CALVING SEASON LENGTH IMPACTS

IMPACTS FROM CALVING SEASON LENGTH

Calving is one of the most rewarding times of the year as producers get the first glimpse of the ever-important mating decisions that were made. It can also be one of the most challenging times of the year, depending on weather conditions, trying to give each newborn calf the best start. Maximizing efficiencies is vital at the cowcalf segment. Results from CattleFax’s annual Cow-Calf Survey show the length of calving season plays a vital role in the productivity of an operation, along with other potential outcomes.

Each year, survey participants are asked how many days it takes for 75 percent of their cows to calve. In a perfect world, all the responses would be within 45 or 60 days. However, the real world does not make that feasible for every operation due to weather, logistic challenges, or a long list of other potential reasons. From the most recent results, 43 percent of producers calve within 45 days and another 33 percent are mostly complete with calving from 46 to 60 days. Seventeen percent of the respondents had a calving season that lasted about 61 to 90 days, with the remaining 7 percent lasting more than 90 days. CattleFax breaks survey participants into

three equal groups – high, average, and low – return producers based on profitability. Last year, nearly half of the most profitable producers calved within 45 days, while another 35 percent were mostly complete by day 60. Less than 20 percent of high return producers calved for 61 days or more. On the other hand, one-third of the least profitable producers recorded a calving season that lasted more than 61 days. Roughly 38 percent of low-return producers managed a 45-day calving season. Understanding the demographics of producers that achieve a tight calving window is just the beginning of the data that supports how important calving distribution is to an operation’s bottom line. Most high-return producers are in that category because they find a way to be the most efficient. Those operations sell the most pounds, driven by headcount and weight, while also keeping costs in check. Many factors impact one of the most important measurements for a cow-calf enterprise, weaned calves per cow exposed, but the accompanying charts shows there is an obvious relationship between calf crop percent and calving season length. This is mostly due to cows having more time to recover after calving.