Grading your cow herd - essential performance metrics

Thursday, November 2, 2023

In the world of farming, accurate metrics are the difference between success and failure, especially when it comes to cow herds. As calves birthed in spring get weaned, it's crucial to understand your herd's performance. To do this, there are several calculations to consider:

Number of Females Exposed: This represents the females that were paired with a bull the previous year, leading to the calf crop you see now. If your herd remains consistent and you don't introduce or remove cows, this is easy. If there are changes, adjustments like subtracting cows that left or adding newly purchased females should be made.

Pregnancy Percentage: Calculated as the number of pregnant cows divided by the number of exposed cows, multiplied by 100. Remember that if a cow is diagnosed pregnant but doesn't deliver, she might have either aborted or was never pregnant.

Live Calving Percentage: This signifies how many calves are born alive. It's the number of live-born calves over the exposed females, times 100. If a calf stands and nurses, it's considered 'alive'.

Calving Percentage: Here, you consider both live and full-term dead calves. Twins count as one.

Death Loss Percentages: These metrics reflect calf survival. It's essential to account for losses, whether due to harsh weather or health problems. You can calculate it based on calves born or based on females exposed.

Weaning Percent: This key metric encapsulates all previous calculations. It shows the overall success rate of rearing calves until weaning, using the number of weaned calves over the exposed females, times 100.

Pounds of Calf Weaned per Female: An essential measure that gives insights into how much each cow contributes to overall herd performance. It is the total pounds weaned divided by the number of exposed females.

When evaluating your cowherd's performance, remember these metrics can help streamline the process and ensure a prosperous and healthy calf crop year after year. Whether you're a seasoned farmer or just starting, accurate measurements lead to better decisions and better results.