07 September 2023

Finding the most efficient cows in your suckler herd

Have you weighed your cow and calf pairs for the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP)? Gabriel Trayers, Teagasc Future Beef Programme Advisor, highlights the important role weaning performance reports play in identifying the most and least efficient cows in your herd here.

One of the mandatory actions under the new SCEP is to weigh both the dam and calf before weaning. These weights must be submitted to ICBF before November 1^st this year. Calves born in spring will now be at that stage, so many farmers across the country will be busy rounding up cows and calves for weighing.

No doubt many farmers will be thinking that this is a stressful event for both man and animal and will only be doing the job to fulfil the scheme’s requirements. However, the reports generated by ICBF as a result of this action provide very valuable information on your suckler herd.

Once such report is a weaning performance report. The 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, which is an international Key Performance Indicator for suckler herds.

In simple terms, the 200-day weight report or weaning performance report measures the cow’s ability to rear her calf.

How would a farmer interpret such a report?

Shane Keaveney, a participant in the Teagasc Future Beef Programme, farms just outside Ballinlough, Co. Roscommon. All summer, Shane thought the 2023 group of weanlings was doing well, but he couldn’t be sure as the farm is heavy and the weather was far from kind.

Last week to clarify how these weanlings had performed, Shane weighed the cows and calves and generated the weaning report.

The report begins with a run-down of the herd and includes the total number of animals weighed, the average daily gain (ADG) and the average 200-day weight of the weanlings in the herd. The report below shows that 36 calves were weighed and the overall average daily gain since birth was 1.23kg. As a suckler farmer, this is the benchmark and it is where you want to be.

Table 1: Summary data – overview of weight performance of all calves born in Shane Keaveney’s herd and their dams

The report then highlights the performance of the males and females separately. The males weigh 307kg at 200 days and the females 279kg, resulting in an ADG of 1.3kg and 1.18kg, respectively. The target for your weanlings is 300kg for males and 250kgs for females. Shane is exceeding those targets for both.

As Shane is finishing the males as bulls under 16 months, it is critical that the cows wean a heavy male calf. The males need to be housed at between 330kg and 350kg or the finishing targets will be missed. No matter what system of farming you are in, it is vital that your weanlings are hitting these weight targets. The cow should have the genetic make-up to produce plenty of milk for its calf to hit these 200-days weights.

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 Shane highlights an average efficiency of 42% (average calf weight (291kg) divided by the average cow weight (692kgs) x 100 = 42%. Shane’s herd is right on target here.

Table 2: Cow performance from Shane Keaveney’s herd

The weaning performance also identifies the best cows in the herd, i.e. those that are weaning a heavy weanling. Interestingly, in Shane’s herd, the top cows are all 4 and 5 star, with the exception of one 3-star cow.

Table 3: Top males and females

The cows that are not performing are also identified. 

Table 4: Lowest performing cows

The report can help Shane make the correct breeding decisions for the herd. The cows identified above might need to be culled or heifers off these cows should not be kept for breeding. A good management decision would be to keep replacement heifers off the top performing cows identified in the report.

The current challenge facing all farmers is reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030. Building an efficient suckler herd and maximising animal performance are key steps to help farmers reduce both their own and national emissions.  After going to the hard work of weighing, our advice would be make use of the reports generated by the ICBF. They give great information on your suckler herd.

Gabriel Trayers is an advisor on Teagasc’s Future Beef Programme, click here for more information on the programme.

Also read: Preparing for weaning with Future Beef Farmer Ger McSweeney

Also read: All the bases covered at major Kildalton beef event