Cathal Irwin July/August 2024
Performance
The weaning performance report is designed to identify the most efficient performers in the herd but also and maybe more importantly, the most inefficient cow/calf pairing . The report predicts the 200 day weight of the weanling. The 200 day weight is an international Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for suckler herds.
In simple terms, the 200-day weight report or weaning performance report measures the cow’s ability to rear her calf. Cathal weighed both cow and calf pairings on the 22nd of July.
Cathal calves are performing very well with the average daily gain( ADG ) for both males and females at 1.3 kgs of liveweight per day. The target for a suckler system would be 1.2 kgs/day. The report breaks the group into males and females. Cathal’s male calves are gaining 1.38kgs/day giving them an average 200 day weight of 325kgs ie 25kgs ahead of target.
Meanwhile the heifers are gaining 1.26kgs/head/day and are 45kgs over the target of 250kgs at 200 days. In summary, the cows are rearing a heavy calf which is one of the key requirements of a suckler cow.
This report will also present the efficiency of each cow as a percentage of their bodyweight which they weaned. The aim is to produce lighter mature cows that can wean a calf equal to or greater than their heavier counterparts. The target here for suckler farms is that the cow rears a calf that is at least 42% of her own weight. The ICBF report for Cathal highlights an average efficiency of 44% (average calf weight (306kg) divided by the average cow weight (701kgs) x 100 = 44%. Cathal’s herd is above target here.
Grassland
Over the course of July and August Cathal measured 9 times. Growth ranged from a high of 100kgs/Dm/ha/day on the 12th of July to 41kgs/DM/ha/day two weeks later but on average to the growth over the mid summer period was 59kgsDM/ha/day. The demand from the herd peaked at 59kgs/DM/day so Cathal managed to maintain 13 days ahead during this period. In late , July Cathal off-loaded some stock to reduce demand and the days ahead increased from 13 to 32 by the end of August. So there was plenty of grass as Cathal increased covers towards the end of August.
Cathal plans to wean in early September, so this will reduce demand as the cows can be restricted to graze out paddocks. The challenge heading into September is ground conditions. This is a heavy farm and there has been a lot of rain and any further rain in September could make it a challenge for Cathal to graze out the paddocks.