Beef Cow and Calf Operation Images
Eliza Walton was looking for the right farm for her four Angus cows. She found it, and much more, at Egg Hill Farm, where Chris Ishler was growing row crops.
Ten years later, the crop fields are pastures, and Walton and Ishler are managing a herd of 40 registered Angus.
"We joke, it was a match made in farmer heaven," Walton said.
At first, the couple just sold calves from the cow-calf herd, but before long they were looking to improve productivity and expand the markets for their business, Sinking Creek Meats.
They found the help they needed in Penn State Extension.
Working with Tara Felix and Dustin Heeter of Penn State's beef team, Walton and Ishler have been able to improve their efficiency and boost the profitability of their heifers.
Chris Ishler and Eliza Walton manage a 40-head registered Angus herd in Spring Millls, Pa.
Before working with the beef profit team, Walton and Ishler would breed the cows to an Angus bull. But the team suggested they try breeding their heifers with a Hereford.
Walton and Ishler selected a Whitestone Angus bull and a Heritage Hall Hereford bull for their traits of high calving ease, weaning weight and ribeye.
The focus is on calving season success, especially with bull calves.
"We want a bull that will come out and grow," Ishler said.
This year's calving season started March 17. It will end by May 19, when Walton and Ishler pull the bull off from the cow herd. So far, so good. Sinking Creek has a twin set, which is being cared for by Chris' teenage son, Hunter.
Improving Management of the Calf Crop
In 2018, it was a struggle for Walton and Ishler to keep weight on their heifers' calves. They also had difficulty getting them bred.
They attribute this to a wet summer that affected their ability to make the high-quality hay needed to condition the heifers for breeding.
But since then, with help from the beef profit team, Walton and Ishler are seeing improvement.
"The difference between the two groups is night and day," Walton said.
The Sinking Creek herd is fed forages all year. Walton and Ishler rotate the cows and calves to a new pasture every three days, and they are pursuing a grazing grant through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service that will help them fence in 70 acres of pasture along the banks of Sinking Creek, a tributary of Penns Creek in Centre County. The grant also includes the development of in-pasture watering systems.
In the fall, they supplement the herd with sorghum-sudangrass and corn silage. In the winter, Walton and Ishler unwrap round bales in the sacrifice pasture. They also feed the heifers alfalfa balage to boost their protein intake over the winter, Ishler said.
The herd doesn't get much grain, but when it does, it serves a purpose. It's an effective distraction during weaning.
Walton and Ishler will start feeding grain a few weeks before they separate calves from their mother cows.
"A lot of them know what the bucket is," Walton said.
Even the Angus bull knows what sweet delight awaits.
"He gets so excited when he sees a bucket," she said.
Weaning for the Sinking Creek calves starts when they are about 6 months old in mid-September, but last year, Walton and Ishler weaned the calves in August.
They weaned early because of the drought, but the move had the side benefit of allowing the cows to be bred back earlier than normal.
In any case, the entire weaning process really "lightens up the load on the cows," Ishler said.
Weighty Decisions
Walton and Ishler bought their first scale in 2022 with a grant from the Center for Beef Excellence.
"It's been so helpful," Walton said.
The pair get a starting weight on the calves before weaning, set a target average daily gain, and track the progress throughout the process. The scale also helps Walton and Ishler do the math when they deworm and vaccinate the cow herd.
Every spring and fall, the Sinking Creek cows receive spray-on dewormer and are vaccinated for pinkeye. They are treated again 30 days before meeting the bull. They receive a single-dose vaccine that protects against bovine respiratory syncytial virus, bovine rhinotracheitis and bovine virus diarrhea.
Walton and Ishler also use a BRSV nasal vaccine on their 6-month-old calves to prevent a respiratory disease from setting up camp in their noses. And by summer, all cows and calves are given a fly ear tag to help ward off flying pests.
While Walton and Ishler sell most of the weaned calf crop — mostly steers — they keep about 16 replacement heifers and cull the three lowest-performing animals.
According to Texas A&M Extension, keeping replacements heifers gives beef producers control over genetic selection in improving their herd's production, especially if they have to cull heifers that fail to conceive.
For Walton and Ishler, it's ideal to have their 13 "keepers" weighing 1,200 to 1,400 pounds right before they will calve, which is when heifers will be 85% of their mature weight. But deciding which heifers to cull this year will be difficult.
"There's no obvious bottom-enders this year," Walton said.
Retailing the Angus Magic
Some beef producers might shy away from Angus cattle because of their reputation for aggressiveness, but Walton and Ishler believe animal demeanor depends on management style.
They are hands-on with their cow herd, Walton said. When she snapped her fingers, Sinking Creek's matriarchs knew it was time to move to a greener pasture.
Her love for the breed comes from her years of showing Angus as a Chester County 4-H'er, and she enjoys the uniformity of their soft noir coloring, she said.
She and Ishler primarily sell retail cuts of beef through Centre Markets, an online farmers market for the State College area.
Selling online has been good for their time management since they both work at Martin's Feed Mill in Coburn. Walton owns the business, and it takes six days of her week.
The time the couple don't spend at the mill they often spend managing the herd.
"We always have to plan for a weekend," Walton said.
Source: https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/beef/angus-cow-calf-operation-boosts-productivity/article_a07e7a40-e96d-56ff-beac-40050a8a481c.html
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