Trends In Age At Calving Of Pennsylvania Heifers Updated

Jun 23, 2016

We have recently updated an article about trends in age at first calving using records obtained from DRMS for all first-lactation Holsteins in Pennsylvania during 2015.

In Pennsylvania Holstein herds, the herd-average age at calving has been hovering around 25.5 months for several years. The 2015 data included records for 110,280 heifers with age at calving ranging from 18 to 30 months (average 24 months, standard deviation 2.24 months). More heifers calved at 24 months than any other age, which we have seen for a number of years now. Nearly 75% of heifers calved at 25 months or less and 66% were between 22 and 25 months of age at calving, meaning they are getting bred in a relatively short interval. This may be enhanced by improved reproduction management and grouping or more aggressive culling of problem breeders.

Actual 305-day lactation records from these heifers showed that average milk production was 19,150 pounds. This data set is based on a calendar year, so many heifers had not yet completed their first lactation. The actual average days in milk was 281, with a range of 45 to 305 days. Even with this variability, heifers calving at 21 months of age made the same amount of milk as older heifers, demonstrating that heifers can calve early and still make the milk that we want.

Obviously, the concept of producing the same amount of milk from younger animals is the driving force behind reducing age at calving. This quick look at Pennsylvania DHI records shows that it can be done successfully. If your heifers aren't calving by 24 months of age, you have an opportunity to improve your returns from investments in rearing costs.

Source: psu.edu

Video: US Soy: Pig growth is impaired by soybean meal displacement in the diet

Eric van Heugten, PhD, professor and swine extension specialist at North Carolina State University, recently spoke at the Iowa Swine Day Pre-Conference Symposium, titled Soybean Meal 360°: Expanding our horizons through discoveries and field-proven feeding strategies for improving pork production. The event was sponsored by Iowa State University and U.S. Soy.

Soybean meal offers pig producers a high-value proposition. It’s a high-quality protein source, providing essential and non-essential amino acids to the pig that are highly digestible and palatable. Studies now show that soybean meal provides higher net energy than current National Research Council (NRC) requirements. Plus, soybean meal offers health benefits such as isoflavones and antioxidants as well as benefits with respiratory diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS).

One of several ingredients that compete with the inclusion of soybean meal in pig diets is dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS).

“With DDGS, we typically see more variable responses because of the quality differences depending on which plant it comes from,” said Dr. van Heugten. “At very high levels, we often see a reduction in performance especially with feed intake which can have negative consequences on pig performance, especially in the summer months when feed intake is already low and gaining weight is at a premium to get them to market.”

Over the last few decades, the industry has also seen the increased inclusion of crystalline amino acids in pig diets.

“We started with lysine at about 3 lbs. per ton in the diet, and then we added methionine and threonine to go to 6 to 8 lbs. per ton,” he said. “Now we have tryptophan, isoleucine and valine and can go to 12 to 15 lbs. per ton. All of these, when price competitive, are formulated into the diet and are displacing soybean meal which also removes the potential health benefits that soybean meal provides.”