How much does it cost to keep a suckler cow? On suckler farms, maintaining a herd of breeding cows will be the biggest cost incurred within the system. But how many farmers have ever sat down to see what inputs are going directly to the cow and what expense is incurred in doing so.

There is no one-cost-fits-all model. The suckler system on the individual farm will be reflected in cost. For example, a March-calving cow going to grass within a few days after calving will have a different maintenance cost than a cow calved indoors in November.

The type of land and the location of the farm will also have a heavy influence on the maintenance cost. Herds in the more southern regions of the country will generally have a longer grazing season and shorter winter than farms in the northern half of the country.

Farms operating on heavy land or upland hill ground will have greater expense due to a longer housing period than farms operating on dry, free-draining soils.

It is possible to calculate out a few costs that are relevant to your individual business and compare them against typical costs for alternative suckler systems.

Fixed overheads will also contribute to the cost of keeping the suckler cow. Farm insurance, fuel, maintenance of buildings and bank loans all have to be covered by the output generated from the suckler cow. Total costs can vary from €500 to €1,000/cow/year, depending on the farm type, location and level of borrowings.

Feed costs

Tables 1 and 2 outline different feed costs associated with cows calving on two different dates – 1 March and 1 August. For the sake of this article, the production year of the cow will be taken as the normal calendar year from January to December.

The costs include good silage and grazing costs for the cow only. However, concentrate supplementation offered to the cow and calf is included. In both examples, it is assumed the calf is sold shortly after weaning.

Turnout to grass is taken as 1 April for both cows. In reality, this will be earlier on drier farms and later on heavy farms. For the March-calving cow, the winter period starts on 1 October by weaning the cow through housing so that grass could be conserved for weanlings.

In a mild autumn, these cows may well be grazed after weaning for another three to four weeks on drier farms. But for the sake of the example, it is assumed they were housed at weaning and remain indoors. The calf was then sold on 31 October.

For the August-calving cow, it is grazed until 31 October. This date would hopefully allow the cow to be bred at grass again to facilitate calving at the beginning of August in the following summer.

The March-calving cow has the lower feed costs of the two examples. The cow is making greater use of grazed grass, with concentrates fed to the cow for a short period before turnout. The March-born calf receives concentrates from early September until sale at the end of October. At that stage, the calf would be relying more on grass and concentrates to support liveweight gain rather than milk from the cow.

In reality, some weanling producers will put calf feeders in from mid-summer. Offering concentrates from mid-summer only substitutes grass intake and the calf’s reliance on milk from the cow and therefore greatly increases costs.

If the farmer in the autumn-calving system can produce top-quality silage, then there is potential to reduce the amount of concentrates fed over winter.

In Table 2, concentrates were offered to the cow from early October to help increase energy intake ahead of the breeding season, as grass dry matter would be low at that time of year. The concentrates would also help to transition the cow on to an indoor diet.

Concentrate feeding to the cow is stopped in late December, as it is assumed the cow is now settled in-calf again. Feeding quality 72%+ DMD silage to the calf could see the level of concentrate feeding reduced to 0.5kg to 1kg/day during the spring time.

Access to fresh grass through on/off grazing during the day would also boost liveweight gain and increase the sale value of the calf.

Replacement costs

In both examples, the suckler herd consists of 40 cows (35 cows and five heifers) calving annually and that replacement heifers are bought in-calf every year.

At an average cost of €1,600/heifer and cull cow value of €1,200/head, the difference between the two is €2,000 (€1,600-€1,200 X 5) or €50/cow when spread over the whole herd.

Bull costs

Both herds are bred by natural service. The stock bull cost €5,000 when purchased and lasts for five years in the herd, given that he has no daughters being retained for breeding. The cull value of the bull is €1,500.

Therefore, the net cost of the bull is €3,500 over five years or €700/year, which is €17.50/cow.

Add in feeding costs of €300/year and total cost of the bull is €25/cow.

The autumn herd could benefit from using AI, which could potentially increase sale weight and value, helping to recover some of the higher feeding costs.

Vet

In both herds, the cows are vaccinated for BVD and Lepto and offered dry cow minerals, as well as mineral lick buckets.

Cows are fluked once in winter and treated for lice. March-born calves are wormed three times. August calves receive a fluke and worm drench after housing and have one more worm drench in spring prior to sale. Both herds’ calves are vaccinated for scour, pneumonia and IBR. Total vet costs are taken as €75/cow.

Miscellaneous

Other costs that should be included are things such as straw, tags, haulage, electric fencing equipment and pregnancy scanning.

The autumn herd will use a lot of straw for bedding. In an autumn herd with a well-designed housing unit, only the calves will be on straw, while the cows are kept on slats which will ease straw use. Straw use will depend on the individual farm.

Where calves have access to an outdoor yard or can graze during the day, then they will require less straw.

Where bedding is cleaned out regularly, again, straw use will be eased as it is not topping up wet, soiled bedding.

For the March-calving cow, miscellaneous costs are taken as €50/cow, with the August-calving cow at €80/cow to cover the cost of an extra two 4x4 round bales of straw/cow.

Overheads

This is the area where the cost of keeping the cow can either be kept low or escalate fairly quickly. The costs outlined so far are mostly variable costs and will alter with the number of cows kept in the herd.

Every farmer will be buying fertiliser, meal and veterinary products. There will be small regional price differences for some similar products, but there should not be massive variance in pricing.

Fixed overheads will have a much greater range in cost per cow unit on farm.

On farms with high levels of mechanisation being paid off on a monthly finance or leasing agreements, then the cost/cow will be high.

It will be the same for those who have recently invested in new livestock housing or purchased land. A conacre bill will be another annual cost that does not apply to every business, as some farmers will own all of their land.

For the sake of the example, it is assumed that the herds are debt-free and farming on owned land. Other than silage harvesting, the farms spread their own fertiliser and slurry. If general overheads are taken as €10,000/year, the cost comes in at €250/cow.

Summary

Figure 1 summarises the costs outlined in this article. It must be remembered that these figures are generalised and do not imply that one system is more profitable than the other.

That being said, the March-calving cow should have a lower associated feeding cost over the year, as it has a greater intake of grazed grass and its calf is sold off before housing. The dry cow can then be placed on to a maintenance diet over the winter.

However, in a well-run autumn-calving system that makes high-quality silage and gets weanlings out to grass early, the calf may well have a heavier sale weight.

If sold in April to May, there is usually good demand in the marts for strong store weanlings for further grazing and finishing.

But regardless of what suckler system you run for your own suckler herd, it is imperative that more farmers try to get a handle on their production costs.

If you know what it costs to keep the cow, you can then target the areas were costs can be reduced.

You will also be better informed on whether a weanling, store or finishing system will be profitable for you.

Knowing your costs will focus your mind and this may just be the kickstart to making changes on-farm that will help improve profit.