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

DAIRY

Bovine TB blow prompts dairy farmer to join Longhorn scheme

Price security and the ability to better weather a bovine TB outbreak were the main reasons dairy farmer Jonathan Scott signed up to a Longhorn scheme. In 2016, TB hit…

BEEF

3 weaning strategies explored for suckler farms

Many different strategies are employed by suckler herds across the UK to minimise stress, growth check and hassle when weaning suckler calves. Scotland’s Rural College beef specialist Basil Lowman stresses…

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…

Practical advice

See all

HEALTH AND WELFARE

How to stop calf pneumonia reducing heifer longevity

Calf pneumonia has stayed in the top 10 of the most frequent diagnoses from carcass submissions* in Great Britain for almost a decade. And while heifers can recover and eventually…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Advice on reducing pneumonia risk amid autumn weather swings

Pneumonia prevention should be top of the agenda this autumn as high humidity and swings in ambient temperatures are creating the perfect storm for the disease. Dr Gwen Davies of…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

How genetics and data sharing can aid calf management

A high percentage of dairy and suckler farmers report that calves are born dead on arrival. In an exclusive Farmers Weekly survey, 21% of dairy farmers and 29% of suckler…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

What is holding back improvements in youngstock management?

An exclusive Farmers Weekly survey has revealed that poor farmer to vet engagement and monitoring could be preventing beef and dairy farms from lowering disease and improving performance in calf…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

How to stop losses when grazing youngstock on herbal leys

A fundamental misunderstanding of how to manage stock grazing herbal leys has caused heartache on some farms this summer, as more yearling cattle and weaned lambs have died from twisted…

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…

Insights

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Calf monitoring and health plans key to future performance

Some 90% of farmers want to make changes to improve the future sustainability of their youngstock management in the next 12 months, according to a Farmers Weekly exclusive survey. Yet…

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…