Cow Performance in Conventional Versus Early Weaning Herds in North Patagonia, Argentina

This paper demonstrates that early weaning should be included as an important management guide- line in raising cattle in north Patagonia, Argentina. At most ranches, breeding takes place all year long. This makes it diffi cult to establish the weaning per-centage (number of calves obtained per hundred bred cows). However, the calf–cow relationship, obtained from agrarian censuses and vaccination campaigns against aphthous, shows weaning values close to 60%, with variations between 55% and 72%, depending on zone and year.Fil: Kugler, Nora. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Giorgetti, Hugo Dosindo. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Asuntos Agrarios. Chacra Experimental de Patagones; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez, Gustavo D.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Asuntos Agrarios. Chacra Experimental de Patagones; ArgentinaFil: Cecchi, Gustavo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Montenegro, Oscar Alberto. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Asuntos Agrarios. Chacra Experimental de Patagones; ArgentinaFil: Busso, Carlos Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentin