This is a subscriber-only article
Granbeef is the name of a new dairy bull calf project in Brazil, where farmers rear and finish bull calves.
The project is headed up by the Castrolanda co-op in Parana State, one of three Dutch colony co-ops in the state.
After birth, calves are fed a mixture of cows' milk and milk replacer. Then grain is introduced into the diet in the form of protein pellets with 30% protein and corn.
There is no silage or forage in the diet. Calves gain on average 1.5kg/day.
The bull calves are then finished in two lots - at eight months when they are fattened to 350kg liveweight and at 11 months at 450kg liveweight.
The animals finished at the 350kg mark are marketed to restaurants in Brazil. The older batch go on to supermarket shelves.
Market prices
Farmers who finish the bulls under Granbeef at 350kg receive an average price of €2.07/kg and €2.38/kg for bulls at 450kg.
Thomas Domhoff, CEO of Castrolanda, explained that the cost of rearing the bulls to 350kg is €416/head, with the cost to weaning at 75 days €134/head. Domhoff said that on average the farmer makes a profit of €80/finished bull, assuming a kill-out averaging 240/kg carcase weight.
Processing
Two factories are processing the cattle at the moment under the programme, which started out as a pilot with just three farmers in November 2018. Today, 30 farmers are involved and there is a guaranteed market for the beef.
To date, 750 animals have gone to the factory and by the end of the year it is expected that 1,500 will have gone to the factory.
In three to four years, the aim is to be finishing 5,000 dairy bull calves a year.
SHARING OPTIONS: