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Abstract

This study was created at Carbó, Sonora, México, during 2006 to determine calf production strategies evaluating: 1) Early weaning (EW), 2) Creep feeding (CF) and 3) Control (C), and to analyze benefice-cost and their profitability. Sixty animals were randomly selected from a 5 year old Charbray cow group that calved among the 15 and 20 of June 2006. For each treatment, 20 animals were grouped, 10 males and 10 females. Evaluated variables were: (1) Calf birth weight, (2) Cow weight and body condition at calving, (3) calf weight at calving, (4) Calf selling weight; (5) Weight and cow condition at calving, (7) Calf production costs and (8) Profitability projection with the three sceneries indicated. Evaluated variables were analyzed by ANOVA (P<0.05). Some financial runs were made on a computer with software for analysis and evaluation of beef inversion projects. Average calf daily gains were 1.32, 1.13 and 0.43 kg/animal/day for EW, CF and the control, treatments, respectively. Cow pregnancy percentage was 95, 85 and 75 and the number of open days was 90, 165 y 240, for treatments EW, CF and (C), respectively. Control treatment yielded negative profits during the 10 projected years. In CF, although gains were low during the first two years, these varied from $54,486 to $69,453 from year there to tenth. With EW the best results were obtained with annual gains starting at the third year and varied from $108,571 a $119,782. Both EW as well as CF shows a viable alternative to increase ranch productivity and ratability. Results from the financial analyses show that the greatest benefit was obtained with EW because it allows for calf production in a continuous way during the 10 years of the project as compared to (CF) and (C); which show out of phase in the production cycles originated by the large number of open days between calving, low pregnancy percentages, and high production costs.

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