Farmer Focus: Efforts pay off as 69% of cows calve in 16 days

It has been a spring that will go down in my books as one of the best in memory. It’s a stark contrast from last year, which was one of the worst – definitely a spring to forget.

We’ve had an incredible season for calving and lambing outdoors, and it’s been a real pleasure to work in.

As I write, 69% of the cows have calved so far. Our due date was 16 days ago, on 12 April.

See also: Farmer Focus: Renewed bull team helps conception rate

About the author

Duncan Morrison

Aberdeenshire-based Duncan Morrison is aiming to run his 240 Angus and Stabiliser suckler cows and small Lleyn flock as low-cost as possible after getting a foot on the farming ladder by renting cows and land. Stock are outwintered on deferred grass, bale grazing and forage crops.

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That follows our bes-yet pregnancy scan last autumn, with 95% in-calf in seven weeks.

That level of fertility is something I am really proud of; it has been a work in progress for many years.

I think one of the biggest factors has been the switch from three bulling cycles (nine to 10 weeks) to two cycles.

It’s a virtuous circle, where cows calving early have a huge amount of recovery time to get safely back in-calf, and heifers are retained from fertile cows. 

It also builds momentum each year: the percentage of cows calving in the first cycle has increased from 26% in 2018 to 77.5% in 2024.

And last year, the average calving interval across our whole herd was 364 days. 

Of course, the cow is only half the equation, and the bull team still need to be in tip-top shape.

We have had a lot of twins this year for some reason. They do add extra work to the job. However, they are always welcome.

Our 2024-born breeding bulls have recently been ultrasound scanned and will soon be semen tested. We will most likely retain three or four for our own herd, and the rest will be available privately off-farm.

The ewes have recently started lambing too, and things are progressing nicely. Attention will soon shift to getting some field work done for forage crops and new grass leys.

We have experimented with various types of herbal leys over the past few years, with as many failures as successes.

One plant I think is underrated is red clover. It supercharges a sward in terms of production and quality.

Management needs to be on point, but as someone who is not applying a great deal of fertiliser, it is definitely worth the hassle.