September 18, 2006:
Creating off-site watering systems for cattle, a beneficial management practice identified under the EFP program, could mean putting more pounds of beef on cattle.
Quentin and Anne Stevick of Pincher Creek compared the gains on four groups of cattle, all with the same genetic makeup and all on the same type of pasture. The only difference was that two groups had access to troughs holding clean, fresh water drawn from dugouts by solar pumps. The other two groups drank directly from dugouts.
"We saw an extra 50 pounds on calves that drank from troughs," says Anne Stevick. "That's roughly an extra $50 per head. Their mothers were healthier and more productive as well."