Spring calving got under way back in early March and, generally speaking, we have had a positive experience calving this year, after the problems encountered with cows aborting in late pregnancy last year.
We had 75 cows to calve and, to date, 65 animals had calved by the start of this week. After accounting for a couple of losses, we have 64 cows and 65 calves at grass.
We lost two calves in the past week. Both were born unassisted and died from ruptured navels.
We managed to foster a calf onto one of these cows, but decided against fostering a calf on the other cow. She is an older animal and in great body condition, so she will be fattened instead.
Injured stock bull
We still have 10 cows left to calve, and going by scanning dates these animals should be finished by 8 June. This means a calving period of 15 weeks, which is longer than we would like.
Our target was to have spring calving finished by early May, but we encountered a few issues during the breeding period last summer.
Last July, our Simmental stock bull had to be culled because of an injury. Another Simmental bull was sourced to cover the cows which had not been served at this point.
Unfortunately, there was a period of nine days from removing the original bull until sourcing his replacement and this has ultimately impacted on our current calving pattern.
Positives
While calving will run on longer than intended, there is a positive to be found. All cows will finish calving at least one month earlier than last year, so there is progress being made.
I would like to build on this for next year, and try and pull cows forward another month into early May.
Stock bulls went out with the cows at the weekend. The cows are running in two breeding groups, each with 25 animals.
Group size will increase over the coming week, as the cows that calved inside the past fortnight are being grazed separately beside the yard, for closer supervision. These animals will join the breeding groups in the coming week.
Cows are being served by our Limousin stock bull and a new Angus stock bull.
The Angus bull was bought to replace the Simmental from last year, as the replacement bull we sourced was hired in.
The new bull is called Kiltariff Lord Tiberius and has EBVs for milk in the top 20% of the breed, with carcase traits in the top 25% of the breed.
Hopefully, this new bull will bring hybrid vigour into the herd and improve maternal traits.
Also, as we finish male calves as young bulls, a Limousin and Angus-cross animal should be easier to finish in terms of fat cover, compared with a pure Limousin.
Bull power
Along with the cows, I have 12 maiden heifers running with a new Stabiliser bull since 18 May. In the past couple of years, I have used a synchronisation programme and AI to serve replacements.
However, results have generally been poor. So this year, we decided to purchase a stock bull to run with the heifers.
This animal will also be held in reserve in case there are any problems with either the Angus or Limousin bulls.
Having three stock bulls also gives us the option to run slightly smaller breeding groups. This should help to get cows served in a shorter timeframe, thereby tightening the calving period for next year.
Scanning
Our plans are to run all three bulls over the summer. Cows will be scanned in early autumn and any empty ones will be fattened.
In-calf heifers were purchased last year to replace late-calving cows. A similar tactic may be used this year to tighten the calving period to 12 weeks.
Any cow that is in-calf at scanning, but calving later than our target of early May will be sold. These animals will be replaced with in-calf heifers scanned to calve in March. Our target is to calve 75 cows again next spring.
Bull beef coming ready for slaughter
We have 33 bulls being intensively fed for slaughter. They were weighed on 5 May and 80% weighed between 580kg and 600kg.
Our target is to get bulls to 680kg before drafting for slaughter.
This should give a carcase weight of approximately 420kg.
Bulls could be killed at a lighter weight. However, as our cattle are purebred Limousin animals, getting bulls to an adequate fat cover at a younger age has always been challenging.
Bulls are currently on ad-lib feeding of a high maize finishing ration, plus straw.
Protein levels in the blend are 12.5% to try and get fat cover on animals. Hopefully, the Angus and Stabiliser bulls will help to improve fat cover on young bulls in the future.
I reckon that the first draft of animals will be approximately three weeks away. Unfortunately, with some cows calving last July, there are a few lighter bulls that will not be ready to kill until late summer.
This is uneconomical for a bull-beef system, as late-born animals require higher levels of concentrate feeding in their lifetime. This is why it’s vital we tighten the calving pattern.
First-cut silage
We harvested 55 acres of first-cut silage on Tuesday of this week. With an unsettled weather forecast, we were unsure of whether or not silage would be lifted. But we went ahead and I am glad that we did.
Silage was mowed in the morning and lifted that evening. While it did not get to wilt for 24 hours, there was great drying during the day and we are pleased that grass was harvested dry and before it went to seed.
After harvesting, slurry and fertiliser will be applied immediately to 39 acres, which will then be closed off for a second cut. The other 16 acres will be split into five paddocks and join the grazing platform, as demand will be on the rise once all cows are at grass.
Spring calving got under way back in early March and, generally speaking, we have had a positive experience calving this year, after the problems encountered with cows aborting in late pregnancy last year.
We had 75 cows to calve and, to date, 65 animals had calved by the start of this week. After accounting for a couple of losses, we have 64 cows and 65 calves at grass.
We lost two calves in the past week. Both were born unassisted and died from ruptured navels.
We managed to foster a calf onto one of these cows, but decided against fostering a calf on the other cow. She is an older animal and in great body condition, so she will be fattened instead.
Injured stock bull
We still have 10 cows left to calve, and going by scanning dates these animals should be finished by 8 June. This means a calving period of 15 weeks, which is longer than we would like.
Our target was to have spring calving finished by early May, but we encountered a few issues during the breeding period last summer.
Last July, our Simmental stock bull had to be culled because of an injury. Another Simmental bull was sourced to cover the cows which had not been served at this point.
Unfortunately, there was a period of nine days from removing the original bull until sourcing his replacement and this has ultimately impacted on our current calving pattern.
Positives
While calving will run on longer than intended, there is a positive to be found. All cows will finish calving at least one month earlier than last year, so there is progress being made.
I would like to build on this for next year, and try and pull cows forward another month into early May.
Stock bulls went out with the cows at the weekend. The cows are running in two breeding groups, each with 25 animals.
Group size will increase over the coming week, as the cows that calved inside the past fortnight are being grazed separately beside the yard, for closer supervision. These animals will join the breeding groups in the coming week.
Cows are being served by our Limousin stock bull and a new Angus stock bull.
The Angus bull was bought to replace the Simmental from last year, as the replacement bull we sourced was hired in.
The new bull is called Kiltariff Lord Tiberius and has EBVs for milk in the top 20% of the breed, with carcase traits in the top 25% of the breed.
Hopefully, this new bull will bring hybrid vigour into the herd and improve maternal traits.
Also, as we finish male calves as young bulls, a Limousin and Angus-cross animal should be easier to finish in terms of fat cover, compared with a pure Limousin.
Bull power
Along with the cows, I have 12 maiden heifers running with a new Stabiliser bull since 18 May. In the past couple of years, I have used a synchronisation programme and AI to serve replacements.
However, results have generally been poor. So this year, we decided to purchase a stock bull to run with the heifers.
This animal will also be held in reserve in case there are any problems with either the Angus or Limousin bulls.
Having three stock bulls also gives us the option to run slightly smaller breeding groups. This should help to get cows served in a shorter timeframe, thereby tightening the calving period for next year.
Scanning
Our plans are to run all three bulls over the summer. Cows will be scanned in early autumn and any empty ones will be fattened.
In-calf heifers were purchased last year to replace late-calving cows. A similar tactic may be used this year to tighten the calving period to 12 weeks.
Any cow that is in-calf at scanning, but calving later than our target of early May will be sold. These animals will be replaced with in-calf heifers scanned to calve in March. Our target is to calve 75 cows again next spring.
Bull beef coming ready for slaughter
We have 33 bulls being intensively fed for slaughter. They were weighed on 5 May and 80% weighed between 580kg and 600kg.
Our target is to get bulls to 680kg before drafting for slaughter.
This should give a carcase weight of approximately 420kg.
Bulls could be killed at a lighter weight. However, as our cattle are purebred Limousin animals, getting bulls to an adequate fat cover at a younger age has always been challenging.
Bulls are currently on ad-lib feeding of a high maize finishing ration, plus straw.
Protein levels in the blend are 12.5% to try and get fat cover on animals. Hopefully, the Angus and Stabiliser bulls will help to improve fat cover on young bulls in the future.
I reckon that the first draft of animals will be approximately three weeks away. Unfortunately, with some cows calving last July, there are a few lighter bulls that will not be ready to kill until late summer.
This is uneconomical for a bull-beef system, as late-born animals require higher levels of concentrate feeding in their lifetime. This is why it’s vital we tighten the calving pattern.
First-cut silage
We harvested 55 acres of first-cut silage on Tuesday of this week. With an unsettled weather forecast, we were unsure of whether or not silage would be lifted. But we went ahead and I am glad that we did.
Silage was mowed in the morning and lifted that evening. While it did not get to wilt for 24 hours, there was great drying during the day and we are pleased that grass was harvested dry and before it went to seed.
After harvesting, slurry and fertiliser will be applied immediately to 39 acres, which will then be closed off for a second cut. The other 16 acres will be split into five paddocks and join the grazing platform, as demand will be on the rise once all cows are at grass.
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