CALF_News_April_May_2021

19 CALF News • April | May 2021 • www.calfnews.net One of the later discoveries in Hunger Winter babies is an accelerated aging of the brain. Studies of these people will no doubt continue through the remainder of their lifetimes and have spawned a whole new nutritional science called fetal programming. Agricultural universities have jumped on the wagon. Fetal Programming in Cattle In order to know the nutrient require- ments of unborn calves, we must first become aware of the normal develop- mental sequence and time frames during gestation. The early phase of fetal development includes placental growth, the majority of calf organs and most blood vessels. Therefore, restricted feed intake during this part of pregnancy will negatively affect placental formation and calf organ development. Publications from North Carolina Extension explain further that nega- tive impacts on any part of a fetus due to nutritional stress can follow that calf throughout his life. Mid and Late Gestation Things really start to gear up three to six months into gestation. About 75 percent of a calf ’s body weight is gained at this time. Muscle formation is divided into two waves of muscle fiber synthesis. The first wave begins at mid-gestation, and the second occurs during the last trimester (Du et al., 2010). Late gestation is probably the most important in terms of nutritional cow intake, obviously because of the matur- ing calf ’s body weight. Along with the second wave of muscle tissue, adipose tissue (fat) deposits begin, enabling the youngsters to endure cold weather. Interestingly, this stage of develop- ment also directly affects intramuscular fat (marbling) in a mature, market-ready beef animal. Calves stressed by his dam’s depleted nutrient intake will be com- promised not only in marbling score, but muscle development and growth performance as well. University of Nebraska studies (Stalker et al., 2006, 2007; Larson et al., 2009), strongly indicate the need for protein supplementation to cows during late ges- tation to maximize offspring performance. The practice of fetal programming is most important when pregnant cows are grazed on crop residue, unimproved pastures or overgrazed areas. Forage quality is easily compromised with seasonal maturity of plants, drought or mismanagement. Close attention and proper nutrition of the herd must be maintained to avoid the stress of nutri- ent restriction. Additional factors such as age of cow or multiple fetuses will further complicate matters. Additionally, cows calving with a low body condition score will suffer poor reproductive per- formance and reduced milk production as a result. Usually, animal research and techno- logical advancements lead to the subse- quent improvement of human medicine and nutrition. This time, it is the other way around. The unfortunate circum- stances of war and deprivation spawned a new science that will hopefully benefit us all in many ways.  The Sky is the Limit The future is a connected market. An installed base of Allflex panel readers, handheld devices and paired visual and EID tags is an ecosystem of opportunity for you. Our Digital ID products connect thousands of ranches, feed yards and beef processors. Save time and money in feedlot operations. Gain on opportunities in your supply chains. Deliver data on program cattle. Verify specifications and prove the value of load lots. At Allflex® we help you bring it all together. www.allflexusa.com