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“There is a definite advantage of selling fall-born calves in the spring and
early summer."
Kevin Laurent
UK Extension Animal Sciences Associate
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By Laura Skillman
PRINCETON, Ky., (Sept. 30, 2005) – In some areas of Kentucky, cattle producers
are showing a growing interest in switching to or adding a fall calving season
to their beef cattle operation.
Traditionally, Kentucky cattlemen have used spring for calving, with cattle
sometimes giving birth in less than desirable weather conditions. With the
increased interest in fall calving, researchers at the University of Kentucky
College of Agriculture underwent a multiyear project looking at the advantages
and disadvantages of both systems.
“Logically, you can see some advantages to fall calving, and better weather
conditions is what attracts most people,” said Kevin Laurent, UK Extension
animal sciences associate. “Especially, if you’ve been through a wet, cold
February and March resulting in a round of bad spring calving, then September
and October look attractive.”
Additionally, a producer can breed cattle grazing stockpiled fescue in November
and December when the forage is at its nutritional peak. Fescue is again in a
growth cycle from April to June, coinciding with the peak cattle inventory for
fall calving herds in terms of number and size of animals.
Historical data also give a marketing advantage to fall-born calves.
“There is a definite advantage of selling fall-born calves in the spring and
early summer,” Laurent said. “That’s partly because most producers calve in the
spring, which means a larger number of calves are for sale in the fall.”
A disadvantage of fall calving is a producer will need to provide supplemental
feed for the calves in the winter. No matter the forage program a producer has,
January through March are difficult times for livestock and the calves are going
to need more than just their mother’s milk to thrive.
Feed consumption will also be higher in a fall calving system because a nursing
cow in a cold environment is going to consume more feed.
To compare the two calving systems, UK researchers studied four tests of 20 cows
each for three years. There were two groups each of fall calving cows and spring
calving cows, with one group of each on low endophyte fescue and one on high
endophyte fescue. Sept. 15 to Nov. 15 were the fall calving dates and Feb. 15 to
April 15 were spring calving dates. Winter feeding programs consisted of
stockpiled fescue and hay from November to January. From February through April,
every cow received 50 pounds of corn silage with no additional feed for the
calves.
There was no difference in pregnancy rates between groups, but actual weaning
weights for spring-born calves were 20 pounds heavier. Winter hay costs were
nearly double for fall herds. But, calf mortality rates were 1.8 percent in fall
compared to 6.8 percent in spring.
“Basically, on pregnancy rates the jury is still out,” Laurent said. “Weaning
weight advantage is to spring, feed costs advantage is to spring. Calf mortality
is a huge advantage to fall due basically to better weather conditions. Fall
also has the marketing advantage with calves selling some 5- to 6-percent higher
than the spring-born calves.
Based on the UK trials, a preliminary economic analysis shows that a producer
can net approximately $20 more per calf by calving in the fall.
Laurent said there are not a lot of advantages one way or the other, and the
decision boils down to personal choice.
“The No. 1 factor to consider during the calving season is labor,” he said. “If
you work off the farm and can’t be there when weather conditions are poor and
cattle are calving, then that’s an issue. On the other hand, if you are a grain
farmer, September and October are your busiest times, and you may hardly have
time to even drive through the pasture to see what’s happening in your herd.”
Fall calving requires a good forage program. If a producer doesn’t have an
above- average forage program or silage, he may not want to calve in the fall.
In addition, there are some good, inexpensive feedstuffs such as grain
byproducts (e.g., soyhulls, corn gluten, distillers grains) that can be used to
creep feed calves from January through March. But if a producer doesn’t want to
deal with this extra labor, especially in muddy conditions, then they might not
want to fall calve.
UK researchers are planning a follow-up study with less reliance on silage and
more on forages, including warm-season grasses, Laurent said.
Writer: Laura Skillman
270-365-7541 ext. 278
Contact: Kevin Laurent,
270-365-7541 ext. 226
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