Percentages

[flyingS]

I have had a thought in my mind since I attended the Ranching for Profit School. What do most of you consider acceptable percentages. Do you measure calving percentages with cows exposed or cows called pregnant in the fall. I would say pregnant cows in the fall with 5% loss during calving being alright. Weaning percentage I would say should be at least 93% on mature cows. Preg rate on mature cows I think should be between 93% and 96%. Death loss on mature cow herd should not be more than 1% probably more like .5%. Are these reasonable goals? What do most of you expect.

[Grassfarmer]

I think your goals are reasonable - certainly very similar to what we achieve.

[Big Swede]

Those are reasonable goals flying S. However since we went to summer calving that 5% death loss at calving has dropped considerably. I was talking to my insurance agent last week and he said one ranch up north lost 250 calves last spring because they drifted into a draw and got covered up.

[flyingS]

Big Swede, I calved April calvers and a set of May calvers before I came here. It has been really tough adjusting to this fall calving system. Out of 580 mature April calvers we would wean 96% to 98% of calves out of cows called pregnant in the fall and cows bred back consistently at 96%. As you have already found out those are only a few of the advantages. I won't even go into feed cost and labor. The calves still weighed 465 lbs around the 15th of Sept. I am with you all the way on a later calving date. I would like to try a set of June calvers here. I think we could still accomplish our goals.

[Big Swede]

I agree with you. With your limited feed resources I bet the May June calving would be a better fit. Wean early, get those cows fat before winter and save some feed.

Do they still have the talking behind your back session at the Ranching for Profit school? That was one of my favorite parts of the whole thing. People look at your operation, how you do things at home, then you have to sit there with your back to the group and they get to critique how you do things. We think we know best how to do things but someone looking over the fence can spot some things that could be done better that we can't see. You do have to have an open mind to listen though.

[Justin]

[quote="Big Swede"]I agree with you. With your limited feed resources I bet the May June calving would be a better fit. Wean early, get those cows fat before winter and save some feed.

Do they still have the talking behind your back session at the Ranching for Profit school? That was one of my favorite parts of the whole thing. People look at your operation, how you do things at home, then you have to sit there with your back to the group and they get to critique how you do things. We think we know best how to do things but someone looking over the fence can spot some things that could be done better that we can't see. You do have to have an open mind to listen though.[/quote]

i'm not sure if that would be fun or not

[flyingS]

They sure do Big Swede. It can be a real eye opener. I also made some friends that are pretty local. We have been trying to get together and go over what we have all been working on. These people have helped keep me on track.

[Big Swede]

Trust me Justin, it is a real eye opener. The people critiquing your operation don't know or care if that's the way you've always done things, if something you are doing doesn't make sense you will be called on it. It's a great exercise to get you thinking why you do the things you do. You better have a thick skin though and be humble enough to take what you learned back home.

[Grassfarmer]

[Justin]

[mrj]

Does anyone calving in an extreme climate have comments on calving in very hot weather? Is it pretty hard on the cows, especially in big pastures or under conditions where one may not see every cow multiple times per day...or maybe even every couple of days?

What about fall calving, where fall might be pretty ugly like in SD last fall, cold rains through October, decent Nov, then grass covered with FEET of snow from Dec. 10 till 'thawed' by over an inch of rain early this week???

Just curious. We calve mid April/May and would like to be later, but, one thing against it is bulls next door to our cows' spring/summer pastures make that pretty tough to achieve, as well as wondering about the previous questions.

mrj

[Big Swede]

I would say if there is "birthweight issues" in your herd then heat would also be an issue. We haven't pulled a calf out of cows for more years than I can remember so I'm not too worried about the heat issue. Mother Nature could prove me wrong though. You never know what she will throw at you next.