Important factors to consider when making the transition to controlled mating
- Identify the ideal time of year to support wet cow nutrition
- Ensure the ability to securely paddock bulls during the non-joining season
- Ability to keep accurate herd records and maintain herd health/nutrition
- Access to Vet services for pregnancy testing and bull checks
Making the decision to transition to a controlled mating system on your property can be challenging. On this page, beef reproduction experts and FutureBeef contributors Mick Sullivan, Tim Emery and Roxanne Morgan provide key considerations and planning options to help make the shift less complicated.
We will be using the following property as an example to help simplify some of the management decisions made. This property and information may not be relevant to your situation, but FutureBeef have many experienced extension staff that can help you – find their contact information HERE.
Example property details:
- Reasonably large-scale property in Central Queensland with multiple large paddocks that are extensively grazed
- Green date in mid-January
- First weaning muster April to June
- Second weaning muster August to September
- Wanting to change from continuous mating to controlled without impacting heavily on production.
Three year plan for transition to controlled mating:
YEAR ONE: Setting up the herd
AUGUST–SEPTEMBER (Second round muster)
Remove bulls
Removing bulls now prevents calves being born next dry season (June–September) minimising time cows are lactating on poor quality feed. Ensure bulls have a secure paddock, not bordering with cows and have access to good quality feed.
Wean calves early
During this time wean as many calves as possible. Determine what the lowest calf liveweight you can manage and focus on weaning calves off cows in lower condition (less than body condition score 3). Resources to help you manage weaning early
Vaccinate cows
While you have cows in the yards, you can vaccinate cows for diseases that are relevant in your area e.g. botulism, clostridial diseases, leptospirosis and pestivirus (screen mobs first).
Keep in mind first-time vaccinations need a booster in 4–6 weeks.
More details about vaccinating your herd can be found here, don’t forget to get tailored advice from your local vet to ensure you are covered for your area.
YEAR TWO: Applying the program
YEAR THREE and beyond: Refining the system
IN SUMMARY: What is needed for a successful controlled mating program?
- Ease of mustering to remove bulls from cows.
- A secure bull paddock/s.
- Yard facilities to handle larger mobs of weaners.
- Additional staff may be required at particular times of the year with condensed branding and weaning rounds.
- Timeliness of management activities and sticking to the timeline/plan.
- A good data recording system (not necessarily electronic).
- Vaccination program, particularly for vibriosis and leptospirosis.
- Conduct an annual bull breeding soundness evaluation (BBSE) (including morphology).
- Recording wet and dry lactation status and preferably pregnancy test/foetal age.
- Management of cow body condition – through stocking rates, weaning and supplementation.
If you need more help with how to start controlled mating on your property, please talk to your local beef extension officer, veterinarian or advisor or attend a Breeding EDGE workshop.
Looking for a more visual method of planning out controlled mating in your herd? The link below will help you plan out your herd management activities on a monthly basis. We gratefully acknowledge Mick Sullivan (DPI Rockhampton) for creating this resource.