According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 28 percent of all calf deaths before weaning are due to birth-related problems. Therefore, managing females to calve with minimal difficulty is extremely important. A topic that is often discussed in cattle production is whether or not the level of nutrition given to a pregnant female late in gestation affects birth weight and calving difficulty (dystocia). Many producers worry that providing good nutrition to a pregnant female — especially heifers — increases birth weight of the calf and, subsequently, dystocia. However, providing inadequate nutrition can have long-term effects on pregnancy rates and profitability. This is a topic that has been very well researched over the past several decades. Read more at Noble.org…