As most stockmen know, spring can be a happy time on the farm.
Forages are greening up, water systems no longer freeze over, and on most farms, calves are hitting the ground. But as summer rolls in, are your spring calves gaining like they ought to be this year?
Ozarks Farm and Neighbor checked in with University of Missouri Extension Livestock Specialist Eldon Cole about 2016 spring calf weight gain.
In the cattle industry, weight gain equals money. Luckily for most producers in the Ozarks, this year’s spring calf crop is performing well, thanks in part to cooperative weather.
“Calves born since Jan. 1, apparently are doing quite nicely when you look all across the board. The mild winter and relatively dry spring helped keep them growing very well,” Cole said.
While spring calves are often at risk of weight loss, compromised immune systems or death in extreme cases from scours, Cole, noted that this year “there were a few baby calf scours I heard about, but not anything out of the ordinary.”
The biggest issue on the table that affected cattle herds in general actually stemmed from clover.
“The biggest problem in the spring was the unusual amount of white and ladino clover that did give some significant bloat issues. This resulted in an unusual death loss of yearlings as well as cows,” said Eldon.
Weight gain on spring calves can sometimes be hard for the farmer to monitor accurately, since calves are primarily observed in the field.
“Most herd owners really don’t have an idea how their calves are gaining since they’ve not been over the scale. A scale is the only true way to evaluate growth performance,” Cole said. “As a rule, farmers do take note of the weights of their calves when they sell them. However, those weights need to be adjusted for age at the sale date. Some years they may sell calves when they’re 6 months old while the next year they could be sold at 7 or 8 months, or even older.”
Managing your forages for the best possible quality really comes into play for good spring calf weight gain.
Experts suggests that feeder calves need to gain 1.7 to 2 pounds per day on grass to achieve 1,300 pound steers by 2 years of age. Well-managed forage can easily help your calves meet that goal.
As 2016 begins to move into a seemingly dry summer, farmers might need to take extra measures to ensure that their spring calves continue to gain successfully.
“If the dry spell we’re having now continues, some cattleman may turn to supplementing their calves,” Cole said.
Overall, producers in the Ozarks are pleased with the performance of their spring calves, and hope that the positive trend continues through the summer season.
