Early Weaning
BeefTalk : Wean Early and Save 25 Percent of Pasture Forage
By Kris Ringwall , North Dakota State University Extension
Did you know you can save more than 25 percent of available forage by weaning calves early ?
The current dryness affecting the land has caused all livestock producers to review options . For some in a drought situation , the only real solution is rain . But producers need to take charge , whether the season is dry or wet .
The Dickinson Research Extension Center has and will continue to manage during dry times . The center is in a semiarid climate and dryness is not a stranger .
Managing grazing time and stocking rate is critical . As a result , the center has measured available biomass on the range when cows have their calves removed in mid-August versus early November .
The thought is that removing calves would lessen the impact on the production unit during times when rain is scarce . First , no drought plan works if there is no grazing plan to start with .
To begin , a properly designed grazing system that does not put undue pressure on grass is a priority . While those wetter-than-average years tempt producers to increase stocking numbers , years like this remind us overstocking is never a good idea . Stick to the properly planned grazing system and appropriate adjustments .
This discussion is not about what grazing system is best , though . The main point is to have a grazing system .
The next step is to plan on orderly herd reductions that fit the operation . Today , I want to focus on early weaning as an option to manage dry pastures later this summer .
Center research has shown weaning calves in August lowers the nutritional requirements of the cow herd because dry cows eat less than lactating cows . Center animal scientist Doug Landblom notes “… weaning calves early has a positive impact on growth and efficiency during the backgrounding phase , improves cow body condition score , reduces range forage utilization , and shortens the lifetime feeding period of steers held for retained ownership .”
Data collected by Landblom showed significant benefits of early weaning . At the center , the body weight of cows whose calves were weaned in mid-August was 1,296 pounds in August and the cows still weighed 1,311 pounds in November . Cows with calves not weaned early weighed 1,333 pounds in August but lost significant weight nursing calves on dry pasture and weighed 1,197 pounds in November .
In other words , the cows with calves that were weaned early gained 15 pounds and utilized 28 percent less forage biomass than the cows whose calves were not weaned early . The cows with calves that were not weaned early lost 136 pounds of body weight .
Wow ! Cows with August-weaned calves gained weight and saved a significant amount of valuable feed . Cows with traditionally weaned calves lost weight while consuming more feed .
The data also reflected a significant decrease in body condition score for the cows : 6.1 for the cows with calves that were weaned early and 4.7 for the cows with calves that were not weaned until November . This
24 | AUGUST 2017