with scours, during a late March blizzard? When was the last time you knew in March, that Summer would bring another drought? Or, that the plentiful green grass you were counting on to put lost condition on your cows, would not be there this year. You can make certain choices in life, to be prepared, just in case…….
Is your cow herd prepared for what Mother Nature throws at them every Spring? Are they prepared for what Mother Nature may throw at them this Spring and Summer?
You may ask, “How do I prepare for the unknown threat or risk ?”
The answer is below in the Safety Pyramid of reducing hazards. Figure 1, illustrates that there could be 115,000 possible hazards, in one year, at a particular company. These unsafe acts likely lead to 11,500 close calls. These close calls translate into 1,150 recordable injuries, 115 of which are lost time injuries. On average, 115 lost time injuries can lead to 4 fatalities. Obviously the company would like to avoid the lost time injuries and fatalities, but they cannot simply zero in on them as they cannot possibly see them before they happen. Sound familiar?
What all companies do with a safety program, is target the 115,000 unsafe acts, as those ultimately lead to lost time injuries and fatalities. You work with the entire workforce, versus just the ones that may have a lost time accident or fatality.
You can apply this to your cow herd too. Look at figure 2. If you have a herd of 100 cows to be bred this Spring/Summer, you could likely have 1,000 threats to the entire herd, due to sub-optimum nutrition. That is just 10 situations per cow, that may cause her not to breed back in 1 of 3 cycles. Because of these fertility threats, perhaps half the cows do not settle in the first cycle, and half of those, miss the 2nd cycle. If half of those do not get bred after 3 breeding cycles, 12% of your herd is open. Later that summer, if nutrition is still sub-optimum, you could have 3 cows abort. Suddenly, you have 15% of your herd open. Today, that could be worth $15,000 when you sell your calves.
Again, you cannot specifically just target those 12 cows that will be open in September no more than you can identify the 3 that will abort. You have to prepare all cows for the 1,000 threats. CRYSTALYX® Brand Supplements are an easy way to affordably provide protein, trace minerals, vitamins and phosphorus in a supplement block that’s available 24/7, while minimizing your investment in time, labor and equipment. Use CRYSTALYX® Brand Supplements as insurance to maximize the breed-up on your cow herd.
