ABSTRACT
This chapter winter discusses weather, cattle performance and prices as background and examines the various facets of this situation more closely. Severity of the winter weather greatly affects the price of cattle in the US during the first and second quarter of each year. The immediate effect can be the psychological stress and the physical stress. The psychological stress is partially due to the discomfort that cattle experience with blowing snow forcing them to turn away from the wind and huddle together for warmth. Observers of cattle in these conditions conclude that cattle with a good winter hair coat actually enjoy this weather. The amount of feed that an animal will eat in a day is influenced by the length of the day. As the days get shorter in the fall, cattle will eat more, evidently to store up energy for the cold weather. Adverse winter weather causes many problems in the production and distribution of beef and other meats.
