In the livestock business there are cycles, there are variables that go up and down, and there are choices that are possible move. But today, in a market where real estate is trading at historically very high values, there is one aspect that no longer allows delay: 360 degree efficiency in calf production. The firmness of the price of this category and the slaughterhouse changed the productive map of the Argentine livestock industry. Given the reduced available supply and continued internal and external demand Each weaned calf weighing 200 kilos is equivalent to one million pesosa historically high value in constant currency and in dollars. However, this value is only realized in systems that work very well. “In the current context, efficiency in all aspects affecting breeding is no longer optional, but an obligation. It is not enough to have the cows; we must ensure that they produce at full capacity. There is no technology that compensates for a disordered system.”says Francisco López Harburu, director of Select Debernardi, in a company report.
For many years, Argentine livestock farming has struggled with a structural problem: many farms were content with discreet results, almost resigned to the idea that they were “slow,” “low-tech” systems where it was difficult to “move the needle.” That time ended. The current price of the calf forces us to rethink this perspective and take advantage of this historic opportunity.
“When the operation is expensive, inefficiencies are very damaging. Every empty cow is no longer just another number: it is a concrete cost, a direct loss and a lost margin, with no possibility of recovery throughout an entire cycle,” says López Harburu.
Given the reduced agricultural supply available and persistent internal and external demand, breeding regained an importance it had not had for a long time. However, this protagonism comes with a requirement: It is not enough to have cows; You have to get them to produce. And you can do this by taking a closer look at several central aspects: Nutrition, health, genetics, reproduction and management. That means 360 degree efficiency.
Calf production begins in the soil and plants. “There is no genetics or health that can compensate for a nutritional gap. And when this deficiency occurs, it is paid for with fewer pregnancies, fewer kilos weaned and less profitability,” emphasizes the manager.
The feed resource is the basis of breeding systems in our country. “Supply measurements, strategic nutritional supplementation, load management and rotations allow maintaining the body condition of the bellies and avoiding bottlenecks that reduce the conception rate,” suggests López Harburu.
There are losses that are seen – a dead calf, a birth with dystocia – and losses that are not seen: herds infected with toxic diseases, uncontrolled bulls, silent abortions, empty bellies that go unnoticed until touched, etc. In a context of high prices, these invisible losses are the most expensive of all.
The most important sexually transmitted diseases (campylobacteriosis, trichomoniasis) and reproductive diseases (IBR, DVB, leptospirosis) account for between 5 and 15% of potential calf losses. Bull control, systematic vaccination and correct replacement management are now indispensable cornerstones of breeding. That is, comprehensive health programs reduce the number of empty cows and organize the functioning of the system.
Good body condition while on duty and performing artificial insemination at a fixed time (IATF) allow synchronizing runs, bringing forward pregnancies and increasing the final percentage. “Artificial insemination is no longer just a genetic technology used in state-of-the-art sheds and fields: it is a tool for organizing the productive structure of commercial breeding herds.”distinguishes López Harburu.
“The breeding field managers who understand this new logic are no longer discussing the use of artificial insemination, but rather about how it can be improved.” The IATF ceased to be just another tool and became a core technology “Organizing systems, concentrating calvings and achieving genetic improvements that previously took years,” emphasizes the specialist.
As we know, reproductive efficiency doesn’t go astray: “It starts in day-to-day management; feed planning, herd management and decisions that seem small but produce huge results.”he adds.
In times of low prices, losing a calf is painful. In times of high prices this is unacceptable. Because every calf is capital, it is work, it is time.
“Calves need to be monitored, especially in heifers; attention to the newborn calf needs to be systematic. Colostrum provision, umbilical healing and identification are simple but not insignificant steps“, emphasizes López Harburu.
Heifers require intensive monitoring. Selection of bulls with Expected Differences Between Progenies (EPD) in calving ease, monitoring during calving and timely interventions reduce dystocia and neonatal mortality.
“This moment of unprecedented prices should be understood not as a market anomaly, but as a warning: Argentine livestock farming has enormous potential, but to express it inevitably requires 360-degree efficiency. The report explains.
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