Monks CommunicationSunday, 4 November 2018page 1 of 2
Newsletter grab from
Dairy Australia’s InCalf program
20July 2012 (350 words)
HEAD: A tight calving pattern starts with heifers
Dairyfarmers who want to achieve and maintain a tight calving pattern need to include heifers in the plan.
Dr Barry Zimmermann, who manages Dairy Australia’s InCalf program, said that heifer management had a big impact on a herd’s calving pattern.
“Decisions you make about heifer management will strongly affect the herd’s calving pattern,” Dr Zimmermann said.
“For example the calving pattern of your heifers is strongly influenced by their growth rates and their weight at joining. And secondly, the herd’s calving pattern will be influenced by the number of heifers available to replace older and less fertile cows – as they will calve later if they remain in the herd.”
A tight calving pattern is achieved by maximizing the number of cows and heifers that calve in the first three weeks of the calving period. Aim to have at least 85% of your heifers calved by week 3.
“A good strategy is to join heifers to start calving two weeks before the main herd. This gives them some extra time to recover from their first calving and start cycling before the joining period.
“It also compensates for lower conception rates that can be experienced by using sexed semen,” he said.
But joining heifers early relies on excellent calf and heifer rearing practices so that heifers reach their target joining weight by 14 months, or as early as 13 months for later born calves.
“To achieve target growth rates, heifers will need a high-quality supplement at some times, for example post weaning and when high quality pasture is not available.”
Supplements should contain at least 11-5 11.5MJ metabolisable energy per kilogram of dry matter, and 16% crude protein.
The best way to be sure heifers will achieve their target joining weight by 14 months is to weigh them regularly and take action if target growth rates are not achieved.
If heifers reach their target mating weight by 14 months, it may be worth considering a synchronization/blanket AI program.
This has two benefits. Firstly it means a large number of the heifers will calve early, setting the herd up for a tight calving pattern. Secondly by inseminating the heifers, their progeny can be kept as replacement stock, so this will boost the number of replacement heifers available in two years time.
For more information refer toHeifers: Big Girls XL, available at
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Caption: A tight calving pattern starts with heifer rearing.
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