With the profitability of a cow-calf operation more difficult to obtain, reducing the length of the calving season can be the first step toward improved production efficiency. In a 2009 USDA survey, 54.5% of the beef cattle operations, accounting for 34.1% of the beef cows did not have a set calving season. About one-third of the operations (34%) had one breeding season, and these operations accounted for 48.4% of the beef cows. Of operations with one breeding season, 69.7% completed calving within three months, with an average breeding season of 110 days. The most common factors determining the timing of the calving season include tradition, weather, forage availability, increasing weaning weights, market cycle and labor availability. Advantages of a short calving season include uniform lots of calves and improved management of herd health, cow nutrition and culling and selection of replacement heifers.
Six beef cow-calf operations in Howard (n = 2), Dallas (n = 2), Union and Montgomery counties participated in the Arkansas Beef Improvement Program Breeding and Calving Seasons Special Project. The goals of the project were to reduce the length of the calving season and to document the production and economic impact when converting a long calving season (> 200 d) to a short calving season (< 90 d).
In collaboration the producer, county Extension agent and Animal Science faculty developed a three part plan to reduce the length of the calving season. The three parts included 1) determine when cows were calving (annual calving distribution), 2) establish the months and length of the desired calving season and 3) develop a management plan to transition the cow herd to the desired calving season.
Part one of the plan determined the current annual calving distribution (benchmark year). It was typical for a large group of cows to calve January through May, very few cows calving in the summer months (June, July and August) and an additional group calving in the fall. The second part of the plan was the producer determining the desired calving period (months and length). Some producers selected a fall calving season and some a spring calving season. All of the producers selected a calving season of ¡Ü90 days. From the benchmark calving distribution, a plan was developed by the producer, agent and Animal Science faculty to reach the desired calving season (part 3). Supplemental feeding, mineral supplementation, bull breeding soundness examinations and other management factors that could affect reproduction rates were reviewed, and changes were made if necessary. Because of the uniqueness of each farm, a specific plan was designed for each cowherd. The projected dates for the beginning and end of the breeding and calving seasons were determined and monitored yearly.
The average number of years to reach the cooperator's desired cowherd calving season was 3.8 years. The percentage of cows calving during the desired calving season was higher for the final year compared to the benchmark year (92.0% vs. 46.3%, respectively). The mature cow calving percentage did not change from the benchmark year to the final year (89.2% and 87.2%, respectively). The average length of the calving season decreased from 273.3 d in the benchmark year to 85.2 d in the final year.
Due to the limited number of farms and large variability, there were no differences for herd break-even, specific costs per AU and income over specified costs per AU from the benchmark year to the final year. When comparing averages, break-even decreased 30% from $0.61/pound to $0.43/pound from the benchmark year to the final year, respectively. Specified costs per AU decreased 40% from $209.70 to $126.20 from the benchmark year to the final year, respectively, and income over specified cost improved 100% from $95.00/AU to $189.70/AU from the benchmark year to the final year, respectively. Although these differences were not statistically significant, they were financially significant to the cooperators. This provides evidence these farms increased beef production efficiency and improved profitability by decreasing the length of the calving season. Shortening the calving season is perhaps one of the most important and cost-effective practices that can be implemented by a producer.
Source: Dr. Tom Troxel, Professor, and Dr. Brett Barham, Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas Extension