Future Proofing
As we are all experiencing a new error in farming — inflation costs, interest rates and low schedules, along with unprecedented weather, it’s a very challenging environment for us as farmers. Everything just mentioned is out of our control — we’ve had to ride out these challenges before and we will do it again.
If we focus on what we can control, then we can mitigate our balance sheet to a more desirable position. One of the ways we can do this is by selecting for genetics that will enhance our breeding programmes and lift our profit margins.
Heifer mating is a very good way of helping this, with Beef & Lamb calculating that a beef herd can be 15% more profitable if heifers are successfully mated as yearlings. So by utilising your latest homebred genetics (your heifers) and mating them to a bull that will perform, those calves born will lift your bottom line.
We have been breeding with our heifers for over 30 years and we know how effective mating heifers is for our own cow herd, especially for lifting fertility.
The technology we now have access to gives a more accurate prediction of how the calves are going to turn out, so this part of the breeding is easy if you choose the right bulls — from then on it’s up to you, as far as the management of the heifers goes, which is what we all farm for!
Whether you finish your own progeny or sell them store, I believe it's imperative you use the right bulls for your system. If you are selling store cattle your genetic choice will still be out there in the market so your own brand and reputation are being judged on how those store cattle perform.
The finisher is your client, so for you to get premiums for your calves, your marketing and future sales are reliant on how they perform for the finisher… Believe me, if the finisher gets them away early and can get carcass premiums for IMF, they will come back and be willing to pay more to get those calves next time.
As I write this we are 65% of the way through our Kakahu heifer calving. We have pulled one calf that was a breach, but all the other calves have been unassisted with no problems. This is what I expect to see, since birth weight is 32% heritable, and after 30 years of mating heifers, we know what works.
We hope the North Island is drying out, and while the recovery from the devastation on the East Coast is still ongoing, we are all thinking of our farming friends up there.
We look forward to seeing those of you who can make our sale on October 5th.
Tom
