Weaning Strategies for Improved Productivity
| Project start date: | 30 May 2014 |
| Project end date: | 30 June 2017 |
| Project status: | Completed |
| Livestock species: | Grass-fed Cattle |
| Relevant regions: | Victoria |
|
Download Report
(1.5 MB)
|
|
Summary
The South Gippsland Beef Producers group was formed in August 2014 and consisted of both breeders and traders who wanted to focus on defining the best techniques to wean or induct cattle onto the farm to ensure that they were quiet and easy to handle.
This producer demonstration was established on six farms in south Gippsland, Victoria, to demonstrate best practice management when weaning or inducting new cattle to a farm. The demonstration focused on the advanced training of livestock as part of the yard weaning process, whilst minimising occupational health and safety risks.
Through this demonstration, group members discovered weaning and induction techniques that would make cattle quieter and easier to handle, leading to labour savings and reduced occupational health and safety risks, while increasing productivity and carcass value.
Objectives
The objectives of this project were to:
• determine the effect of weaning or induction method on temperament and weight gain during weaning
• train producer participants in advanced livestock handling techniques to enable them to yard wean/induct and train their cattle in the most effective manner
• highlight the occupational health and safety benefits of quieter cattle and better handling techniques
• produce a resource package outlining the best method of yard weaning/induction to quieten cattle and maintain or gain weight during weaning.
Progress
The advanced livestock handling resulted in significantly lower flight speeds at both weeks 1 and 6 compared to the traditional weaning method, resulting in calmer cattle with potentially reduced occupational health and safety risks.
The demonstration found that the advanced livestock handling techniques resulted in significantly greater weight loss (-2.7 kg) in calves in the first week post weaning than traditional weaning methods (0 kg). Weaners from the advanced training mobs tended to be heavier six weeks post weaning than the traditionally weaned groups, although this was not significant.
Four of the six producers directly involved with the demonstration adopted these techniques for future seasons. A field day held in Dumbalk registered forty-four producers in attendance, returning twenty-five evaluations with 84% of producers planning to make a change in their cattle handling techniques as a result.
