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Dairy · Reproduction · Output

Calving rate

84% in calf · reared

The herd’s reproductive output — live calves reared against the cows eligible to breed. It rolls conception, pregnancy losses and calf survival into a single number, and supplies your replacement heifers.

Worked example · Head, eligible → reared
Eligible · 280 In-calf · 235 Calved · 228 Reared · 220
Head, eligible → reared
The benchmark

Australian herds typically rear 80–90% of eligible cows as calves; the gap is lost to empties, abortions and calf mortality.

Dairy Australia · InCalf ↗
What it signals

Tracking the eligible → in-calf → calved → reared chain separates a conception problem from abortion or calf-loss, so you target the real leak instead of guessing.

Data required to calculate
Cows eligible to breedno.Cows calvedno.Calves rearedno.

Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses, and keeps the figure current automatically.

How to improve it
01

Vaccinate and manage cows to prevent abortion storms (e.g. lepto, pestivirus).

02

Run a clean, supervised calving pad to cut stillbirths and calf scours.

03

Feed springers correctly to avoid milk fever and downer cows at calving.

Questions & answers

What is calving rate?

The herd’s reproductive output — live calves reared against the cows eligible to breed. It rolls conception, pregnancy losses and calf survival into a single number, and supplies your replacement heifers.

What data do you need to calculate calving rate?

You need: Cows eligible to breed (no.), Cows calved (no.), Calves reared (no.). Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses and keeps the figure current automatically.

What is a good calving rate benchmark?

Australian herds typically rear 80–90% of eligible cows as calves; the gap is lost to empties, abortions and calf mortality.

How do you improve calving rate?

Vaccinate and manage cows to prevent abortion storms (e.g. lepto, pestivirus). Run a clean, supervised calving pad to cut stillbirths and calf scours. Feed springers correctly to avoid milk fever and downer cows at calving.

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