Leo Roets is a cattle farmer from Piet Plessis in the North West province of South Africa. Leo has been farming Bovelder cattle since 1996 in a family business with his father and father-in-law. He farms with about 650 cattle on about 5 000 hectares of natural grazing in an extensive beef production environment and is predominantly a weaner producer. Leo spoke to Judy Vercueil about the true cost of weaning stress in his farming business.

Cattle farming is a long-term process, so it is important to have well-defined goals and then make sure you stick to your plan, ensuring steady improvement every year. Some of the main production goals that Leo focuses on are:

  • Selecting the right bulls for the cows
  • Managing the cow herd to maximise calf production
  • Selecting replacement heifers to calve at 24 months and annually thereafter
  • Producing Elite weaners for the backgrounding and feedlot market

Being a weaner producer is a complex business. Anyone involved in cattle production and management knows that weaning is one of the most stressful times on the farming calendar. And it is also arguably the most critical time in terms of production and cash flow.

To achieve the goal of producing elite weaners, the timing and method of weaning are critical. Calves that experience minimal weaning shock tend to perform better in feedlots and during backgrounding on the veld, unlike calves that are taken to feedlots or auctions straight from their mothers. Using a stress-free weaning method, such as EasyWean® NoseRings® has a significant impact on post-weaning production and is essential in producing elite weaners.

But that is only one side of the coin. To maximise calf production, the aim is to select replacement heifers to calve at 24 months and then calve annually thereafter. So, breeding the right replacement heifers is a priority. To calve at 24 months, heifers must weigh 60% of their mature weight at 14 to 15 months of age. To achieve this, they need to keep growing and gaining weight steadily. This upward growth curve is usually interrupted at weaning. It is then almost impossible to regain the weight lost at weaning before bulling at 14 to 15 months without significant cost in terms of time or additional feed.

“In the extensive environment that we farm in, it is nearly impossible to regain the weight lost at weaning before bulling at 14 to 15 months. Heifer calves gain between 250 and 300 grams per day on our sweetveld through the winter, provided a good quality winter lick and decent winter grazing is available. If she loses, for example, 9 kgs during weaning, it will take a month longer to regain the lost weight. The opposite is also true. The earlier a heifer reaches her target weight, the earlier she can be mated and enter the production system.”

“In recent years, as we have improved our management, weighing cattle at key times, we have learned that weight loss in cows from weaning stress ranks much higher than weight loss in calves. It has long-term and far-reaching implications.”

The cow is the factory on which the entire production system is based. Relieving the stress of weaning on the cows is more important than on the calves. To maintain an inter-calving period of 365 days (one calf per cow per year), the cow needs to regain condition very quickly after weaning to reach her optimum body condition score pre-calving. Research shows that the condition of the cow at calving determines re-conception. The target is a body condition score of 3,5 (out of 5) at calving to allow an 80% or better chance of re-conception within 82 days of calving.

In 2022, Leo did a trial using EasyWean® NoseRings®. The cows whose calves were NOT weaned with NoseRings® but weaned through abrupt separation lost on average 9,9 kgs in 10 days. Cows of calves weaned with NoseRings® gained 4,2 kgs in those 10 days.

This is a difference of 14,1 kgs. With an average growth rate of 300 g per day, it took the control group of cows 47 days just to recover the 14,1 kgs.

The visual difference in the behaviour and condition of the cows whose calves were weaned with NoseRings® versus those weaned through abrupt separation was also very obvious and significantly different.

Leo gave the following feedback in June 2026. “We fitted NoseRings® into all the heifer calves and some of the bull calves 28 days before separation. The day the cows and the calves that had been weaned with NoseRings® were separated, the cows settled immediately.

The next day, the cows were relaxed, grazing, chewing the cud, and none of them were looking for their calves. The cows whose calves were not weaned with NoseRings®, when their calves were taken away, were very unsettled, bellowing for their calves, breaking the fences to try and return to the kraals where they had been separated. It took four days before they quietened down. Cows had to be returned to the camp they should have been in twice a day. Three weeks later, the difference in the condition of the cows of NoseRing®-weaned calves versus the non-NoseRing®-weaned calves was still clearly visible. The cows of NoseRing®-weaned calves had recovered their body condition and were round and shiny, whereas the others still showed ribs and rough coats.”

Summary

“By eliminating weight loss at weaning using EasyWean® NoseRings®, we are able to achieve our goal of breeding heifers at 14 to 15 months and calving at 24 months for the first time; and then producing a calf every year after that. For the past seven years, our first calver re-conception rate has been 92%. The same result has been achieved in our cow herd. By eliminating weight loss at weaning by using EasyWean® NoseRings®, we have been able to achieve an inter-calving period (ICP) of 365 days, therefore optimising our entire production system.

We are also able to produce the best possible weaners for the market. Calves weaned with NoseRings® perform significantly better in the feedlot and during backgrounding. Research has shown that calves weaned with NoseRings® had an average daily gain (ADG) of 160 g per day more in a feedlot than conventionally weaned calves.

Using EasyWean® NoseRings® to wean calves is a win-win solution. It is the only way to wean.

For more information, contact (+27) 82-459-9451, or send an email to Judy Vercueil at judy@wholeconcepts.co.za, or visit www.nosering.co.za