The Importance of Monitoring Beef Cattle Body Condition

Authors

David Secrist, Utah State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Factsheet

Publisher

Utah State University Extension

Publication Date

11-11-2024

First Page

1

Last Page

6

Abstract

A body condition scoring system commonly used in the U.S. is an objective effort to quantify a cow’s body condition with ratings from 1 (severely emaciated and weak) to 9 (excessively obese), resulting in a body condition score (BCS). Optimal BCS in commercial cow/calf operation is from 5 to 7, depending on the production stage, feed resources, and the animal’s age. Reproductive efficiency is critical to operational success and is closely tied to BCS. This fact sheet discusses why BCS is important and how to apply BCS to a herd effectively.

Recommended Citation

Secrist, D. (2024). The importance of monitoring beef cattle body condition [Fact sheet]. Utah State University Extension.