THE COMMERCIAL HERD

The commercial beef herd consists of two parts:

• The Breeding Herd
• Stock for Sale
  
  

The Breeding herd is needed to produce stock for sale. Stock may be sold off at various ages, such as outlined below:

1. Weaners: Calves at 6 to 9 months of age.
   
   
2. Yearlings: Cattle 1 1/2 years old or long weaners for growing and finishing on another property.
   
   
3. Two and a half year olds, for slaughter, or as feeders that are bought and finished off on another property.
   
   
4. Two to four year olds for slaughter.
   
   

The system followed by an individual farm will depend on the following factors:

•   The rainfall on that farm.
•   The type of pasture on the property.
•   The size of the property.
•   The breed of cattle on the property.
•   The calving percentage of the breeding herd (i.e. how many calves are born).
  
  

The Breeding Herd

The ideal size for a breeding herd is 30 to 50 cows running with one bull. This is a single sire herd. Herds of this size need to be properly fenced and grazed on good pasture; and that is only justified with quality stock.

On large properties without smaller fenced paddocks, a satisfactory herd may be 100 to 150 cows with 4 or 5 bulls. During the season, herds are broken down into smaller numbers, and built back up into larger herds, depending on the time of year. Herds may be divided up for supplementary feeding with in calf heifers, in calf cows, and cull cows, being run in separate herds, and fed at different levels of nutrition. In the case of young stock, herds of up to 500 animals are suitable, provided that the handling facilities are large enough.