Calving Heifers Vlog Series
Suckler herds are being encouraged to improve efficiency by reducing the age of first calving to 2 years old. Whilst this can increase the farm output whilst reducing the carbon footprint, it is not suited to every farm system. We bring you a series of video updates following 3 farmers who calve their heifers at 2, 2.5 and 3 years old. These focus on heifer selection, bulling preparation, winter management and calving providing a practical insight into their systems. Join us in following their journey as the season unfolds.
Choosing At What Age To Calve Your Heifers
In this short video, Stevie Rolfe from SR Cattle Services provides an overview of the range of heifer management practices he commonly sees across the country. He also provides some top tips on management of heifers through the breeding season and bull selection for optimum success performance whether calving at 2, 2.5 or 3 years of age. Read more >>
Calving At 2 Years Old
Calving at 2 Years Old: Selecting Heifers
The first of this year's farmer vlogs comes from Tom Hopkinson at Lindertis Farm at Kirriemuir, who gives us an overview of his farming system and tells us what he looks for when selecting his heifers for calving at 2 years old. Read more>>
Calving at 2: Bulling Management
We revisit Tom Hopkinson at Lindertis Farm at Kirriemuir, to hear how he manages his heifers at bulling and what he looks for when selecting bulls for calving heifers at 2 years old. Read more >>
Winter Management for Calving Heifers at 2 years old
We revisit Tom Hopkinson at Lindertis Farm at Kirriemuir, to hear how his pregnancy scanning went and how he manages his heifers throughout the winter for calving at 2 years old. Read more >>
Calving At 2.5 Years Old
Calving at 2.5 years old: Selecting Heifers
The second of this year's farmer vlogs comes from Stewart Stronach of Berryleys at Keith, home to the Islavale pedigree Simmental herd. Stewart gives us an overview of his farming system and tells us what he looks for when selecting his heifers for calving at 2.5 years old. Read more>>
Calving at 2.5: Bulling Management
We revisit Stewart Stronach at Berryleys, Keith to hear how he manages his heifers at bulling and what he looks for when selecting bulls for calving heifers at 2.5 years old. Read more >>
Winter Management for Calving Heifers at 2.5 years old
We revisit Stewart Stronach at Berryleys Farm in Keith to hear how his pregnancy scanning went and how he manages his heifers throughout the winter for calving heifers at 2.5 years old. Read more >>
Calving At Three Years Old
Calving at 3 Years Old: Selecting Heifers
The third of this year's farmer vlogs comes from Billy Graham, Craigdarroch Farm, Sanquar who gives us an overview of his farming system and tells us what he looks for when selecting his heifers for calving at 3 years old. Read more >>
Calving at 3: Bulling Management
We revisit Billy Graham at Craigdarroch Farm to discuss bulling preparation and bull selection for calving at 3 years old. Read more >>
Winter Management for Calving Heifers at 3 years old
We revisit Billy Graham at Craigdarroch Farm as the heifers come down from the hill for scanning. We will discuss the pregnancy scanning results and winter management on the hill for calving heifers at 3 years old. Read more >>
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