Calving date and wintering system effects on cow and calf performance I: A systems approach to beef production in the Nebraska Sandhills

Pas, W.A. Griffin; Stalker, Leslie Aaron; Adams, Don C.; Funston, R. N.; Klopfenstein, Terry J.

doi:10.15232/s1080-7446(15)30354-5

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Fallborn calves had lighter WW (P < 0.05) in 3 regions (the Cornbelt, North, and Rocky Mountains), all located in colder climates. These findings were similar to results of a lesser magnitude observed in the Nebraska Sandhills (Griffin et al, 2012). Lighter WW for fallborn calves could be caused by feeding poorer-quality, harvested forages to lactating cows during their greatest nutritional demand, which coincided with harsh winters in this region.…”

Section: Statistical Analyses For a Subset Of The Databasesupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Some seasonal weight contrasts were greater than 100 kg and may have a substantial economic impact for cattlemen. Earlier studies found significant seasonal effects with a magnitude of 10 to 25 kg, although some were from previous decades (Bagley et al, 1987;Gaertner et al, 1992;Griffin et al, 2012;Caldwell et al, 2013). The modern beef cow is biologically very different from the cow of the 1990s, and the offspring have greater genetic potential for growth.…”

Section: Statistical Analyses For a Subset Of The Databasementioning

confidence: 98%

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Regional and seasonal analyses of weights in growing Angus cattle1

Bradford¹,

Fragomeni²,

Bertrand³

et al. 2016

Journal of Animal Science

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This study evaluated the impact of region and season on growth in Angus seed stock. To assess geographic differences, the United States was partitioned into 9 regions based on similar climate and topography related to cow-calf production. Seasonal effects were associated with the month that animals were weighed. The American Angus Association provided growth data, and records were assigned to regions based on the owner's zip code. Most Angus cattle were in the Cornbelt, Lower Plains, Rocky Mountain, Upper Plains, and Upper South regions, with proportionally fewer Angus in Texas compared with the national cow herd. Most calves were born in the spring, especially February and March. Weaning weights (WW; = 49,886) and yearling weights (YW; = 45,168) were modeled with fixed effects of age-of-dam class (WW only), weigh month, region, month-region interaction, and linear covariate of age. Random effects included contemporary group nested within month-region combination and residual. The significant month-region interaction ( < 0.0001) was expected because of the diverse production environments across the country and cyclical fluctuations in forage availability. Additionally, significant seasonal contrasts existed for several regions. Fall-born calves were heavier ( < 0.01) than spring-born calves in the hot and humid Lower South region coinciding with fall being the primary calving season. The North and Upper Plains regions had heavier, spring-born calves ( < 0.01), more than 90% spring calving, and colder climates. Interestingly, no seasonal WW or YW differences existed between spring- and fall-born calves in the upper South region despite challenging environmental conditions. Angus seed stock producers have used calving seasons to adapt to the specific environmental conditions in their regions and to optimize growth in young animals.

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Section: Statistical Analyses For a Subset Of The Databasesupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Statistical Analyses For a Subset Of The Databasementioning

confidence: 98%

Regional and seasonal analyses of weights in growing Angus cattle1

Bradford¹,

Fragomeni²,

Bertrand³

et al. 2016

Journal of Animal Science

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“…Grazing strategies across the globe are quite diverse from low-intensity management of pastoral and communal approaches to high-intensity management facilitated by infrastructure developments (Roche et al 2015). Key management practices that have been developed include (1) the application of sustainable stocking rates to maintain or improve the health of rangelands, including riparian habitats (Briske et al 2011), as well as associated optimization of net income (Holechek 2013;Kemp et al 2013), and (2) matching of calving season to the prevailing environment to reduce associated harvested feed costs (Grings et al 2005;Griffin et al 2012). …”

Section: Technological Advancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Livestock Production Systems

Derner¹,

Hunt

Filho

et al. 2017

Springer Series on Environmental Management

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Rangelands, 50 % of the earth's land surface, produce a renewable resource of cellulose in plant biomass that is uniquely converted by ruminant livestock into animal protein for human consumption. Sustainably increasing global animal production for human consumption by 2050 is needed while reducing the environmental footprint of livestock production. To accomplish this, livestock producers can interseed legumes and use bioenergy protein byproducts for increased dietary protein, develop forage "hot spots" on the landscape, use adaptive grazing management in response to a changing climate, incorporate integrated livestock-crop production systems, improve fertility to increase birth rates, and reduce livestock losses due to disease and pest pressure. Conceptual advances in livestock production systems have expanded the utility of livestock in conservation-oriented approaches that include (1) efforts to "engineer ecosystems" by altering vegetation structure for increased habitat and species diversity, and structural heterogeneity; (2) use of targeted grazing to reduce invasive annual grasses and invasive weeds, and fuel reduction to decrease wildfires; and (3) improvement of the distribution of livestock grazing across the landscape. Livestock production systems need to increase output of animal protein by implementation of knowledge and technology, but this production must

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“…Subirrigated meadows at GSL are dominated by cool season grasses, including slender wheatgrass [ Elymus trachycaulus (Link) Matte], redtop bent ( Agrostis stolenifera L.), timothy ( Phleum pretense L.), Kentucky bluegrass ( Poa pratensis L.), and smooth bromegrass ( Bromus inermus Leyss.) ( Griffin et al, 2012 ). Average annual precipitation at GSL from 2005 to 2017 was 54.09 cm with an SD of 16.60 cm.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of cow size on cow-calf and postweaning progeny performance in the Nebraska Sandhills

Ziegler¹,

Musgrave²,

Meyer

et al. 2020

Translational Animal Science

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Optimizing beef production system efficiency requires an understanding of genetic potential suitable for a given production environment. Therefore, the objective of this retrospective analysis were to determine the influence of cow body weight (BW) adjusted to a common body condition score (BCS) of 5 at weaning influenced cow-calf performance and post-weaning steer and heifer progeny performance. Data were collected at the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, Whitman, NE, on crossbred, mature cows (n = 1,607) from 2005 to 2017. Cow BCS at calving, pre-breeding, and weaning were positively associated (P < 0.01) with greater cow BW. Increasing cow BW was positively associated (P < 0.01) with the percent of cows that conceived during a 45-d breeding season. For every additional 100-kg increase in cow BW, calf BW increased (P < 0.01) at birth by 2.70 kg and adjusted 205-d weaning BW by14.76 kg. Calf pre-weaning average daily gain (ADG) increased (P < 0.01) 0.06 kg/d for every additional 100-kg increase in cow BW. Heifer progeny BW increased (P < 0.01) post-weaning with every addition 100-kg increase in dam BW. Dam BW did not influence (P ≥ 0.11) heifer puberty status prior to breeding, overall pregnancy rates, or the percent of heifers calving in the first 21-d of the calving season. Steer initial feedlot BW increased by 7.20 kg, reimplant BW increased by 10.47 kg, and final BW increased by 10.29 kg (P ≤ 0.01) for every additional 100-kg increase in dam BW. However, steer feedlot ADG was not influenced (P > 0.67) by dam BW. Hot carcass weights of steers were increased (P = 0.01) by 6.48 kg with every additional 100-kg increase in cow BW. In a hypothetical model using the regression coefficients from this study, regardless of pricing method cow-calf producers maximize the highest amount of profit by selecting smaller cows. Overall, larger sized-cows within this herd and production system of the current study had increased reproductive performance and offspring BW; however, total production output and economic returns would be potentially greater when utilizing smaller-sized cows.

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Calving date and wintering system effects on cow and calf performance I: A systems approach to beef production in the Nebraska Sandhills

Abstract: A 4-yr study using 217 cows/yr (3/4 Red Angus, 1/4 Simmental)

Cited by 13 publications

References 23 publications

Regional and seasonal analyses of weights in growing Angus cattle1

Regional and seasonal analyses of weights in growing Angus cattle1

Livestock Production Systems

The impact of cow size on cow-calf and postweaning progeny performance in the Nebraska Sandhills

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