First cattle coming ready for slaughter

The first of spring 2013-born steers and heifers as well as autumn 2013-born bulls are being slaughtered on programme farms.

Having been housed in good condition in September, many steers and heifers are finishing earlier than expected. Autumn-born bulls have benefited from an excellent summer’s grazing and will slaughter at heavier weights on farms this year.

There is a danger of some cattle becoming over-fat. Those farms with weighing facilities have been monitoring growth rates and keeping an eye on fat cover, particularly in steers and heifers with traditional breeding.

Ensuring cattle are at the correct fat cover for slaughter is critical. Under-finished cattle will have poor kill-out, fail to reach conformation potential and will be discounted on price. Over-fat cattle, on the other hand, will also be penalised. Considering every 1kg of fat deposited requires four times the feed energy as 1kg of muscle, this is very unprofitable weight gain.

Silage requirements have been calculated for dry spring-calving suckler cows. In most cases, this has been targeted to maintain body condition from housing to calving. This generally involves restricting silage intake from 60% of their appetite at 20 weeks pre-calving and gradually increasing this to ad lib at the point of calving.

The aim is to get cows in the correct condition score of 2.75-3.0 at least 10 weeks pre-calving. Trying to adjust body condition within 10 weeks of calving will only serve to create problems.

Most of the cattle have now been housed. The exception is a batch of 20 spring-born weanlings. They should be finished grazing the heaviest grass covers by the weekend, covers which were built on the back of terrific grass growth throughout September and October.

Just over 60% of the farm has now been closed to grazing for this year. The remaining area is being grazed off by 250 ewes which will be housed in early January.

Dry conditions allowed those fields that are closed to be grazed off tight and although there is some good regrowth, this will be saved for spring grazing. It will be much more valuable at that point for freshly lambed ewes and young cattle.

Silage quality has been a mixed bag this year. First cut was harvested at the correct stage in early June, resulting in good digestibility (71 D value) and good energy and protein levels (14.4CP & 11.1ME). However, rain at ensiling resulted in a dry matter of only 15.5% and a pH of 4.9, leaving an intake of 71, which greatly reduced its potential as a feed for finishing cattle.

First cut will be fed to dry cows, which, having been housed in good condition, can be built up from 60% of potential intake 20 weeks pre-calving to ad lib at the point of calving. Second cut, which was made in round bales and is analysing 25-28.8% DM, 67-70 D value and with intakes above 85, are being fed to finishing stock.

Cattle were weighed last week. Overall, they have performed well at grass. Weanlings, born from late March through to early May and weaned during October, are now almost 200 days old. The heifer calves averaged 281kg, which equates to a daily liveweight gain (DLWG) of 1.18kg per day while the male calves are currently averaging 316kg with a DLWG of 1.33kg per day.

One thing that stands out with this year’s batch is the number of potentially suitable replacements. This is the second crop of spring-born calves born from the Simmental stock bull. With heifer calves now having a mix of top Simmental and Limousin genetics combined with some traditional back breeding, there should be a good choice of heifer replacements next year. If performance continues, I may be tempted to bull all suitable replacements and sell off surplus heifers in-calf if there is a demand next year.

Those weanlings at grass are currently receiving 1.5kg of meal per day with those already housed eating 2kg per head.

All weanlings have their backs clipped at housing. We find this helps reduce pneumonia risks through reduced sweating and also aids lice control.

There are now a number of different groups of stock being finished for slaughter. These include 2013 autumn-born bulls, 2013 spring-born steers and heifers and 2012 autumn-born dairy-bred steers. The 10 autumn-born suckler-bred bulls had an average birth date of 2 October 2013, giving an average age at weighing on the 11 November of 405 days. They averaged 578kg.

They were not weighed at housing, but based on an average birth weight of 45kg they have achieved a lifetime DLWG of 1.32kg per day. After being grazed on grass only during summer months, they were housed in early September. They have been consuming 6.5kg of finishing blend along with the best-quality round bales. Maize meal has been gradually introduced to achieve a good level of finish.

The first three bulls will be ready next week. All cattle are being monitored for level of finish with a target of achieving a fat score of 3=. This year’s autumn-born calves are presently being allowed to suckle their mothers twice daily. Like all groups of stock, these were housed in good condition.

They are currently being fed 2kg per day of meal along with some of the best-quality round bales. A combination of restricted suckling and good body condition has resulted in cows showing heats within 30 to 40 days post-calving.

This herd has been moved forward annually and if conception rates are good should be finished calving by the end of September in 2015. Calves are being offered creep along with red clover silage bales. These autumn-born calves have just received their pneumonia booster vaccine.

The first eight of the autumn 2012 born AA x Friesian steers were slaughtered on 30 October. The average performance was 307.6kg deadweight, grading O+ 3= at 23.3 months, which represented an average carcase gain of 0.41kg per day.

Suckler-bred 2013 spring-born steers and heifers will be finished between now and the end of December.