Page 24 - NZ Herefords Magazine 2018

Industry Focus

Lifting beef cow

pregnancy rates

WORDS / PHOTOGRAPHS BEEF + LAMB NZ GENETICS

THE BEEF + LAMB NEW ZEALAND lift the score from 4 up to 5, your 100 – still a healthy $5600 return on your
Genetics Beef Progeny Test data clearly cows will potentially generate another 15 $1650 spend.
shows that the better condition your calves – worth $12,000 at weaning. Allowing for losses between scanning
cows are in at mating, the more calves and weaning, you are still looking at
they will produce. THE MATHS: returns on your capital (the additional
The test is run across five large- • Value of weaner = $800 feed) of up to 600%.
scale commercial properties throughout • 15 calves x $800 = $12,000
New Zealand. Your $1650 spend just returned you FIND OUT MORE:
$12,000. https://beeflambnz.com/news-views/
THE DOLLARS AND CENTS If you lift the score from 5 up to 6, beef-cow-bcs-resource-launched
Based on a 100-cow beef herd, it that’s potentially another seven calves
costs $1650 to increase the average
BCS by 1 point in the lead up to mating.

THE MATHS:
• 1 BCS point = 30kg of weight gain,
which requires 165kg of feed at 10MJ
• At 10c/kgDM, that’s $1650

Based on the graph (pictured right) –
and to keep the maths simple – if you GRAPH: Aiming for a condition score of 6 to 7 at mating will optimise your calving percentage.

Update: Trans-Tasman Beef Cow

Profitability Programme

WORDS / PHOTOGRAPHS BEEF + LAMB NZ GENETICS

THE TRANS-TASMAN BEEF COW (MLA), University of Adelaide, Abacus will help improve fertility.”
Profitability Programme is now in its Bio, Massey University and the Animal
second year. Genetics & Breeding Unit (AGBU) are OVARIAN SCANNING
The programme aims to develop committing a total of $5.2m to the Ultrasound ovarian scanning to detect
genetic measures for better describing programme over three years. oestrous/age at puberty and antral follicle
the breeding cow’s important physical count prior to mating is underway in heifers
attributes – such as size, body condition FERTILITY UNDER SPOTLIGHT from seedstock and research herds.
and her ability to handle fluctuations in feed B+LNZ Genetics national beef manager, The project is also noting the number
availability – heifer fertility indicators and Max Tweedie, says the collaboration of antral follicles greater than 2mm. This
selection tools for easy decision making. involves pooling individual project measure has been associated with heifer
It will also investigate how different information and a vast number of records pregnancy rates in crossbred beef heifers,
environments and farm systems in from across Australasia. and lifetime reproductive performance in
both countries impact on the balance “For instance, BREEDPLAN traits dairy cows. If the same is true of these beef
of traits required to produce an for fertility are poorly recorded and lowly heifers, the appeal of a single ultrasound
economically efficient cow. The research heritable. As a result, genetic gain is scan to predict early and lifetime reproductive
will help underpin advancements in barely occurring. Under the umbrella of performance is significant. However, it is too
genomic technology and develop new the Trans-Tasman programme, science early to confirm if this is consistent with the
BREEDPLAN traits. groups from both countries are working Trans-Tasman programme findings.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) together to refine the trait calculations To date, Australian measurements have
Genetics, Meat and Livestock Australia and identify the specific information that been collected in 1707 Angus and 478
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