I'm not a stick in the mud ASRG, I like doing lots of
crazy stuff that other folks haven't tried. But I try to
really think through all the details of any system
before trying it. Sometimes the early adaptors of new
systems are just followers of fashion and haven't
thought it through themselves.
Feeding a cow enough to milk for her calf after she
has been calved 6-7 months is a very inefficient way
to feed the calf. Especially given the cow doesn't need
that much nutrition for herself at that stage of
gestation. If it suits the other things going on in your
life it is certainly a labor saver depending what you
plan to do with the calves eventually. I need mine to
be growing faster going into winter than I can rely on
them being if they were left on the cow given my feed
resources. I had a pneumonia outbreak last winter but
in the previous 5 years probably didn't have 1% of
calves suffer any ill effects of weaning.
I'm reminded of one "early adaptor" who moved from
traditional winter calving to late spring to reduce cow
maintenance costs, followed by starting to swath
graze, followed by leaving the calves on the cows on
the swaths, followed by starting to supplement the
pairs with pellets - on the snow, on the swaths
because the swaths were't high enough quality.
Followed by selling the cowherd.
At some point along the line the he seemed to forget
the original intent was to reduce winter maintenance
costs of the herd. He finished up growing cereals to
swath graze supplemented with pellets in the snow to
allow him to have his cows milking in the dead of
winter. I think it was ultimately the wastage he got
with the pellets that turned him off the system and
the cows.
crazy stuff that other folks haven't tried. But I try to
really think through all the details of any system
before trying it. Sometimes the early adaptors of new
systems are just followers of fashion and haven't
thought it through themselves.
Feeding a cow enough to milk for her calf after she
has been calved 6-7 months is a very inefficient way
to feed the calf. Especially given the cow doesn't need
that much nutrition for herself at that stage of
gestation. If it suits the other things going on in your
life it is certainly a labor saver depending what you
plan to do with the calves eventually. I need mine to
be growing faster going into winter than I can rely on
them being if they were left on the cow given my feed
resources. I had a pneumonia outbreak last winter but
in the previous 5 years probably didn't have 1% of
calves suffer any ill effects of weaning.
I'm reminded of one "early adaptor" who moved from
traditional winter calving to late spring to reduce cow
maintenance costs, followed by starting to swath
graze, followed by leaving the calves on the cows on
the swaths, followed by starting to supplement the
pairs with pellets - on the snow, on the swaths
because the swaths were't high enough quality.
Followed by selling the cowherd.
At some point along the line the he seemed to forget
the original intent was to reduce winter maintenance
costs of the herd. He finished up growing cereals to
swath graze supplemented with pellets in the snow to
allow him to have his cows milking in the dead of
winter. I think it was ultimately the wastage he got
with the pellets that turned him off the system and
the cows.
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