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Late summer is a period when an increasing number of grass-finished cattle come on to the market.
While this may seem a long way off, a finishing ration should be now be introduced to destined for slaughter in late August and early September. This will improve fat covers prior to slaughter.
Feeding rates depend on animal type and breed, as well as the quality of grazing swards over the next two months. Outlined below is a series of tips for finishing cattle off grass.
1 Weigh cattle and group animals for finishing
Weighing cattle is best way to gauge which animals are likely to kill off grass and when to introduce concentrates.
With grass finishing, kill-out percentage is always lower compared to animals killed out of the shed.
Therefore, for heifers killing out at 55% at a target carcase weight of 300kg, the animal needs to weigh in excess of 550kg.
Cattle destined for slaughter by late August should be no more than 50kg to 60kg off target slaughter weights.
Once weighed, group cattle based on liveweight and target slaughter date. Traditional beef breeds such are better suited to grass finishing than continental breeds which tend to be leaner.
Heifers are also better suited to grass finishing than steers, so push animals to get as many killed off grass this autumn.
2 Limit feeding period
At a daily liveweight gain of 1kg/day, cattle that are 50kg to 60kg off slaughter weight will require a feeding period of seven to eight weeks maximum.
Feeding beyond this time period is uneconomic, as animals are likely to become over-fat, de-valuing the carcase.
For early maturing breeds and heavier cattle, feeding periods should be reduced accordingly.
3 Feed rates
For heifers, start on 2kg/day. Increase to 3kg/day after one week and 4kg/day after three weeks. Early maturing breeds should gain adequate fat covers at the higher feed rate over a four- to five-week period.
For late-maturing and leaner continental breeds, increase heifers to 5kg/day after three weeks.
With steers, start off on 3kg/day and build up to 6kg/day after two weeks. When feeding more than 3kg/day of concentrates per head, it is important to split this over two feeds with one in the morning and the second feed in the evening.
4 High-energy and low-protein ration
When finishing cattle, energy is the most important aspect of any ration. Protein levels should be capped at 12% to 13%.
Higher protein levels will only encourage animals to keep growing, rather than laying down fat. Grass will provide adequate protein in the diet.
The simple option is to feed rolled barley. But on lush grazing swards, it can be beneficial to include sugar beet pulp or soya hulls to increase dietary fibre.
Maize meal may be required to increase fat covers in continental breeds, especially when finishing steers.
5 Grass quality
Grass is high in dry matter energy. Therefore, grazing animals on high-quality ryegrass and clover swards will help to increase energy intakes in cattle, improving weight gains and fat covers.
Where silage ground is re-joining the grazing platform, this grass should be targeted to finishing cattle.
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