Menu

Know How / Beef / Youngstock management

Careful youngstock management in beef herds will help maximise heifer and bull calf performance, bring forward first-time breeding and increase margins. We have advice on newborn calf care, nutrition, breed selection, disease prevention, genetics, target growth rates and first-time breeding protocols.

Must reads

Case studies

See all

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Suckler herd saves £100 a calf by focusing on grassland

Listen to Michael Priestley read this article or see the text below. Farmers Weekly · Suckler herd saves £100 a calf by focusing on grassland Replacing creep feed with nose…

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

Simple creep grazing system helps suckler cow efficiency

Forward creep-grazing with creep gates or electric wires is a simple technique suckler systems could try this year to help performance. With feed costs becoming eye-watering, the benefits of the…

LIVESTOCK

Collaborative calf-rearing venture brings multiple benefits

A joint calf-rearing enterprise between two neighbouring farms in the Midlands is bringing benefits to both parties. The new profit-sharing agreement has brought extra income to beef and sheep farming…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

How the Islavale Simmental herd manages 15% twins

Close attention to twin-bearing cows and milky, prolific genetics is helping a Scottish breeder regularly rear more than 100% calves to cows bulled. The Islavale herd of Berryleys Farm, near…

LIVESTOCK

How a suckler farmer is achieving six-week calving

Good nutritional management, a high bull-to-cow ratio and attention to detail is enabling a Pembrokeshire suckler beef enterprise to halve its calving period from 12 weeks to six and calve…

HOUSING AND HANDLING

Video: What’s In Your Livestock Shed? A high-health calf unit

Calves reared in a specific youngstock unit are growing 100g/day faster during the 20-120-day phase in early trial work. The High Health Unit (HHU) prototype has been trialled for two…

Practical advice

See all

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

How to manage common suckler calf health challenges

Performance and weight gain can be knocked for six if a calf suffers health problems in its first few months. This can have a significant economic impact on a suckler…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

How stress-free disbudding can benefit calf units

Stress-free disbudding by a vet offers enhanced calf welfare, improved growth rates and frees up farm staff, says vet Philip Wilkinson of Paragon Veterinary Group. The increasing challenge of finding…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

How to manage calves unable to suckle due to 'squinty jaw'

Vets and farmers have been collaborating across the UK to unravel a frustrating calving conundrum that can render up to 15% of calves unable to suck their dams. Otherwise healthy…

DAIRY

How spring-calvers can prepare for end of bull calf euthanasia

Producing a viable dairy bull calf is a challenge in a system that relies on an efficient cow of smaller stature to maximise milk production from grazed grass on the…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Advice on feeding yearling heifers to calve at 22-24 months

Calving at two rather than three years old reduces rearing costs by about £600 a heifer and increases its lifetime productivity.  In addition, it ensures genetics with the best potential…

CALVING

5 calf deformities, causes and what to do

Calf deformities at birth are caused by a wide range of issues, including physical, nutritional, infectious, and genetic. Some remain a mystery. Alex Roberts, from Garston Veterinary Group in the…

Insights

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Coccidiosis project raises hope for new treatment

Coccidiosis is a perennial parasitic problem in growing lambs. It presents some difficulties in diagnosis, treatment and prevention – but good news could be around the corner.  Lambs and calves…

LIVESTOCK

Calf bottles and tube feeders on test

It is unsurprising many farmers are switching from bottles to buckets with teats for feeding milk to older calves. Our test, carried out over a four-month period at my family…

LIVESTOCK DISEASES

7 risk factors of pneumonia in calves and how to avoid them

Buying calves from multiple sources and feeding calves only once a day could be putting animals at risk of getting pneumonia, a study has found. AHDB assessed data from eight…

FEED AND NUTRITION

What are the benefits of milk replacer for calf rearers?

More than half of all dairy and beef farmers in Great Britain now rear their youngstock on calf milk replacer (CMR) instead of whole milk, with potential disease risks a…

LIVESTOCK

Why textbook heifer growth rates may not be good enough

Dairying experts at home and abroad are questioning whether units are achieving heifer growth targets of 0.7-0.8kg/day and if this gain is sufficient for the modern Holstein. Concerted efforts to…

BEEF

Is bigger better when it comes to cow size?

Finding the right sized cow to suit the system is key to suckler productivity. Farmers Weekly analyses whether bigger or smaller cows are best. A growing number of farms are…

LIVESTOCK

Pneumonia in calves: Pin down the cause and prevent it

Bacteria that cause pneumonia are fairly widespread and can live in a calf’s respiratory tract without causing disease. In the final part of this series, Caroline Stocks looks at what…

LIVESTOCK

Pneumonia in calves: How farmers can cut the risk

The aim of Farmers Weekly’s new series is to help farmers reduce the costs of pneumonia
in calves. Caroline Stocks sets the scene with 
a look at the results of an…