ECONOMIC-IMPACT OF BODY CONDITION ON COW CALF OPERATIONS/

The objective of this study was to evaluate the economic performance o f different body condition groups in order to demonstrate the importan ce of body condition scoring in cow/calf operations. Body condition sc oring was applied every six weeks over the period of a whole year. The cows (n=266) were divided into three body condition groups according to three body condition at calving: group 1: low body condition (BCS < 3,0), group 2: adequate body condition (BCS 3,0-4,0), group 3: high b ody condition(BCS > 4,0). The cow performance was defined by foul para meters: pregnancy rate, calf survivability rate, calculated 205 day we aning weight and achieved price per kilogram weaning weight. The calcu lation was performed by multiplication of the four parameters. the res ults of the calculations underlined the performance losses due to subo ptimal body condition found in the literature. In comparison to refere nce values our data ta demonstrate, that consider able losses can be a voided by improving the body condition scores of the dam. In addition to optimized feeding strategies, herd management plays a paramount rol e in this improvement. By means of a sensitivity analysis, pregnancy r ate was determined to have the highest economic impact on cow/calf ope rations.