Agriculture and Agribusiness

Livestock Production and Herd Management

A herd earns from the animals that reproduce and grow, and carries the ones that do not, so the difference between a profitable and an unprofitable herd is usually a calving percentage nobody was measuring. This course starts with the measurement. Delegates work through herd structure, breeding records and the production indicators that show whether a herd is working: calving percentage, weaning weight, mortality and culling rate. Breeding management follows, covering the breeding season, bull to cow ratio, pregnancy diagnosis and the reasons cows fail to conceive. Nutrition is addressed against production stage, since the requirements of a lactating cow and a dry cow are not comparable. Rangeland and grazing management are covered, including carrying capacity, stocking rate and rotational grazing. Supplementary feeding and the dry season gap are addressed honestly. Growth, finishing and market weight follow. Selection and culling decisions are covered. Record keeping is addressed as the basis for all of it. The course closes on herd budgeting and on drought strategy.