spring vs fall calving season

linnettejane · Jan 2, 2012

the hubs and i have been tossing around the idea of switching from spring calving to fall calving...aside from the occasional heifer we have calved in the fall, not much experience with fall calvers...
looking for pro's and con's, things to expect calving in the fall, any differences between the two, different management practices, etc.

this year we are calving jan-april...aside from a few strays...more strung out than i like, so im thinking this might also be an opportunity to get them gathered back up into a tighter calving season

thanks in advance

kfacres · Jan 2, 2012

linnettejane said:
the hubs and i have been tossing around the idea of switching from spring calving to fall calving...aside from the occasional heifer we have calved in the fall, not much experience with fall calvers...
looking for pro's and con's, things to expect calving in the fall, any differences between the two, different management practices, etc.

this year we are calving jan-april...aside from a few strays...more strung out than i like, so im thinking this might also be an opportunity to get them gathered back up into a tighter calving season

thanks in advance
we calve everything in the fall in IL- despite not having the western fall steer calf market.. We have one cow worked onto a spring calving cycle, only due to her not getting bred on time 2 years ago.

fall calving pros:
odd time of the year, so when calves get weaned (when grass is getting on strong) the market isn't much for supply.. It's been several years since we've sold for less than $1. pound.. last spring we sold for close to $2.
You have to feed your cows through the winter, so why not have a calf on them?
Our sheds were always full in Jan- Mar-- with ewes lambing... so we calve in Aug and Sept out in the pasture.
The fall calves seem to grow better through the summer with their added size, than those on mama... If you are short on pasture to begin with, this way you don't have to feed a bunch of calves if you don't want. We also creep our calves through the winter-- meaning we don't hardly feed the old cows as much as usual. I think, we normally fed about one round bale (6x5) per cow a month in previous years, and this year we kicked them out to stalks, and have reduced that in half (calves on them).

fall calving cons: a few months of lack of production so to say on the cows, while switching them over... but honestly no different than having hard breeding cows.

all in all.. more people are switching over to fall calving. My neighbor has about 500 Sim cows, and he's got over 400 of them calving in the fall now.. This has been switched to the opposite of about 24 months ago.

Pleasant Grove Farms · Jan 2, 2012

I see you are from Kentucky; we are in South Dakota so the differences between us and you in spring and fall calving are probably greater.....

for us advantages of spring calving are....
-takes less feed because you calve then turn out the cows to spring grass which is lush and flushes them to make breeding easier
-you are working with the animal's natural timing to breed....when the light is more plentiful
-we have more time to watch and work with the cows because we are not into the fields farming yet until end of April
-calves can eat grass all summer then when the grass is getting dormant for fall/winter it is weaning time

disadvantages of spring calving are.....
-the weather can really take a death toll if we get some huge spring blizzards
-sickness is more because of the moisture..ie...scours, pneumonia, C & D
-takes some facilities (sheds, shelters) if you calve in Jan./ Feb., even into March if we get bad weather

advantages of fall calving.....
-weather is much more cooperative; usually pretty dry, mild
-less illness, weather death loss
-calves are at an "odd" age for here so there maybe a premium at the sale barn for feedlots looking for these odd age calves
-you can utilize your herdbulls more; they are working more months in the year; you need less of them

disadvantages of fall calving....
-the big, big one is feed...costly to fall calve; you are trying to breed when it is getting cold and sometimes very cold here; you have to grain and hay really heavy to get these cows to breed back in late Nov. and Dec.
-you are trying to breed when the cow is not in her natural breeding season (short winter days)
-we are very busy in Sept/Oct with fall harvest and fall work
-much more labor intensive; to get the cows to breed back better, we day wean the calves at about 90 taking some of that stress of feeding a calf off the cow

these are what I can think of just off the top of my head
maybe others can add more

Doc · Jan 2, 2012

To me as a registered breeder the question is which do you have a better market for. I know up north you would have a hard time selling a fall hfr and for sure a fall steer. With me in TN close enough to both area's that's why I have some of both. I'm close enough to the southern states that like fall calves that I calve some then ,but I still prefer spring borns. JMO.

ROMAX · Jan 2, 2012

I think in a perfect world everyone should have half the herd calve in the spring and the other half in the fall -2 paycheques per year instead of one.

firesweepranch · Jan 2, 2012

ROMAX said:
I think in a perfect world everyone should have half the herd calve in the spring and the other half in the fall -2 paycheques per year instead of one.

Hahaha, we do! ;D 10 in the fall and 10 in the spring

There are advantages of being little....

Mainevent · Jan 2, 2012

With me being in Texas and having horrible summers, I prefer fall calvers to spring as I don't have to fight the heat and those things downside is not being able to sell them until the following fall or summer.

sue · Jan 2, 2012

I would go for it ! Fall calving. I know some of your stuff is pb but usually leans more fuzzy ?? You have two fat steer shows in that area - Futurity Short steer show. Also PA Farm show has a fat show- all breed i think.

Your daughter needs to show in those fat steer shows

Frankly I see more spring programs adding falls? Just noticed more fall semen sales this year? ??

spring vs fall calving season

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