The club aims to build an understanding of the reasons behind calf losses
CVS Relaunches 90+ Club For Farmers
14 hours ago 
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Alnorthumbria Farm Vets is set to start the third cycle of its 90+ Farm Club - a vet and farmer led benchmarking and discussion group that investigates what causes spring-born suckler calf losses and how to improve them.
The number 90 refers to the number of calves weaned per 100 cows to the bull. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board key performance indicators for the beef sector state that a suckler herd should aim for 94% of calves per cow to the bull[i]. However, published benchmarking figures show that the industry’s average is lower at around 86%.
Following suckler herds and using data gathered from its member farms, the aim of the 90+ Club is to build an understanding of the reasons behind calf losses – from scanning to weaning. This will enable farmers to raise the maximum number of calves possible per cow to the bull – the key to any suckler herd’s profitability.
Gathering and analysing this data also allows vets to form a picture of what is happening on their clients’ farms - to identify potential issues and areas to work on and give tailored advice to the farmers.
Group members are asked to record and anonymously submit their herd’s performance data in four stages - scanning, pregnancy losses, calving and weaning results – using a questionnaire provided by Alnorthumbria vets.
Laboratory tests and post-mortem examinations are also recommended but voluntary. Helpful in gathering evidence, these findings can show is disease was present, if calvings were difficult, or whether a new bull was used. For those contributing this data, funding is made available to pay for post-mortem examinations.
The data collected allows the club to; monitor individual farm performance and establish benchmarking figures for the group – to track and drive herd improvement; investigate what causes calf losses – to be able to apply measures to prevent these; and, encourage learning and knowledge sharing between farmers and vets.
The group also meets up to four times a year: after weaning and scanning, and before and after calving. Here the group’s results are anonymously shared and discussed, with members encouraged to explain their situation, to help with the discussion. A talk is also organised to cover topics relevant to prevent losses in the next stage, delivered by one of Alnorthumbria’s vets or an external speaker.
Anna Bruguera Sala, Programme Co-ordinator and vet at Alnorthumbria Farm Vets, said:
“The AHDB KPI report for sucklers suggests that, to perform well, herds need to rear at least 94 calves per 100 cows to the bull. But when you delve into the data you can see it remains a challenge for a significant number of farmers. In the last publicly available AHDB Stocktake Report in 2016, spring-calving herds weaned an average of 85 calves per 100 cows to the bull. Though more recently QMS data shows a better figure of 90-93 calves. However, taken together the data shows we’re still not where we should be.
“Our 90+ Club aims to understand the losses in suckler herds. We believe everyone can learn something from others’ experiences. The spread of results can be wide and year-to-year comparisons are interesting to analyse. It allows us to identify where the problems are occurring and start investigations into the loss causes. It can also be particularly interesting to see what changes have been implemented as a result.”
The 90+ Club was founded after a talk in 2021 by Tim Geraghty, Centre Manager for Scotland’s Rural College Aberdeen, where he presented the results of his ‘2,000 Beef Cows: Calf losses from breeding to weaning’ study. A group of Alnorthumbria’s clients were keen to start a similar study to see how they were performing in comparison.
The 90+ Club currently consists of 30 farms looking after over 2,700 cows. It is open to anyone with a spring-calving suckler herd. There are no limitations in cow numbers or farmer’s age. It is a voluntary initiative and farmers can join or leave at any point.
If farmers are interested in joining the 90+ Club, please contact the Alnorthumbria Veterinary Group at wagonway@alnorthumbriavets.co.uk. The next meeting will be held on in June 2025, after spring calving has finished.
[i] 94 calves weaned per 100 bulled cows
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