The last few weeks have been tough on youngstock. They need to be doing 0.7kg LW/day to hit their targets, but as autumn has come in fast, the power in grass is less and daily gain will be back.

The only way to know how they are doing is to weigh regularly. At this stage, February-born animals should be weighing about 35% of their mature liveweight.

So if you expect them to weigh 550kg as mature cows, they should weigh 193kg today, or if they are more Holstein and their mature weight is 600kg, then they should weigh 210kg today.

Weigh all the weanling heifers and split them up based on what is above or below target weight. Work out what the average daily gain has been since last weighing.

Those under target weight will need special treatment – best-quality grass and 2kg or 3kg of meal. Those on target will need to do around 0.7kg/day to housing in late November.

Keep in mind that gain from grass only will drop as we move into autumn so some meal might be necessary. When were calves last dosed for worms?

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