Anaclara Daudet and Lucas González-Chappe, Graduate Research Associates, Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University
Background
The transition period (3 weeks before to 3 weeks after calving) is the most challenging stage of the dairy cow’s production cycle. During this period, cows decrease dry matter intake (DMI), while energy requirements increase sharply due to the onset lactation, resulting in negative nutrient balance (Drackley, 1999). To compensate for this nutrient deficit and sustain productivity, cows mobilize body fat, muscle, and bone reserves during early lactation, and this could result in body condition score (BCS) losses (Schröder & Staufenbiel, 2006). Interestingly, Carvalho et al. (2014) showed that not all cows experience detectable BCS loss during the transition period; however, cows that maintained or gained BCS produced less milk during early lactation. Conversely, greater BCS loss was associated with increased early milk yield, but excessive losses were linked to impaired metabolic status, health, and reproductive performance.
Monitoring BCS is a practical and simple way to assess body reserves. Interestingly, cows with similar body weight can differ in body energy reserves (Roche et al., 2009). For example, Andrew et al. (1994) reported that cows with similar body weight (BW) but at different stages of lactation (early vs late lactation) differed substantially in body fat as a proportion of empty BW (10.7 vs 16.3%, respectively), representing more than a 50% relative difference in adipose tissue reserves. Consequently, BCS provides a useful tool to identify cows that are gaining or losing excessive condition and can help predict future risks for health and reproductive performance (Roche et al., 2009).
Although several body condition scoring systems have been developed and applied worldwide, the 5-point scale is the most commonly used system in the United States and worldwide, where a score of 1 represents severely underconditioned cows and a score of 5 represents obese cows (Schröder & Staufenbiel, 2006). Key areas to observe and determine BCS, are short ribs, tail head, hooks and pins of pelvis, long ribs, backbone, and rump (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Body condition score (5-point scale) for dairy cattle. (Adapted from International Embryo Technology School, 2022).
Changes in body condition throughout lactation generally follow a pattern that mirrors the lactation curve (Figure 2) (Roche et al., 2007; Klopčič et al., 2011). During early lactation, cows may lose some body condition as body reserves are mobilized to support milk production. After peak milk yield, cows begin to regain condition as nutrient intake meets or exceeds nutrient requirements. However, during the last third of lactation and the early dry period, cows may become over-conditioned if diets are not adjusted to match declining milk production and lower nutrient requirements. Excessive body condition at dry-off has been associated with reduced DMI, a more prolonged negative energy balance in the subsequent lactation, and an increased risk of metabolic and reproductive disorders (Overton and Waldron, 2004; Goff, 2006). In a recent study, Cunha et al. (2025) evaluated the effects of feeding cows either a high-energy (HE; 1.74 Mcal NEL/kg DM) or low-energy (LE; 1.50 Mcal NEL/kg DM) diet during the last 160 days of lactation. After dry-off, all cows were managed similarly. Cows fed the HE diets finished lactation with greater BCS (3.69 ± 0.08) compared with LE cows (3.25 ± 0.05). Consequently, HE cows entered the dry period over-conditioned, which resulted in reduced DMI during both the prepartum and postpartum periods.
These results reinforce two key concepts. First, late lactation is a critical window to manage BCS. Second, over-conditioned cows exhibit lower feed intake during the transition period, which may compromise metabolic adaptation to early lactation. In contrast, cows fed the LE diet increased BCS during the dry period, suggesting a compensatory gain in body reserves. This response may indicate the existence of a biological regulation of body condition (i.e., a potential “BCS set point”), although this mechanism requires further investigation. Overall, these findings support the idea that maintaining cows at a moderate BCS at dry-off may optimize intake and metabolic adaptation during the transition period.
Figure 2. Relationship between body condition score, milk yield, and feed intake across lactation
Proper nutritional management and routine BCS monitoring during lactation and the dry-off period can help to prevent over-conditioning and to prepare cows for a healthy dry period and a successful subsequent lactation. However, it is important to acknowledge that changes in BCS are also influenced by other cow-level factors, such as parity, breed or genetic merit (Roche et al., 2009); therefore, individual variation among cows within the same herd is expected and should be considered when interpreting BCS data.
BCS Across Lactation and Dry Period
During early lactation, recent evidence suggests that cows should not lose more than 0.25 to 0.5 units of BCS (Krogstad and Bradford, 2025). Losses greater than 0.75 units of BCS are associated with an increased risk of culling, whereas even moderate losses (≥0.375 BCS) have been linked to a higher risk of pregnancy loss and may negatively affect reproductive performance and health (Krogstad and Bradford, 2025). Mid- and late lactation represent a critical window to restore body condition before cows enter the dry period. Both inadequate and excessive BCS at the end of lactation can negatively affect productive and reproductive performance in the subsequent lactation.
Interestingly, the high-fertility cycle described by Middleton et al. (2019) highlights the close relationship between reproductive performance and body condition dynamics across lactations. Cows with poor reproductive performance tend to have extended lactations, which increases the likelihood of over-conditioning, leading to greater BCS at dry-off, reduced DMI during the transition period, and impaired reproductive performance in the subsequent lactation. Taken together, these findings, along with results from Cunha et al. (2025) emphasize that mid- to late-lactation is a key opportunity to manage nutritional strategies aimed at achieving an optimal BCS at dry-off, thereby improving intake, metabolic adaptation, health, and reproductive performance in the next lactation.
The recommended target BCS at dry-off is 3.0 to 3.5 on a 5-point scale (Table 1). Cows entering the dry period with lower body condition may lack sufficient energy reserves to support early lactation demands, which has been associated with reduced milk production and persistence in some studies (Roche et al., 2009; Carvalho et al., 2014). Conversely, cows with a BCS above 3.5 at dry-off consistently exhibit lower DMI after calving, an increased risk of metabolic disorders due to excessive lipid mobilization, and lower fertility in the subsequent lactation (Roche et al., 2009; Overton and Waldron, 2004). Achieving optimal BCS at dry-off requires appropriate nutritional management throughout the entire lactation.
Table 1. Recommended body condition scores for Holstein Friesian and Jersey cows.
| Stage of Lactation | Target BCS |
| At calving | 3.0 - 3.5 |
| During breeding period | 3.0 |
| Drying off | 3.0 - 3.5 |
How to Reach and Maintain the Target BCS?
First. Routine BCS monitoring
Implement a structured and proactive BCS monitoring program throughout the lactation cycle. Establishing a routine of BCS assessments at dry-off, at calving, and 1st breeding allows continuous tracking of body condition changes at critical points of lactation that supports timely decision-making.
This approach enables the identification of different situations, such as cows losing more than one BCS unit during early lactation, which would indicate the need for adjustments in late lactation, transition, or early-lactation nutritional programs.
Overall, this systematic monitoring strategy facilitates early detection of excessive body condition loss or gain and supports timely nutritional and management interventions with minimal labor investment.
Second. Nutritional strategies
- Energy density
As milk production declines during late lactation, energy requirements decrease accordingly. Therefore, it is essential to adjust dietary energy density, particularly in high-producing herds where late-lactation diets often remain excessively energy-dense. Failure to reduce energy density during this stage can result in excessive body condition gain and increased metabolic risk in the subsequent lactation. Nutritional strategies to moderate energy density include reducing the proportion of rapidly fermentable carbohydrates (e.g., starch), avoiding unnecessary supplementation with dietary fat, and increasing the proportion of forage-based fiber.
- Nutrient formulation
Based on nutritional recommendations and farm-specific conditions, diets can be formulated either to promote milk production or to support body reserve replenishment in mid- to late-lactation cows. Increasing dietary starch concentration in late lactation generally favors energy partitioning toward body tissue accretion, whereas modifying carbohydrate sources can redirect energy toward milk synthesis. For example, replacing barley grain with beet pulp, a highly digestible fiber source, has been shown to increase the proportion of energy partitioned to milk while reducing energy retained as body reserves (Mahjoubi et al., 2009). These findings highlight that nutritional strategies beyond simple adjustments in energy density should be considered when managing body condition. Similarly, a study by Boerman et al. (2015) comparing lipogenic and glucogenic diets showed differences in energy partitioning. For instance, a lipogenic diet (high-forage with added fat) compared with an isocaloric glucogenic diet (high-starch) in high-producing, mid-lactation dairy cows, resulted in greater milk fat yield and increased energy partitioning toward milk energy. In contrast, cows fed the high-starch diet showed greater BW and adipose tissue deposition.
When supplementing dietary fat, however, several factors must be considered, including fatty acid profile, supplementation objective, and stage of lactation. Studies evaluating fat supplementation with varying proportions of palmitic (C16:0) and stearic (C18:0) acids have shown that increasing the proportion of C16:0 generally improves productive responses, increasing milk energy output, and energy-corrected milk and milk fat yields (Western et al., 2020; Bales et al., 2024). However, responses may vary depending on production level. Additionally, C16:0 supplementation has been shown to increase energy partitioning to milk rather than body reserves compared with control diet, although this effect interacts with parity, as greater energy-corrected milk responses have been observed in multiparous cows than in primiparous cows (de Souza and Lock, 2018).
- Fiber intake
Strategic allocation of forage quality within the farm—reserving higher-quality forages for early-lactation cows and allocating lower-quality forages to late-lactation cows—can help sustain milk production in early lactation while preventing excessive body condition gain during late lactation. This approach supports adequate DMI and contributes to more stable body condition dynamics across the lactation cycle.
Grouping of Cows
When possible, grouping cows according to production level and stage of lactation (e.g., peak lactation, mid-lactation, late lactation, and low-producing cows) facilitates the delivery of diets that better match physiological requirements. Proper grouping improves nutrient-use efficiency and decreases nutrient wastage and emission to the environment, improves herd distribution of BCS and herd health, and reduces feed costs, improving production and economic efficiency (Cabrera and Kalantari, 2016).
Take-home Messages
- Cows should enter the dry period with a body condition score (BCS) of 3.0 to 3.5.
- During the dry period, the goal is to maintain body condition, avoiding both weight gain and excessive weight loss.
- In early lactation, it is normal for cows to lose some body condition (about 0.25 to 0.5 BCS units).
- Regular BCS monitoring throughout the lactation cycle helps identify problems early and allows timely nutrition and management adjustments.
References
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