Herd performance is influenced by genetics, management and nutrition. Just as important as having enough feed available is making sure the cattle will eat it and that it provides the right nutritional balance. Remember, ‘Quality in equals quality out.’
Author Archives: anguspro
Improving Heifer Performance and Whole Herd Productivity With Fixed Time AI
For beef producers, the success of a breeding season is often measured by final pregnancy rates. While that is certainly important, focusing solely on the end result can overlook where the real profitability lies. The most valuable pregnancy in a beef herd is not simply the one that occurs, but the one that occurs early.
Practical Data: Using Information after Sale Day
Sale catalogues are studied, bulls are compared, and EBVs are scrutinised in the lead-up to sale day. But what happens to all that information once the bulls are unloaded at home? The information used to make a purchase decision on sale day can continue to provide value long after the sale.
Breeding the Perfect Cow
Ask Jake Stokman what drives the operation at Stokman Angus Farm, and his answer is simple: “We’re trying to breed the perfect cow. We’ll get there one day…”
Maximising Your Investment: Key Considerations for Bull Selection
Selecting the right bulls is one of the most critical decisions you’ll make for your herd’s future productivity and profitability. With the AngusPRO sales offering exceptional genetics, here are essentialContinue reading “Maximising Your Investment: Key Considerations for Bull Selection”
Making Sense of the Numbers: Using Angus Data with Confidence
For many producers, the work of making confident spring bull sale decisions begins well before sale day, with winter providing an important opportunity to review breeding objectives, assess herd directionContinue reading “Making Sense of the Numbers: Using Angus Data with Confidence”
Weekly genetics review: Avoiding common mistakes at this year’s bull sales
Although developing a breeding objective and selecting bulls that suit that objective has been a focus of industry advice for many years, there still appears to be a large gap between those who know what their objective is, and those who don’t.
Many people see breeding objectives as an academic exercise and are often reluctant to define their objective as a result. However, in not being clear in their objectives, they expose themselves more to mistakes that can have costly and long-term implications for their program.
AI program success starts eight weeks before insemination
As August begins, the spring bull-selling season is gathering momentum. Most breeding decisions will continue to involve new bulls and natural mating, but artificial insemination remains an established tool in many seedstock and some commercial programs.
Artificial insemination represents an investment not only in semen, but also in synchronisation treatments, labour and technical services. Choosing the genetics is therefore only one part of achieving a worthwhile result.
Weekly genetics review: Is longevity really the trait that drives herd productivity?
There has been significant research into beef production, and the results do not point to longevity as a standalone driver of productivity.
Breeding for Predictability at Hauiti Farm
On a 215-hectare (effective) Hawke’s Bay block in the North Island of New Zealand, a commercial beef producer is running his operation with the discipline of a stud. The results are making people sit up and take notice.