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The average calving interval for the national beef herd has increased by two days from 394 days in 2017 to 396 days in 2018.
Figures published by ICBF complied from 2018 calving reports show it is the second year in a row that the calving interval has slipped by two days.
The top 15% of herds, according to ICBF, had a calving interval of 355 days, almost six weeks shorter than the national average. Commenting on the figures, ICBF said the year-on-year disimprovement to most KPIs meant “it is important to focus on improving the fertility of the national herd”.
Although the year-on-year data, measured from July of the previous year to June of the current year, shows a negative trend the average of the last three years (2016 to 2018) is four days shorter than the previous three-year average (2013 to 2015).
Heifers
The percentage of heifers calved at 22 to 26 months also declined by 2%.
In 2017, 25% of heifers calved within the age range but this declined to 23% in 2018. This is the first decline in the figure in the last five years which has been steadily rising from 17% in 2014.
For 2018, the calves-per-cow figure was 0.85, while the cows culled figure rose by 2% to 19%. The average number of calvings per cow remains at 4.4 while the percentage of AI-bred calves has also remained steady at 16%.
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