I'm in Michigan and started fall calving my commercial herd to avoid vacation conflicts. I think I might be the lone fall calver in Michigan. Anyone else out there???
Fall calving's been a dream. I still have to calve some of my registered stock in the spring to meet bull demands and this weather is brutal on calving. The cold, rain, mud, all dramatically increase the risk of calf loss and increase management costs. Plus, I have weanling calves (spring) when no one else in Michigan does (October). I do have to feed heavier in the winter which is the only (and significant) drawback. But I can still buy a lot of feed for the hours I spend watching calves in the rain.
Thinking of taking the whole group fall calving and selling 18 mo bulls.
Fall calving's been a dream. I still have to calve some of my registered stock in the spring to meet bull demands and this weather is brutal on calving. The cold, rain, mud, all dramatically increase the risk of calf loss and increase management costs. Plus, I have weanling calves (spring) when no one else in Michigan does (October). I do have to feed heavier in the winter which is the only (and significant) drawback. But I can still buy a lot of feed for the hours I spend watching calves in the rain.
Thinking of taking the whole group fall calving and selling 18 mo bulls.