“Already, an estimated 963 million
people do not have enough to eat, and by 2050, we will need to
produce 100 percent more food than we do now,” says Jeff
Simmons, author of a recent industry White Paper, Technology’s
Role in the 21st Century: Food Economics and Consumer Choice.
“We can’t achieve that by merely adding farmland or increasing
crop intensity. But, we can use technology — such as advances in
nutrition, disease and pest control, and livestock management —
to increase productivity. Having said that, it’s imperative that
we use only those innovations that have a neutral or positive
effect on the environment; to do otherwise is to sacrifice our
long-term survival in favor of short-term gains.”
In his paper, Simmons, president
of the animal health company, Elanco, reviews the growing
challenge of feeding the world’s population, using historical
data and projections that underscore the necessity for new and
existing technologies in food production.
For instance, Simmons points out,
“…best-management feeding practices and efficiency-enhancing
feed ingredients enables today’s cattle growers to use
two-thirds less land to produce a pound of beef as it takes to
produce a pound of beef from all-natural, grass-fed cattle.”
Other recent studies continue to
document the astounding gains livestock producers continue to
achieve with fewer resources. Keep in mind, the technology and
management doesn’t necessarily have to be new.
Cow Herd Efficiency
As an example, there’s nothing new or sexy about it, but
increasing cow-herd efficiency continues to revolve around
getting more pounds from the resources invested.
“Increasing weaning weights
approximately 50 pounds is equal to an increase of 10% in calf
crop weaned,” say extension specialists at South Dakota State
University (SDSU). “As percent calf crop weaned increases,
pounds of calf weaned per cow exposed increases and production
cost per hundred pounds of calf produced decreases.”
In a recent paper—Increasing Your
Calf Crop by Management, Pregnancy Testing, and Breeding
Soundness Examination of Bulls—the SDSU folks offer perspective
on how the weaning rate affects the cost per hundredweight of
the calves weaned. The percentage calf crop is defined by the
number of calves weaned per cow exposed. So, the pounds of calf
produced per cow equals the average weaning weight multiplied by
the percent calf crop.
For perspective, assuming an annual cow cost of $600 per head,
the authors point out a 100% calf crop and average weaning
weight of 500 lbs. equates to a weaned calf cost of $120/cwt. At
90% calves weaned per cow exposed, the average weaning weight
drops to 450 lbs. for a calf production cost of $133.33/cwt.
“Many management decisions
directly affect percent calf crop, including those relating to
cow nutrition, the control of diseases that affect reproductive
performance and post-calving calf health, the length and timing
of breeding and calving seasons, dystocia, and bull fertility.
Attention to record keeping and pregnancy diagnosis will aid in
decision making and further enhance the productivity of the
cow-calf enterprise.” That’s the summary offered by the SDSU
researchers—George Perry, Beef Reproduction Specialist, Russ
Daly, Extension Veterinarian and Tyler Melroe, Marshall County
Extension Educator.
Briefly, the folks point out in
their paper (http://agbiopubs.sdstate.edu/articles/ExEx2068.pdf)
Nutrition
“Body condition scores are a subjective but effective way for
ranchers to evaluate the nutritional status of their herd. To
maintain a 12-month calving interval, cows must be bred within
80 days of calving. Body condition scores allow a producer to
determine if cows are losing weight during the postpartum
period. A body condition score of =5 has been determined to be
the minimum score at calving that allows for adequate postpartum
reproductive performance.”
Herd Health
“The goal of a good herd vaccination program is not necessarily
to render each individual animal immune to a disease, but rather
to stimulate a sufficient immunity in a sufficient number of
animals in the herd so that an epidemic, or widespread outbreak,
does not occur. Therefore, it is important to vaccinate all
animals in the herd. For maximum protection during the breeding
season, cattle should be vaccinated 30 to 45 days before the
breeding season. This gives sufficient time for animals to build
immunity and for antibody levels to remain elevated during the
breeding season. All animals in the breeding herd—cows, heifers,
and bulls—should be vaccinated annually for reproductive
diseases such as Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV),
Leptospirosis, Vibriosis, and Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis
(IBR).”
Defined Breeding and Calving
Seasons
“There are tremendous benefits to a short, defined breeding
season. A short breeding season results in a longer interval
from calving to the start of the breeding season, which allows
cows to recover from calving and initiate estrous cycles before
the start of the breeding season. A short breeding season also
results in a shorter calving season, which focuses the labor of
calving into a shorter period of time and produces a more
uniform calf crop. Health benefits are also realized when calf
ages do not vary greatly. Calves born late are more likely to
become exposed to the diarrhea-causing organisms that have been
building up from the beginning of the calving season.”
“When calves are weaned at a
single time, the distribution of the calves, in terms of birth
time, has a large impact on the pounds of calf weaned. Calves
born earliest in the breeding season are older and heavier at
weaning—and the single largest factor that affects the weight of
a calf at weaning is the age of the calf. When more calves are
born at the beginning of the calving season and the percent of
calves weaned remains the same, weaning weights and pounds
weaned per cow exposed are increased.”
Dystocia Problems
“…Cows experiencing dystocia have fewer cycles prior to the
breeding season and lower pregnancy rates during the breeding
season… Furthermore, research has reported that after 1.5 hours
of stage II labor (the expulsion stage—the first appearance of
the water bag until the calf is delivered), every 30-minute
delay in assistance results in a 6-day longer interval to
pregnancy.”
Record Keeping
“…The only method for tracking how management decisions
influence your calf crop is through maintaining accurate
records. Herd records should include: 1) the body condition of
the herd at calving, breeding, and weaning; 2) calving
distribution; 3) calf death loss; 4) number of cows at the start
of the breeding season; 5) number of bulls; 6) beginning and
ending date of the breeding season; 7) number of calves weaned;
and 8) number pregnant at the end of the breeding season, or,
even better, pregnancy distribution.”
Breeding Soundness Examination
“Breeding soundness examinations should be performed yearly,
prior to the beginning of the breeding season, to help insure
good herd fertility. Herd bulls influence overall herd fertility
more than any other single animal—the loss of fertility by a
bull can mean the potential loss of an entire calf crop. In
addition, herd bulls supply half of the genetics to all the
calves he sires; therefore, bull selection can be the most
powerful method of genetic improvement in the herd.”
Pregnancy Testing
“Each year, all cows should be pregnancy tested following the
breeding season. As feed costs increase, so does the cost to
maintain non-pregnant cows through the winter. The cost to feed
these non-pregnant cows must be paid for by the calves that are
born and weaned the following year. For example, in a herd of
200 cows and with winter costs of $300 per cow, 12 non-pregnant
cows kept through the winter would cost an additional $3,600,
increasing the cost for each of the 188 calves born by $19.15.”
So, the incentive exists with the need to increase food
production 100% in a short period of time, and so do the proven
technology and management practices to accomplish it.
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