Volume 15 Issue 1 January 2016 What’s Inside Kevin Routledge — Higher Weaning Weights Make The Difference
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From the Gate Post / Appuye sur le poteau de cloture No Other Breed Offers So much
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Understanding It’s Worth Before You Give It Away.../ La valeur de l’hétérose
82, 86 Vet’s Advice
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Canadian Beef Breeds Council Report
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What’s Happening
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Publication Mail Agreement # 40012794
Commercial Country
Higher Weaning Weights Make The Difference Extra Pounds Helped Carry The Farm Through Low Market Periods.
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or Manitoba beef producer, Kevin Routledge, having calves that wean an extra 150 to 200 pounds in the fall is what has helped him carry on with his mixed-farming operation through some of the tightest beef markets over the past 30 years. During the lowest beef market prices post-BSE, he figures it was the steers that weaned as high as 750 pounds (more average in the 650 to 700 pound range), that made the difference of whether he would still be in the cattle business. “In years when a lot of farms didn’t make it, those extra pounds in the fall helped keep us going,” says Routledge, who along with his wife Cindy farm in Hamiota, an hour northwest of Brandon. Obviously, in better market years, those extra pounds helped the farm carry out improvements and expand. Born and raised on the family farm, Routledge today runs a herd of 200 commercial cow-calf pairs and harvests roughly 3,200 acres of grains and oilseeds. The beef herd which has expanded over the years, has long-relied on Simmental genetics to produce calves with higher weaning weights in the fall. Routledge has been raising Simmental cattle for more than 30 years. He says up until the early 1980s his father had been working with Hereford and Charolais cattle. They were productive, but he was looking for more milk production, growth and good mothering. In the mid 1980s Simmental bulls were introduced into the herd and the transition to Simmental influenced cattle began. By the mid 1990s Routledge was striving to produce red Simmental cattle with some Angus influence. That combination consistently produces a solid red calf, or red calf with a blaze on its face which usually draws top dollar. EARLIER CALVING Routledge favors a February/March calving season even though it can be hit with challenging winter weather. He states that it is the 90 to 100 pound calves born at that time of year, that go on to produce the higher September weaning weights.“It’s tempting to calve later with a higher chance of favorable weather, but again that would produce lighter calves for a September weaning,” says Routledge. “With the grain farm as well, we want calving to be done and behind us as we turn to field work in early May.” All cows and heifers calve close-in near the farm yard buildings, and are moved out onto stubble fields in April to afford them more space. Towards the end of April the breeding season begins. Replacement heifers are exposed to Angus bulls while the first and second calf heifers are exposed to lower-birth weight Simmental bulls. Simmental bulls also run with the main cow herd. As the herd has expanded over the years, Routledge has maxed out the pasture available at home. The main cow herd (roughly 130 to 140 head) remains at home for the summer, while the younger cattle, split into three groups, are hauled to separate rented pastures. The main cow herd follows a rotational grass-based grazing system. “The fields are a bit undersized for the herd we have today,” says Routledge. “It
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