David Reaves had some jam up hay fields, but the yields were sagging because the organic matter in his sandy central Florida soil was dropping.
Six miles down the road, Nels and Marilyn Siverson were over, way over, the land and labor capacity of their 680-cow dairy. As a result, they were shipping their heifers to a contract grower in South Carolina, but weren't pleased with the haul bill or the final product.
In December '95, the almost-neighbors joined forces. Now, 145 Siverson heifers graze and grow on Reaves' hay land.
"We're thrilled about this new project," says Marilyn Siverson. "We're really enthused about having them close and being able to go look at them. David feels like it is working out for him as well. It won't work for us if it doesn't work for him."
Reaves is happy with the contract, which pays a set price per pound of gain. "The nice thing about it, we've got the opportunity to put 1,000 lb. a head on them," he comments.
And, back to his original intention, the heifers, and the beef calves he grazed before them, have added organic matter to his Bermuda grass fields.
After four years of nutrient recycling, the Summerfield, Fla., grower says, "We have improved it enough that we can grow ryegrass and clover on it."
The Siverson/Reaves arrangement begins when the heifers are around 100 to 105 days old and average 225 lb. On arrival at Reaves Ranch, they lounge in a drylot with a run-in shed. Since they have already had their first round of vaccinations well before they leave the dairy, and with only a six mile haul, there is hardly any trauma to the move.
Reaves even purchases the 18.3% protein starter feed from the Siversons, so there is no ration change.
The calves stay in the drylot, on full feed, for the first 30 days. Virginia Tech dairy scientist Bob James endorses the practice of keeping them off grass until they are around four months old.
"If you go on grazing too soon, they tend to graze rather than eat grain. At that age, the forage won't support the growth," he explains. "They are also more at risk for parasites than older animals."
After the first month, they get their booster vaccinations and move to Reaves' best forage, which is usually a mixture of oats, ryegrass and clover in the cool season, and millet or young, tender Bermuda grass in the hotter months.
Reaves also switches them to a 15.8% protein grower ration, but leaves them on full feed a bit longer. "We start pulling the feed back at 400 lb., depending on the pasture," he explains. "We like to get them back down to 1% of body weight. They'll stay there, at about 4 lb., plus all the pasture they can eat, 'til they get to their breeding weight of 750 lb."
He purchases the grower ration from the Siversons, too. Since they have the commodity bins and mixer wagons, they can supply the home mix of oats, citrus pulp, hominy, distillers' grain and protein pellets cheaper than he could make it on his own.
The stocking rate on pasture varies, depending on the weight of the calves and the forage, but Reaves tries to keep it at 1,200 lb. per acre. He uses temporary electric fence and rapid rotation to keep the heifers on fresh, young, tender grass.
In addition, if the conditions aren't right for haying, he'll harvest haylage or green chop for the growing heifers.
The combination of forages and grain supplement is putting the pounds on the heifers. At 14 months, they weigh 750 lb., and at 18 months they average 1,000 lb. Reaves is shooting for 1,250 lb. to 1,300 lb. at freshening.
As the weights prove, James says it is possible to grow a dairy heifer on a forage-based system. "Heifers don't require the quality of forage that milk cows do, or at least the older ones don't. The younger ones do."
The dairy scientist says, "If you graze millet and Bermuda grass fairly early, along with moderate supplementation, it will meet the 12% protein requirement of heifers.
"When forage quality is high, supplemental nutrients needed from grain can be very low," he adds.
But, he warns, "One of the biggest challenges is ensuring you are getting an adequate rate of gain. A concern, especially in the summer, is the variation in forage quality, particularly in annuals like millet. You have to stay on top of that."
James also cautions, "Parasites are an issue. An aggressive deworming program is essential, particularly for animals in their first grazing season."
To monitor their progress, Reaves weighs the calves every 90 days, at the same time he deworms them and updates their vaccinations.
A month before breeding, he brings them to a pasture close to his breeding facility and starts feeding them their grain ration in the pens. Although he does check heat with the aid of a gomer bull, the heifers aren't exposed to a clean-up bull.
"The dairy is 100% A.I. Why should I do any less?," he asks.
The combination of high-quality groceries and Reaves' 20 years of A.I. experience results in 90% plus of the heifers getting pregnant in two services.
Even though the first batch of Reaves-raised heifers hasn't freshened yet, they are well on their way. And so far, so good. "The animals look terrific and we're real pleased with their growth," says Siverson. "They look like they are going to do the job."
Reaves states, "If they send me a heifer that was started right and has the right genetics, we can grow them."
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