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BeefUP - Calving Strategies for Market Advantages

Olivia Amundson

Summary

Cows that calve on time are the number one predictor that cattle within that operation fit the managerial program. Furthermore, calf crops uniform in size and age have market advantages and exceed returns over calves that lack uniformity in both age and weight. Management decisions made prior to the first calf hitting the ground can have significant impact on the following breeding and calving season. These management decisions can have a large impact on lifetime productivity of the cow. The program utilizes a Calving Distribution Calculator excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet can calculate calving distribution between cow and heifer herds. In the spreadsheet, calving distribution and percentage of the herd calving is calculated by entering start of calving and number of calves born on a specific calving day. Current herd economics are calculated along with 21-day interval improvement options. Utilizing individual herd data in the calculator allows a producer to evaluate herd dynamics while identifying potential improvements that could be made through management decisions. The educational effort of “BeefUP – Calving Strategies for Market Advantages” addressed production, marketing, and financial risk management. A four-week webinar series covered production cycle areas of late gestation, calving to breeding, breeding to weaning, and weaning to late gestation. Topics within each production cycle discussed reproduction, nutrition, health, and economics. Evaluation of the program was conducted through a survey, with results being analyzed currently. The Calving Distribution Calculator along with other management decision tools were incorporated into the webinar series to assist participants in making management decisions.

Details

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