Farmer writes: Mixing up the feed mix

Even though we won’t start killing cattle till the end of July, our thoughts are turning to this date. On Saturday we sorted through all the cattle and bunched together the ten oldest.

It is a time consuming task, but it gives us a better picture in where we stand with regards to introducing concentrates. Some years this bunch may need no concentrates and are killed straight off grass; unfortunately this year they will. They look as forward as other years but I’m concerned about the time left to get an adequate covering of flesh.

I would be cautious with the difficulties that are arising with overage cattle being killed at present, so getting animals fleshed and away under 30 months is a priority. We only phase in feeding by starting with the oldest bunch, but by the middle of August all cattle will be on meal and this can be quite a significant amount of work, carrying meal out to bullocks at grass. That is why I am always reluctant to start.

My meal mix is usually a very simple one that is based on a high volume of cereals. In previous years, I purchased a mix ration and diluted it down with 60% barley. The overall mix would then be around 80% cereals. I never have any issues with acidosis, feeding such a high level of cereals, but I am careful to introduce it slowly and gradually build up the levels of feeding. This year I’m considering something different.

With the quality of grass at present there is no need for any protein source so I will probably mix a 80:20 combination of rolled barley and some form of a pulp, either citrus pulp or beet pulp. It’s a very simple mix, doing a very simple job, which is to help get a covering of fat and increase percentage kill-out.

Our system is designed around keeping costs as low as possible by operating a minimal input system. This will be the first meal that will be fed to this bunch since we bought them last autumn. We do not feed any meal to stores over the winter; instead we rely on early turnout and high daily liveweight gains at grass.

I will start with two kilos of meal per head in another week and just see how things progress. It can be difficult at this time of year to get bullocks to eat any more than two kilos, as grass is plentiful and top quality.

On the purchasing front we managed to buy the last couple of animals needed to make up this year’s numbers. As I mentioned in a previous article I was concerned how much these animals would cost, but I was pleasantly surprised when they arrived in the yard. Obviously the most anxious grass buyers around the ring have their buying completed for this year as they were reasonably priced at between €1,100 and €1,200. They ranged in weight from 500kgs which was a very “hairy” outlier to a large 604 kg Limousin. It is later than normal to be buying for us, but I would prefer to wait than to have bought over priced cattle.