Help Calves Reach Their Potential on Summer Grass

     Pasture turnout in the spring often comes with great anticipation for both bovine and farmer alike.  The cows can smell the sweet grass on the other side of the fence and producers can free up some of their valuable time that was spent feeding, bedding etc.  It is important not to be too hasty turning the herd out.  Make sure that the herd and the pasture have been properly prepared in order to optimize productivity.

     Pasture ground, like that of row crops, needs fertilizer to be productive.  Soil tests will provide you with any deficiencies that need supplementing.  Once the dirt has been assessed, samples of the forage from the pasture will allow you to know what ingredients are required in your pasture supplement or premix.  Christoph Wand, OMAFRA’s Beef Nutritionist, has excellent information on mineral requirements for pasture.  According to Wand, vitamins A and E are found in very adequate levels in fresh grass, and vitamin D is produced by the cattle when exposed to sunlight.  Keeping these already free ingredients out of your pasture premix will greatly reduce your cost.  Because of the deficiency in Ontario soils, selenium must be included in the supplement.  Other ingredients such as medications against coccidiosis can be added in herds with a history of such problems.     Placing cows on well managed pastures gives your calves the best chance to meet their gain potential.  With respect to preparing the herd for pasture turnout, I have a “to do” list that I feel ALL beef producers should follow.

1)      perform a breeding soundness exam on all pasture bulls 4-6 weeks prior to turnout

2)      vaccinate calves for clostridial diseases (blackleg, malignant edema, tetanus etc.)

3)      deworm calves with a pour-on endectocide

4)      apply a fly tag in each ear

     Performing a breeding soundness exam on the bulls will allow the herd to deliver approximately 85% of the calf crop in 6 weeks, compressing the calving season and therefore weaning a more uniform group in the fall.  Applying fly tags is simply an easy and cheap prevention of pink eye, a disease that, given the right conditions, can be devastating to weaning weights.

 I would like to discuss numbers 2 and 3 on the “to do list”.  

Clostridia bacteria are found in warm soils with significant levels of decaying plant material and the greatest risk of exposure occurs after a heavy rainfall.  The Clostridium species of bacteria are almost always the primary cause of a disease and they all produce potent toxins that can enter the calf’s blood stream and quickly lead to death.  Treating these animals is virtually impossible because death happens so suddenly.     

     Luckily the diseases caused by Clostridia can be prevented effectively and economically with vaccination. 

     These vaccines cost about 50cents/dose and should be given at various stages of the beef production cycle.  The vaccination of the cow prior to calving (4-6 weeks before calving/time of scour vaccine) is the best way to prevent tetanus in bull calves processed at birth with elastrators.  It will deliver immunity to the calf through the colostrum and protect it until turnout.  At turnout the calf should be vaccinated. 

The vaccine used should be given under the skin to prevent severe injection site lesions.  Talk to your vet about what brand of vaccine to use at the various points in the production cycle and what one will compliment your herd best.

     The majority of beef producers deworm their cattle with a pour-on endectocide in the fall, but with calves, you are leaving about 10kg of weaning weight behind by not deworming in the spring.  Five years of research data out of Oklahoma State has shown a 21lb weaning weight advantage on calves dewormed at turnout versus no spring deworming.  Spring deworming the cows and calves gave 25lbs more weaning weight versus no spring deworming, but in this study, the economic advantage was with deworming only the calves in the spring.  In short, deworm your calves at turnout and again in the fall with the rest of the herd. 

     Following the “to do list” and good pasture management will give your calves a better chance to reach their potential on grass.