The autumn herd started calving on 1 August. There were 26 cows to calve this year and to-date 24 have calved.
One cow lost her calf due to a breached birth, while a second cow lost a set of twins which were dead on arrival.
Both cows are in good body condition and have been separated from the herd for fattening. This means we have 22 cows with calves at foot and two animals still to calve.
Of the 22 cows that calved, 17 are at grass
We have had a lot of rain in recent weeks and grazing conditions are becoming harder to manage.
Of the 22 cows that calved, 17 are at grass. They are grazing some of the drier land around the yard and this is preventing cows from poaching swards.
The remaining five cows are housed and unlikely to go to grass unless there is a big improvement in weather, grass growth and ground conditions.
Grass
Grass growth has started to tail off. We measured growth rates of 35kgDM/ha/day this week and we have approximately 15 days of grazing ahead of cows.
Our plan would be to hold the autumn cows at grass until 1 October. At this point, they will be housed in preparation for the breeding season, which starts on 15 October.
Cows are on a grass-only diet and will be housed on 1 October in preparation for the breeding period, which starts on 15 October.
Housing cows two weeks before the start of the breeding season allows them to adjust to their winter diet without having a negative impact on fertility. This helps to get cows back in-calf again and also helps to keep the calving pattern tight.
Diet
The autumn cows which are grazing, are on a grass-only diet with minerals supplemented through lick buckets.
The housed cows are on top-quality silage which was baled from surplus grass on grazing paddocks.
Concentrates will be introduced to the autumn cows on 1 October at housing, along with first cut silage.
As the feed value of silage is high, concentrates will only be fed during the breeding period to give animals an energy boost
First-cut silage was harvested on 13 May and has been analysed. Feed value is excellent with a dry matter of 27%, protein of 14.7%, energy of 11.9Mj ME and D-Value of 75%.
As the feed value of silage is high, concentrates will only be fed during the breeding period to give animals an energy boost.
Once cows are settled in-calf, concentrates will be removed from the diet as first cut silage on its own will be enough to sustain milk production in autumn calving cows.
Breeding
The cows will be bred to stock bulls. Bulls will run with cows from 15 October and removed around Christmas.
We have three stock bulls on-farm with Limousin, Simmental and Stabiliser animals. We can split the cows into smaller groups during the breeding period, which helps to get more cows bred in a shorter time period.
Our spring-calving herd was scanned on 11 September and the results were good
The other advantage of having three bulls is we can pick and choose cows to suit a particular bull.
All going well, we should have 24 cows to go to the Stabiliser and Simmental bulls with 10 maiden heifers running with the Limousin bull.
Our spring-calving herd was scanned on 11 September and the results were good. We put 54 cows to the stock bulls and all animals are settled in-calf.
Breeding started on 15 May, so cows should start calving in late February
We also ran 26 maiden heifers with the bull and 24 were confirmed in-calf at scanning time. The two empty animals will be fattened.
Breeding started on 15 May, so cows should start calving in late February with scanning data indicating that the bulk of animals will be calved by late March.
The spring cows were also picked to suit stock bulls. Limousin or Stabiliser cows ran with the Simmental bull.
Simmental cows ran with the Stabiliser bull and 13 of the 26 heifers ran with the Limousin bull. The remaining heifers were synchronised and bred to easy calving Angus sires using AI.
Weaning
Breeding finished back in August, so we have now split the cows into groups based on whether they had bull or heifer calves.
The bull calves are now being offered concentrates through creep feeders. Heifer calves will not get concentrates until housing time.
Our spring-born bulls were finished in May and June
The bulls will be finished next spring, so it is important to maximise weight gain before housing. Feeding concentrates also prepares these animals for weaning and housing in early October.
Cows and spring-born heifers will be housed last. Heifer calves will be wintered on silage and 2kg/day of concentrate to get adequate weight gain for the breeding period next May.
Our spring-born bulls were finished in May and June. They averaged 358.5kg deadweight at 14.6 months old and conformation was typically U- grading with fat class at 3=.
Conformation was also lower with bulls typically R grading with fat class of 3-
The bulls had a daily carcase gain averaging 0.81kg/day over the animal’s lifetime. They were finished on 8kg/day of concentrates and first cut silage.
In contrast, the spring bulls killed 12 months previously averaged 347kg deadweight at the same age, which means a daily carcase gain of 0.78kg/day over the animal’s lifetime on farm.
Conformation was also lower with bulls typically R grading with fat class of 3-.
Autumn bulls
We are currently feeding nine bulls from last autumn’s calf crop. Target slaughter date is mid-November. The bulls are 12 months old and weigh around 550kg liveweight.
These bulls did not go to grass this year. They remained housed and were fed high quality silage bales made from paddocks.
They are being supplemented with 5kg/day of concentrates. This will be increased to 8kg/day shortly.
Taking silage at £20/t and concentrates at £220/t, a bull consuming 25kg of silage and 5kg/day of concentrate currently has a daily feed cost of £1.60.
Assuming a daily carcase gain of 0.81kg/day and a beef price of 320p/kg, these animals will have a margin after feed costs of approximately 100p/kg to cover fixed costs and labour.
Once concentrates increase to 8kg/day, feed costs will rise to £2.06/day, reducing the margin over feed around 50p to 55p/day to cover fixed costs and labour.
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The autumn herd started calving on 1 August. There were 26 cows to calve this year and to-date 24 have calved.
One cow lost her calf due to a breached birth, while a second cow lost a set of twins which were dead on arrival.
Both cows are in good body condition and have been separated from the herd for fattening. This means we have 22 cows with calves at foot and two animals still to calve.
Of the 22 cows that calved, 17 are at grass
We have had a lot of rain in recent weeks and grazing conditions are becoming harder to manage.
Of the 22 cows that calved, 17 are at grass. They are grazing some of the drier land around the yard and this is preventing cows from poaching swards.
The remaining five cows are housed and unlikely to go to grass unless there is a big improvement in weather, grass growth and ground conditions.
Grass
Grass growth has started to tail off. We measured growth rates of 35kgDM/ha/day this week and we have approximately 15 days of grazing ahead of cows.
Our plan would be to hold the autumn cows at grass until 1 October. At this point, they will be housed in preparation for the breeding season, which starts on 15 October.
Cows are on a grass-only diet and will be housed on 1 October in preparation for the breeding period, which starts on 15 October.
Housing cows two weeks before the start of the breeding season allows them to adjust to their winter diet without having a negative impact on fertility. This helps to get cows back in-calf again and also helps to keep the calving pattern tight.
Diet
The autumn cows which are grazing, are on a grass-only diet with minerals supplemented through lick buckets.
The housed cows are on top-quality silage which was baled from surplus grass on grazing paddocks.
Concentrates will be introduced to the autumn cows on 1 October at housing, along with first cut silage.
As the feed value of silage is high, concentrates will only be fed during the breeding period to give animals an energy boost
First-cut silage was harvested on 13 May and has been analysed. Feed value is excellent with a dry matter of 27%, protein of 14.7%, energy of 11.9Mj ME and D-Value of 75%.
As the feed value of silage is high, concentrates will only be fed during the breeding period to give animals an energy boost.
Once cows are settled in-calf, concentrates will be removed from the diet as first cut silage on its own will be enough to sustain milk production in autumn calving cows.
Breeding
The cows will be bred to stock bulls. Bulls will run with cows from 15 October and removed around Christmas.
We have three stock bulls on-farm with Limousin, Simmental and Stabiliser animals. We can split the cows into smaller groups during the breeding period, which helps to get more cows bred in a shorter time period.
Our spring-calving herd was scanned on 11 September and the results were good
The other advantage of having three bulls is we can pick and choose cows to suit a particular bull.
All going well, we should have 24 cows to go to the Stabiliser and Simmental bulls with 10 maiden heifers running with the Limousin bull.
Our spring-calving herd was scanned on 11 September and the results were good. We put 54 cows to the stock bulls and all animals are settled in-calf.
Breeding started on 15 May, so cows should start calving in late February
We also ran 26 maiden heifers with the bull and 24 were confirmed in-calf at scanning time. The two empty animals will be fattened.
Breeding started on 15 May, so cows should start calving in late February with scanning data indicating that the bulk of animals will be calved by late March.
The spring cows were also picked to suit stock bulls. Limousin or Stabiliser cows ran with the Simmental bull.
Simmental cows ran with the Stabiliser bull and 13 of the 26 heifers ran with the Limousin bull. The remaining heifers were synchronised and bred to easy calving Angus sires using AI.
Weaning
Breeding finished back in August, so we have now split the cows into groups based on whether they had bull or heifer calves.
The bull calves are now being offered concentrates through creep feeders. Heifer calves will not get concentrates until housing time.
Our spring-born bulls were finished in May and June
The bulls will be finished next spring, so it is important to maximise weight gain before housing. Feeding concentrates also prepares these animals for weaning and housing in early October.
Cows and spring-born heifers will be housed last. Heifer calves will be wintered on silage and 2kg/day of concentrate to get adequate weight gain for the breeding period next May.
Our spring-born bulls were finished in May and June. They averaged 358.5kg deadweight at 14.6 months old and conformation was typically U- grading with fat class at 3=.
Conformation was also lower with bulls typically R grading with fat class of 3-
The bulls had a daily carcase gain averaging 0.81kg/day over the animal’s lifetime. They were finished on 8kg/day of concentrates and first cut silage.
In contrast, the spring bulls killed 12 months previously averaged 347kg deadweight at the same age, which means a daily carcase gain of 0.78kg/day over the animal’s lifetime on farm.
Conformation was also lower with bulls typically R grading with fat class of 3-.
Autumn bulls
We are currently feeding nine bulls from last autumn’s calf crop. Target slaughter date is mid-November. The bulls are 12 months old and weigh around 550kg liveweight.
These bulls did not go to grass this year. They remained housed and were fed high quality silage bales made from paddocks.
They are being supplemented with 5kg/day of concentrates. This will be increased to 8kg/day shortly.
Taking silage at £20/t and concentrates at £220/t, a bull consuming 25kg of silage and 5kg/day of concentrate currently has a daily feed cost of £1.60.
Assuming a daily carcase gain of 0.81kg/day and a beef price of 320p/kg, these animals will have a margin after feed costs of approximately 100p/kg to cover fixed costs and labour.
Once concentrates increase to 8kg/day, feed costs will rise to £2.06/day, reducing the margin over feed around 50p to 55p/day to cover fixed costs and labour.
Read more
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