Destock call proves sound

Last month I suggested we'd need at least an average September for pasture growth but we were below average. Add to that a modest start to October and that's resulted in a struggle for adequate pasture cover and a much-needed catch-up in animal condition and growth.
Thankfully we've been spared the storms which have beset our more southern brothers, so at least lamb and calf survival has been good.
Certainly those who were able to destock way back when the drought had set in are now reaping the rewards, with better pasture covers and better stock condition - and good on you, as those were big calls at the time.
The Beef + Lamb NZ annual meeting for Northland will have been held by the time you read this and as a result the plans for the upcoming year will have been sorted.
It was anticipated on-farm Beef + Lamb activity of some sort would take place in your area. The talk was of a demonstration farm or farms on which farm trials would be run and farm systems demonstrated.
Whatever decisions were made, they would be led by Northland farmers as members of the Farmers Council.
Whatever happens, the demonstration farms will probably be supported with discussion groups or monitor farms somewhere within travel distance of your farm. We'll keep you posted on progress.
Up at Kaeo on the Beef Cows 4 Profit project, the most recent focus has been on lambing and calving. Lambing is forecast to be above 135 per cent and hopefully closer to 140 per cent, with docking in full swing.
One of the main goals with Beef Cows 4 Profit has been to increase calving percentage. Last year Landcorp Northland increased calving by 4 per cent over almost 10,000 cows and heifers. Most of that gain came from reducing calf losses before calving.
Although we have much more to learn about the reasons for calf losses pre-calving, it is clear that on at least 30 per cent of the breeding cattle on Landcorp farms in Northland, BVD has been a significant contributor to calf loss.
No obvious reason has been found to show why this would not also be the case on other beef-breeding farms.
Bull management should include an annual BVD booster, and the bulls should be tested for mating ability. A significant number of bulls on the monitor farm were found to be incapable of a successful mount when they were first tested in 2008.
Rescanning results showed that 2-5 per cent of pregnant heifers were empty, whereas only 1-2 per cent of cows were. Decisions on vaccinating heifers for BVD should be made in consultation with your veterinarian, and on some of the Landcorp farms vaccinating heifers for BVD is now advised.
For more information contact Bob Thomson by email - bob.thomson@agfirst.co.nz or phone (09) 430 2410.
Bob Thomson is a local farm consultant with AgFirst Northland. He specialises in sheep and beef production and facilitates the Meat & Wool NZ-funded Monitor Farms.