The objective of this Michigan State Univ. study was to determine the effect of weaning method on the subsequent performance of beef calves. A total of 227 Angus x Simmental calves averaging 173 days of age were allotted to three treatments: 1) Abrupt-weaned (AW); 2) Fenceline-weaned (FW); and 3) Two-step weaned (TW). Dams of AW calves were moved to remote pastures. Dams of FW calves were moved to adjoining pastures with fenceline contact. TW calves had a plastic nose flap fitted, on day ¬¬¬¬5 had the nose flap removed, and all dams moved to remote pastures. Body weights were obtained on all calves on days 0, 5, 14, 28, and 42. Blood samples taken on these same days were analyzed for plasma haptoglobin, a protein released in response to stress stimuli. Although FW calves had significantly greater (P<0.001) avg. daily gain (ADG) between days 0 and 14 than AW and TW calves, there were no significant differences among treatments from days 0 to 42. Haptoglobin levels were highest on day 5, and were significantly higher (P<0.001) in both AW and TW calves than in FW calves. Haptoglobin levels returned to baseline by day 14. Following weaning and backgrounding, calves were transported to a feedlot and fed for an average of 207 days. There were no significant differences in ADG, nor were there any significant differences in the percentage of calves that received one or two or more medical treatments during finishing. The authors concluded that although FW calves gained more weight and had lower haptoglobin levels shortly after weaning, there were no sustained differences in performance due to weaning method (Buskirk et al. 2007. J. Anim. Sci. 85 (Suppl. 1). Abstract W249).