Spring calving cows to fall

[bandit80]

Curious what yall would do. It appears as if I might be able to increase my cow numbers by about 15 head next year. I have said for a couple years that the next time I am able to expand, I want to do so with fall calvers. This will increase my numbers from 45 up to 60 cows. My reasoning for having two calving seasons is to spread out the work load, have better use of my clean-up bulls, have breeding stock to sell 2 times a year, and have income from cattle sales two times a year. Fall calving also normally occurs in much better weather, and the death loss at calving is generally reduced.

These are my thoughts on what to do. I have one summer pasture that can carry about 25 pairs on it from April to Oct-Nov. It is predominantly fescue, which has really good grazing in the spring and starting again in September up through November, but falls off in July and August from the "summer slump". You can see a thread I had a while back about what I think the effect of the fescue is on my weaning weights. This fall grazing would be good for the cows as they are coming into milk, and the cow would not be lactating when the grass quality is at it worst. My thinking is to purchase 15 fall calving cows and put them in this particular pasture. This will get my numbers from 45 to 60. Secondly, I would take 10 or so spring calvers, and put them with the fall calving cows to have the proper number of cows at each summer pasture. I would not AI or run a bull with theses "spring calvers", rather hold them over for fall calving.

I realize I will have some additional feed costs in these cows for the 6 months they are less productive, but I place a fairly high value on knowing what I got and their production history. Would I be better off to do what I described, or sell 10 or so spring calvers and purchase additional fall calvers. What say you?

 

[angus9259]

I have been a proponent of fall calving from the first time I tried it. I'm envious. Calving ease and bull flexibility were always my main drivers. Plus I had weanlings to sell in the spring when everyone and their brother with 5 acres of grass wanted a couple young calves for their front yard. The only reason I don't now is because my primary business, bulls, doesn't really allow it unless I want to hold bulls an extra 6 months.

If I were moving (back) into fall calving I would only hold over females I really really wanted. Otherwise I would sell bred females in the spring and pick up some fall calvers. There've been a number of sales this year with fall calvers (angus) many cows with calves at side - fall calving is definitely becoming more popular. That said, If I had a herd of gems and couldn't improve my genetics, I wouldn't hesitate hold some over. I think what I'd do then is take some of my fancier replacement heifer prospects and move them to fall.

I'm envious.

 

[bandit80]

If I had a herd of gems and couldn't improve my genetics, I wouldn't hesitate hold some over. I think what I'd do then is take some of my fancier replacement heifer prospects and move them to fall.

I wouldn't say I have a herd of gems, but most of the cows I have are pretty equal. I have a couple of really good cows, and then after that it gets pretty even pretty quick. I also thought about doing as you suggested, holding some of my replacement heifers over to breed in the fall. I've got lots of time to think about it, thanks for your input.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I run a fall herd only there are many reasons I prefer it but some of the main ones are less unpredictable weather , cows go into calving with good grass and good BCS and hit a better market with my calves if I sell weanlings or if i go ahead and feed them out another reason if I have any open cows after breeding I can try and breed them for a spring calf and sell them at a good price since most everyone around here runs a spring herd

 

[KNERSIE]

Bandit, I've done this last year exactly what you're planning to do. Firstly it gave me the opportunity to really cull deep and just keep the very best of the spring calvers and I am certainly ending up having a much more uniform herd. The downside it also forced me to keep a few fall calvers that was flirting with the cull list an extra year just to keep numbers up.

In my conditions two calving seasons just don't work in the real world, on paper its a fine idea, but our rainfall patterns are just too unpredictable. Your breeding season must be very short to make two calving seasons work. A drought or out of season cold weather can really play havoc with your fodder flow with two calving seasons. Invariably you have cows with 4-5 month old calves when you have to shortchange them to save pasture for the fall calving group, etc.

With the wisdom of hindsight I would have done things slightly differently is making the change. (My winters is much milder than yours I think so for me it would have worked) I bred my fall calvers as usual and held the spring calvers over for the next year. I didn't plan on the worst drought almost in history to hit 6 months later. This forced me to postpone my breeding season by a month to hope for an improvement in BCS after breeding.

If I had to do it again, I would rather have one extended breeding season and run the bull 6 more weeks with the cows and try and catch as many spring calvers as possible. Yes they will calve a month or so later than ideal, but quite a few of your best cows will still calf towards the end of your normal calving season. This will identify your most fertile and easy calving cows and give you income from them whilst making the change. Every year after that you just cut the last two weeks off the breeding season and within three years you'll be back where you want them to be.

 

[Dap]

I just ended my fall calving herd and saved the best of them to move to spring. I held the best fall heifer calves over as replacements with my spring herd, as you are planning to do. I know that it costs in the short term to save those heifers, but we had good rain this year and grass was plentiful.

I probably had the same problems as Knersie with 2 calving seasons. For me the fall calves were more profitable than the spring calves 1 out of 3 years on average. (That's just how it worked for me, I know it works the other way for some people). Plus, it will make management decisions easier as far as where to put cows, bulls, replacement heifers, weaned calves, etc... The down side is that I'll need an extra bull or 2.