The present survey was conducted to investigate effects of weaning age on market weights of steers and calf mortality in Hanwoo. Eight hundred and sixty-two Hanwoo cow-calf operations from all nine provinces were surveyed via personal interviews. The ...
The present survey was conducted to investigate effects of weaning age on market weights of steers and calf mortality in Hanwoo. Eight hundred and sixty-two Hanwoo cow-calf operations from all nine provinces were surveyed via personal interviews. The number of farms categorized by herd (heifer plus cow) size were 188, 364, 227 and 83 for <20 heads, 20~49 heads, 50~99 heads and >100 heads, respectively. Approximate 40% of farms surveyed weaned calves at three months of age. The percentages of farms weaning calves over three months of age were 53.5%, 37.5%, 43.7% and 39.0% for <20 heads, 20~49 heads, 50~99 heads and >100 heads, respectively. The herd size did not affect market weights of Hanwoo steers. However weaning age was negatively correlated to carcass weight of Hanwoo steers, showing that as weaning age decreased, carcass weights of Hanwoo steers increased. The average calf mortality was 5.6% and the herd size did not affect calf mortality. But weaning age was shown to be positively correlated to calf mortality and the rate of diarrhea that caused calf death, suggesting that as weaning age decreased, calf mortality and the rate of diarrhea decreased. Overall, the results of present study suggest that a decrease of calf weaning age in Hanwoo can increase the profit of Hanwoo cow-calf operations by increasing carcass weight of Hanwoo steers and by decreasing calf mortality.