After a wet summer and autumn, we are facing into a winter finishing period with variable silage quality.
Combined with the possibility of tighter silage supplies, farmers should be asking what the best feed option for finishing cattle is.
Cattle due to be finished within the next 100 to 120 days are now housed on the vast majority of farms. Finishing cattle indoors is expensive, so you need to ensure your animals are achieving high levels of liveweight gain to cover their daily feed costs.
Where silage harvesting was delayed, quality will be low. Therefore, to keep cattle growing at optimum performance, beef finishers have little choice but to offer higher levels of concentrates along with grass silage.
On average-quality silage (66 DMD), steers need to be eating 7kg to 8kg of meal per day. Heifers will require 6kg to 7kg of meal per day.
At this level of silage quality and meal-feeding, you should consider the merits of moving these animals to an ad-lib meal-feeding system.
At these higher meal levels, steers and heifers are probably eating 10kg to 15kg of silage on a fresh weight basis.
Average-quality silage with a feed value of 66 DMD, or lower, will be contributing very little towards daily liveweight gain in finishing cattle.
If anything, this quality of silage will be high in fibre, which will reduce feed intake.
Lower feed intake will mean the animal is taking in less energy. The end result is that finishing cattle would not be growing to their full potential.
Moving these animals on to an ad-lib diet will improve cattle performance. But there are several factors to be considered before going down this route. These are:
1. Silage quality
Get your silage tested to determine feed value. If silage is low in energy (<0.6 UFV), protein (<11%) and below 66 DMD, then ad-lib finishing should be considered as an option, as silage will support little in the way of liveweight gain.
Similarly, if you have a limited supply of good -quality silage then you should still consider moving cattle on to an ad-lib meal-finishing system now, rather than upsetting the animal’s diet closer to finishing weight. If this is the case it is important to make the decision early.
2. Animal type
While bulls suit ad-lib meal feeding over a long-term period, steers and especially heifers are less suited.
The finishing period will be much shorter, with forward steers reaching the correct finish spec in 80 to 100 days and heifers in 50 to 70 days.
Fat cover has to be closely monitored on ad-lib feeding. Traditional beef breeds, such as Angus and Shorthorn, are less suitable for ad-lib finishing compared with continental beef breeds.
3. Ration type
Normally you would be looking to keep protein levels as low as possible in a finishing diet. But in this case, protein may be of benefit to prevent certain cattle types from becoming too fat too soon.
You won’t need a 16% protein ration, a 14% ration will suffice with a UFV of 0.95 or higher. You can buy a nut, or blend to ease storage, or due to the lack of feeding equipment.
If you have the option to home mix meal, it may work out cheaper at current ration prices.
Compound ration prices have been slow to drop despite lower cereal prices over the past two years.
A three-way mix of barley, soya hulls and soya, or distillers, will provide a good mix of energy, protein and starch to aid the finishing of cattle. Match target protein content to animal type.
4. Housing weight
Cattle need to be housed within 60kg to 120kg of finishing weight for ad-lib meal finishing to be an option for steers and heifers. Lighter housing-weights will require storing for a period.
5. Management
Ad-lib feeding requires high levels of management.
It is not just a matter of filling the trough and leaving animals to it.
Cattle have to be built up to ad-lib levels gradually and, once on these higher meal levels, it is vital that they never run out of feed.
If they do, there is a risk of cattle gorging on meal the next time you fill the trough. This can lead to acidosis. If they do run out of feed, you will have to build them back up to ad-lib feeding again.
Cattle also require at least 20% of their DM intake to be in the form of roughage either as straw or high-fibre silage.
Water intake is also important cattle will roughly drink six litres of water for every 1kg of meal consumed. Water has to be kept fresh.
Cost benefit of ad-lib meal finishing steers
Silage levels in the finishing diet should not exceed 50% of the total dry matter intake, regardless of feed quality, to maintain high levels of weight gain.
Generally speaking, finishing steers and heifers on a finishing diet of 50% silage and 50% meal has relatively few risks.
But, when cattle are moved on to ad-lib feeding, there are some health risks to be considered, mainly acidosis from feeding higher levels of cereals and starch.
In a well-managed system, these risks can be minimised. The potential performance benefit makes it more economic to move cattle from a diet of average-quality silage and meal to an intensive ad-lib meal diet.
Table 1 outlines the finishing costs for two steer systems, one an intensive ad-lib diet and the other diet made up of 50% silage and 50% meal.
Housing weight at 20 October is 580kg liveweight. The animal on the ad-lib system will be eating 10kg/day on average over a 100-day period.
Liveweight gain is assumed at 1kg/day during the finishing period and kill-out is taken at 57% due to the higher levels of meal fed.
Straw is also included in the diet at a rate of 2kg/day. Meal is costed at €240/t and straw is costed at €80/t.
On the 50% silage and 50% meal diet, liveweight gain is taken as 0.8kg/day given that average-quality silage is being fed.
Meal levels fed are taken as an average of 7kg/day, along with 15kg/day of silage. Finishing period is calculated over 120 days due to lower daily liveweight gain.
Meal is costed at €240/t and silage at €25/t. Kill-out percentage is taken as 56% to reflect silage feeding having an effect on carcase quality and gut-fill.
While the feed costs are higher in the ad-lib system, the intensively finished steer has a higher kill-out percentage and heavier carcase weight, giving it a higher carcase value.
When feed costs are deducted from the carcase value, the intensively finished steer still has a greater net margin over feed of €14 per head compared witj the steer finished on the silage diet.
Labour
Due to the higher daily liveweight gain on the ad-lib system, the animal is killed 20 days earlier, which is a saving on labour to be added to the improved sale margin.
The ad-lib system will not be an option for everyone, but it should be seriously considered on finishing units where silage quality is likely to be of poor-quality.
Feeding poor-quality forage will reduce animal performance and delay slaughter date, leaving you working harder and longer for potentially less income when cattle are eventually sold.
Average-quality silage (66 DMD) has limited feed potential in finishing diets.Poor-quality silage (60 to 64 DMD) should not be offered to finishing cattle.Moving cattle on to ad-lib meal for intensive finishing may be a more economical finishing option than a traditional silage and meal system.Housing weight should be within 120kg of finishing weight before moving onto an ad-lib finishing system.Monitor cattle closely on ad-lib feeding to ensure animals do not become overfat.
After a wet summer and autumn, we are facing into a winter finishing period with variable silage quality.
Combined with the possibility of tighter silage supplies, farmers should be asking what the best feed option for finishing cattle is.
Cattle due to be finished within the next 100 to 120 days are now housed on the vast majority of farms. Finishing cattle indoors is expensive, so you need to ensure your animals are achieving high levels of liveweight gain to cover their daily feed costs.
Where silage harvesting was delayed, quality will be low. Therefore, to keep cattle growing at optimum performance, beef finishers have little choice but to offer higher levels of concentrates along with grass silage.
On average-quality silage (66 DMD), steers need to be eating 7kg to 8kg of meal per day. Heifers will require 6kg to 7kg of meal per day.
At this level of silage quality and meal-feeding, you should consider the merits of moving these animals to an ad-lib meal-feeding system.
At these higher meal levels, steers and heifers are probably eating 10kg to 15kg of silage on a fresh weight basis.
Average-quality silage with a feed value of 66 DMD, or lower, will be contributing very little towards daily liveweight gain in finishing cattle.
If anything, this quality of silage will be high in fibre, which will reduce feed intake.
Lower feed intake will mean the animal is taking in less energy. The end result is that finishing cattle would not be growing to their full potential.
Moving these animals on to an ad-lib diet will improve cattle performance. But there are several factors to be considered before going down this route. These are:
1. Silage quality
Get your silage tested to determine feed value. If silage is low in energy (<0.6 UFV), protein (<11%) and below 66 DMD, then ad-lib finishing should be considered as an option, as silage will support little in the way of liveweight gain.
Similarly, if you have a limited supply of good -quality silage then you should still consider moving cattle on to an ad-lib meal-finishing system now, rather than upsetting the animal’s diet closer to finishing weight. If this is the case it is important to make the decision early.
2. Animal type
While bulls suit ad-lib meal feeding over a long-term period, steers and especially heifers are less suited.
The finishing period will be much shorter, with forward steers reaching the correct finish spec in 80 to 100 days and heifers in 50 to 70 days.
Fat cover has to be closely monitored on ad-lib feeding. Traditional beef breeds, such as Angus and Shorthorn, are less suitable for ad-lib finishing compared with continental beef breeds.
3. Ration type
Normally you would be looking to keep protein levels as low as possible in a finishing diet. But in this case, protein may be of benefit to prevent certain cattle types from becoming too fat too soon.
You won’t need a 16% protein ration, a 14% ration will suffice with a UFV of 0.95 or higher. You can buy a nut, or blend to ease storage, or due to the lack of feeding equipment.
If you have the option to home mix meal, it may work out cheaper at current ration prices.
Compound ration prices have been slow to drop despite lower cereal prices over the past two years.
A three-way mix of barley, soya hulls and soya, or distillers, will provide a good mix of energy, protein and starch to aid the finishing of cattle. Match target protein content to animal type.
4. Housing weight
Cattle need to be housed within 60kg to 120kg of finishing weight for ad-lib meal finishing to be an option for steers and heifers. Lighter housing-weights will require storing for a period.
5. Management
Ad-lib feeding requires high levels of management.
It is not just a matter of filling the trough and leaving animals to it.
Cattle have to be built up to ad-lib levels gradually and, once on these higher meal levels, it is vital that they never run out of feed.
If they do, there is a risk of cattle gorging on meal the next time you fill the trough. This can lead to acidosis. If they do run out of feed, you will have to build them back up to ad-lib feeding again.
Cattle also require at least 20% of their DM intake to be in the form of roughage either as straw or high-fibre silage.
Water intake is also important cattle will roughly drink six litres of water for every 1kg of meal consumed. Water has to be kept fresh.
Cost benefit of ad-lib meal finishing steers
Silage levels in the finishing diet should not exceed 50% of the total dry matter intake, regardless of feed quality, to maintain high levels of weight gain.
Generally speaking, finishing steers and heifers on a finishing diet of 50% silage and 50% meal has relatively few risks.
But, when cattle are moved on to ad-lib feeding, there are some health risks to be considered, mainly acidosis from feeding higher levels of cereals and starch.
In a well-managed system, these risks can be minimised. The potential performance benefit makes it more economic to move cattle from a diet of average-quality silage and meal to an intensive ad-lib meal diet.
Table 1 outlines the finishing costs for two steer systems, one an intensive ad-lib diet and the other diet made up of 50% silage and 50% meal.
Housing weight at 20 October is 580kg liveweight. The animal on the ad-lib system will be eating 10kg/day on average over a 100-day period.
Liveweight gain is assumed at 1kg/day during the finishing period and kill-out is taken at 57% due to the higher levels of meal fed.
Straw is also included in the diet at a rate of 2kg/day. Meal is costed at €240/t and straw is costed at €80/t.
On the 50% silage and 50% meal diet, liveweight gain is taken as 0.8kg/day given that average-quality silage is being fed.
Meal levels fed are taken as an average of 7kg/day, along with 15kg/day of silage. Finishing period is calculated over 120 days due to lower daily liveweight gain.
Meal is costed at €240/t and silage at €25/t. Kill-out percentage is taken as 56% to reflect silage feeding having an effect on carcase quality and gut-fill.
While the feed costs are higher in the ad-lib system, the intensively finished steer has a higher kill-out percentage and heavier carcase weight, giving it a higher carcase value.
When feed costs are deducted from the carcase value, the intensively finished steer still has a greater net margin over feed of €14 per head compared witj the steer finished on the silage diet.
Labour
Due to the higher daily liveweight gain on the ad-lib system, the animal is killed 20 days earlier, which is a saving on labour to be added to the improved sale margin.
The ad-lib system will not be an option for everyone, but it should be seriously considered on finishing units where silage quality is likely to be of poor-quality.
Feeding poor-quality forage will reduce animal performance and delay slaughter date, leaving you working harder and longer for potentially less income when cattle are eventually sold.
Average-quality silage (66 DMD) has limited feed potential in finishing diets.Poor-quality silage (60 to 64 DMD) should not be offered to finishing cattle.Moving cattle on to ad-lib meal for intensive finishing may be a more economical finishing option than a traditional silage and meal system.Housing weight should be within 120kg of finishing weight before moving onto an ad-lib finishing system.Monitor cattle closely on ad-lib feeding to ensure animals do not become overfat. 
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