 Heifer Benchmarks Ian Rumbles – CanWest DHI

Deck of Cards What would you build with a deck of cards?

Deck of Cards - Would you build a simple house? - Or a Tower - Or something HUGE !

Deck of Cards What is the BEST structure? What is the GOAL ! - Largest number of cards - Or the fewest - Highest - Most elaborate - Stable

Benchmarks Determining the Best card structure, is a lot like Heifer Benchmarks. -You need to determine what are you going to measure -The additional thing, that was not in the Card example is comparing measurements over time

What to Measure ? What can we measure to tell us we are doing the Best job possible in raising our heifers? There are a number of things: Health - Stillborns - F / M ratio and Twins - 60 Day Survival rate - Diseases - Diarrhea - Pneumonia - Navel Infection - Left Herd reasons and age Reproduction - Age at 1st Breeding - Age at first Calving - Times Bred - % heifers Pregnant at 15 mths Growth - Birth Weight - Weight / Height at 1st Breeding - Weight / Height at first Calving Population and Potential - Number Heifers per cow - Genetic potential of heifers, compared to cows Economics - Average cost of Heifer Rearing What are the KEY ones

Measurements Lots of things we COULD measure Measurements - Easy to do - Has an impact - Repeatable at regular intervals - Record and Chart Easy to do -If it is not easy, you will not do it -Especially over time Has an Impact -Will it make you more money -Will it cost less Repeatable -Really important to keep doing it -Must be on a schedule so you can see progress Record and Chart -Make sure you record -Charts will show impact Depending on where you need to improve, will impact on how many measurements you take and for what

Death A number of calves do not even get a chance to make it to the milking herd Calves born Dead6 %12 % in 1st Lact Heifers Calves die before Weaning 8 % PLUS Calves die post Weaning 2 % PLUS MEASURE - % of calves dead before weaning 16 % Are you doing Better or Worse than this? Do you really know, or are you guessing?

Death - Stillborns - what is the relationship to difficult calving and /or Twins - 60 Day Survival rate - Diseases - Diarrhea - Pneumonia - Navel Infection - Left Herd reasons and age If you are having trouble with calves dying, you can measure:

Growth Measuring the height and weight of a calf can help determine breeding age Valacta and industry partners have good growth charts and graphs Weights (kgs) HO JE Breeding Calving

Growth Ideally, you should get height and weight measurements at Weaning, First Breeding and Calving Remember the first key in measurements is “Easy to Do” Chart the heights and weights against age Establish a process to measure heights and weights - Getting all heifers would be great - Get 10 measurements, height, weight and age, 2 to 4 times per year, would be good Measuring sticks and tapes available from farm supply and feed companies

Reproduction 2011 Reproduction Benchmarks Over 50% of ON herds have enough heifer reproduction data to make benchmarks

Reproduction Establishing and distributing Benchmarks makes a difference (slow progress, but moving in the right direction) Age at 1st Calving % Heifers Pregnant at 15 mths Every month less to Age at 1st calving is 5% less cost to raise heifer

Population and Potential The average Genetic Potential of heifers should be higher than cows This herd has 1.2 heifers for every cow, is that economic?

Benchmarks Measurements - Easy to do - Has an impact - Repeatable at regular intervals - Record and Chart - If you are getting benchmarks already prepared (e.g. Reproduction benchmarks), you should compare your herd against the other rankings - If you are tracking your own benchmarks (e.g. Height /weights or Genetic indexes) it is important to: - select no more than 5 key areas to track - chart them so you have a visual reference - set a goal for the upcoming year

Thank You !