Calving on Pasture

By Caitlyn Douglas-Derkson

*written without the use of AI

Its calving time at Souris Flats Ranch! Our Speckle Park Cattle are well suited for pasture life, which means they can birth their calves while rotationally grazing without skipping a beat. Our cows learn to graze from the moment they are born, but we haven't always calved this way! So, we wanted to share our experience of pasture calving.

Our herd is made up of Speckle Park Cattle, a modern Canadian breed developed here in Saskatchewan in 1959 crossing British Aberdeen Angus and Shorthorn breeds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speckle_Park. We love their signature speckled pattern, but they aren't just pretty! They are quiet, kind natured, and hardy - requiring only a forage and hay diet. They are also extremely maternal which means they are very fertile, give birth easily, have an excellent milk supply, and are attentive mothers. Speckle Park calves are very lively, standing and persistently trying to nurse minutes after birth. All of these traits combined means that our herd can give birth and raise their calves with very little intervention. https://www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/beef/112/speckle-park

We are very proud of our grazing program. Our cattle spend the entire year moving around our farm grazing every inch of forage. This method of managing forage is called planned grazing or rotational grazing. Using temporary electric fence we build small paddocks where the herd spends no more than 5 days eating and trampling the forage and fertilizing the soil with their urine and manure. The cows usually eat all of the plants which slows invasive plants and protects biodiversity. The herd leaves the paddock and does not return for at least 60-80 days allowing the fertilized grass to fully recover and grow back stronger.

To prepare for calving we have to plan for enough spring forage and make a few adjustments in our grazing program. We let the pastures closest to the barnyard grow as much as possible in the fall so there is lots of forage in May and June for the calving herd. The calves usually follow their moms on pasture moves but we do give the herd access to their previous paddock for 10 days so they can go back and find their calves who may have missed the move. Our biggest challenge is predator pressure. The local coyotes are becoming more aggressive every year and like to target calves.

20 years ago we had larger framed cattle and we chose to calve at the end of winter using the shelter of our large pole shed. We saw a lot more labour dystocia and had to supplement feed all winter to support the calorie needs of our big cows in the cold season. Calving this way was still enjoyable to us - we still lamb this way - but we are very happy with our pasture calving program.

My mom says "the only thing I'm married to is your dad, everything else can change!". We like pasture calving but we are also open to changing our program if circumstances demand. Right now pasture calving works great, and the calves bring us a lot of joy! Calving is something we look forward to every spring.