Achieving growth targets

Achieving set growth targets is important as growth rates impact on the reproductive and lifetime production performance of cows. There is increasing evidence that increasing average daily gain pre-weaning is correlated to milk production in the first lactation.

Calves not reaching growth targets will be on the back foot and will not perform as well as those reaching target — with the consequences being heifers possibly not getting into calf, or heifers performing poorly in their first and subsequent lactations due to pending growth requirements, inability to compete with cows in the herd and/or poor mammary cell development. Growing calves consistently and continuing to reach growth targets is the most efficient way to put on weight and is also the best way to ensure you are growing calves that are well grown in regards to muscle and skeletal development. Having periods of no growth followed by periods of catch up growth is inefficient and catch up growth can often be fatty deposits rather than lean muscular growth. Successful calf rearing is not just about reaching weight targets. The protein and fat composition of the diet can influence the composition of the growth, as protein supports muscle and skeletal development whilst a high fat diet is more likely to encourage fat deposition. Keeping track of calf weights is important as it provides an indication of how successful the overall calf system is and if goals are being achieved. There are several ways of doing this. Weigh scales are the gold standard, with other options being measuring wither height with measuring sticks or using girth tape. Wither height sticks are becoming increasingly popular with calf rearers and are accurate measurements, as wither height is strongly correlated with calf weight. Ask your local Nutrition Specialist for more information on sourcing and using a calf wither measuring device.

Any measurement device used must be calibrated regularly in order to check for accuracy.

Targets for heifers (% of mature body weight)

Puberty 50% Service/Breeding 60% Pre-calving 22 months 90%

Unlike unhealthy animals, healthy well-grown calves support more efficient and cost effective beef production, and/or and longevity of milk production for dairy animals.