I saw some conversation about late weaning on another thread and thought I would bring it to the top for a bit more discussion.
There were some points about accidents (which I don't personally believe in LOL) and I thought I would throw in a situation that happened to us that was "unexpected".
Each of the past 6 years, we have been testing our bulls with Ultrasound, DNA and Linear measurement tools. A growing number of our customers, and in particular the ones who are focusing on carcass quality characteristics in their herds, are using these tools to change their herds.
As much as growth and performance have been the focus of the conventional industry for year; carcass quality, including yield and eating quality can also be manipulated.
When someone says they "have" to do things a certain way in our industry, it is most often based on profit or a bank payment or some other financial situation that individual has put themselves in.
Having and wanting, often overlap, but can sometimes work against each other at the same time.
Anywhoo, before I loose you all with a Terry Singeltary like letter (LOL) I will go into the unexpected finding in our data. Unexpected to everyone I speak to except for Gearald Fry and maybe a few others who study the work of this Bovine Genetic Engineer.
We were generally calving in April and May and weaning in November or December depending on feed and weather conditions. A few years ago we decided to keep the calves on for the winter and boost the feed for the cows to keep them looking good with the calves on. I personally feel that that was the cheapest and easiest way to winter our herd even though we did not have the same yearling weights on our calves.
The bonus came from the DNA and Ultrasound results when we saw a marked increase in the Rib Eye area "per hundred pounds" on our data. At least a 10% increase. When I spoke to Gearald about these results, he was quite nonchalant saying that butterfat, even if it is a small amount over the winter was the key ingredient. Every other feed stuff that we try to replace in a calf's diet does not measure up or cause the Rib Eye measurement to increase this way.
The following year we weaned early again, (thinking profit and return) and saw the drop. This years crop of bulls was again weaned in March after May calving and we will see if our theory holds up.
As much as we all like to figure things out, Mother nature usually holds the answer. I live in the west country of Alberta where the white tails and the mule deer and the elk grow to amazing sizes. Jumping the fences that we tend to corral our cattle in and birthing and weaning in a natural way. It seems that the deer and elk that I see and probably all of you as well, are just as strong and healthy as they were long before we came in to this country and started manipulating and domesticating livestock to suit our financial needs.
There were some points about accidents (which I don't personally believe in LOL) and I thought I would throw in a situation that happened to us that was "unexpected".
Each of the past 6 years, we have been testing our bulls with Ultrasound, DNA and Linear measurement tools. A growing number of our customers, and in particular the ones who are focusing on carcass quality characteristics in their herds, are using these tools to change their herds.
As much as growth and performance have been the focus of the conventional industry for year; carcass quality, including yield and eating quality can also be manipulated.
When someone says they "have" to do things a certain way in our industry, it is most often based on profit or a bank payment or some other financial situation that individual has put themselves in.
Having and wanting, often overlap, but can sometimes work against each other at the same time.
Anywhoo, before I loose you all with a Terry Singeltary like letter (LOL) I will go into the unexpected finding in our data. Unexpected to everyone I speak to except for Gearald Fry and maybe a few others who study the work of this Bovine Genetic Engineer.
We were generally calving in April and May and weaning in November or December depending on feed and weather conditions. A few years ago we decided to keep the calves on for the winter and boost the feed for the cows to keep them looking good with the calves on. I personally feel that that was the cheapest and easiest way to winter our herd even though we did not have the same yearling weights on our calves.
The bonus came from the DNA and Ultrasound results when we saw a marked increase in the Rib Eye area "per hundred pounds" on our data. At least a 10% increase. When I spoke to Gearald about these results, he was quite nonchalant saying that butterfat, even if it is a small amount over the winter was the key ingredient. Every other feed stuff that we try to replace in a calf's diet does not measure up or cause the Rib Eye measurement to increase this way.
The following year we weaned early again, (thinking profit and return) and saw the drop. This years crop of bulls was again weaned in March after May calving and we will see if our theory holds up.
As much as we all like to figure things out, Mother nature usually holds the answer. I live in the west country of Alberta where the white tails and the mule deer and the elk grow to amazing sizes. Jumping the fences that we tend to corral our cattle in and birthing and weaning in a natural way. It seems that the deer and elk that I see and probably all of you as well, are just as strong and healthy as they were long before we came in to this country and started manipulating and domesticating livestock to suit our financial needs.
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