Strict window to protect beef margins

Achieving a compact calving period of 12 weeks can have a significant impact on beef producers’ margins, according to the latest advice from EBLEX.

The organisation for beef and lamb levy payers in England has calculated that calving periods which extend beyond a dozen weeks cost producers somewhere in the region of £3.35 per day in feed costs for the empty cow and lost income from calf growth.

A compact calving period has multiple management benefits, including simpler cow and calf management, increased weaning weights, reduced production costs, fewer calf health problems and less labour required during calving, advises EBLEX.

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A strict compact calving period means the calving interval for any cow remains near the target of 365 days, said Dr Mary Vickers, a senior livestock scientist at EBLEX.

She said the length of the calving season is easily calculated by counting the number of days or weeks between the first and last calf being born and EBLEX data shows that the average calving period for lowland and Less Favoured Area suckler herds was 21 weeks, compared with the 12-week target.

Reducing a calving period from 21 to 12 weeks can increase revenue from extra weaning weight by more than £2,000 for a 50-cow herd.

Dr Vickers explained that being strict about taking the bull out of the heifer/cow groups is the key to a compact calving period. Keeping only those heifers or cows that get in-calf quickly will help breed higher levels of fertility into the breeding herd.

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Also, the aim should be to calve heifers down early in the calving period to give them slightly longer to recover after their first calving before the next breeding season, she said.

Culling those late calving cows and bringing in more heifers that calve early in the calving season is the best way to reduce the length of your calving period, Dr Vickers added.

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