Focus on the basics with bull beef systems

Six of the programme farms operate bull beef-finishing systems as this is the best option for maximising output on these farms.

Bull systems are highly specialised, but they have consistently delivered some of the highest gross margins within the programme.

As these animals are consuming higher quantities of concentrates, bulls have to be performing to their potential to cover production costs.

While the fall in beef price during 2019 will have reduced the profitability on young bulls compared with the previous year, the same six farms are once again planning to finish their spring-born male calves as bulls next year.

Follow a system

Although a lower beef price makes the economics of winter finishing less favourable, a cornerstone of the BETTER Farm programme has been to develop a viable production system for each farm, which is repeated annually.

This means the farmers are building on the lessons learned from previous years and implementing small changes to make the system more efficient.

Less risk

As systems become more efficient, they are less adverse to risk factors as the farmers know the level and cost of inputs required, and can build on animal performance year-on-year.

Compare this with a situation where farmers constantly change the way they market animals. These farms are much more exposed to market risks and have difficulty making lasting progress. It also impacts on cashflow, which is crucial to keep any business afloat.

1. Housing weight

With spring-born male calves, housing weight is crucial to stand any chance of making a profit from finishing animals as young bulls.

On the programme farms, the target housing weight for calves is a minimum of 300kg for February and March-born animals.

Take spring-born bulls with an average date of birth of 10 March. Housing on 10 October means the animal is 214 days old.

Assuming an average daily liveweight gain of 1.2kg/day from birth to housing, plus a 45kg birth weight, the animal will weigh 302kg at housing.

For the programme farmers, the target is to have bulls at a final liveweight of 650kg when selling animals for slaughter.

At a kill-out of 58% to 59%, this will produce a carcase weight of approximately 380kg around 14 months of age.

The programme farms all operate compact calving blocks and this is crucial to running an efficient bull beef system.

Not only are calves more uniform in size, it is much easier to manage indoor feeding. Also cattle can be sold in larger batches, which is important when negotiating for higher beef prices.

Later-born calves will have lower housing weights. Therefore, they require a longer feeding period, which means a higher beef price is required to cover feed costs.

2. Growing phase

Once housed, the bulls on the programme farms are offered 4kg of concentrates plus high-quality silage which has a D-value over 70%.

In many cases, baled silage harvested from surplus grass on the grazing block is fed to bulls as it is high quality, high dry matter forage.

The role of silage is to limit the level of concentrates required to maximise liveweight gain, as well as providing a good source of fibre for healthy rumen function.

During the growing phase, bulls are fed a ration which is around 15% to 16% crude protein.

The constituents in the ration are similar to those in the finishing ration, just at different inclusion rates.

As bulls increase in liveweight, concentrates are increased to 5kg/day around December and 6kg/day by January.

3. Finishing phase

March-born bulls should weigh around 550kg by late January to early February. At this point, the bulls are moved onto a finishing ration which is higher in energy and starch and lower in protein.

This ration increases the level of fat cover on bulls during the final intensive feeding period.

During the finishing phase, bulls normally move onto ad-lib concentrates along with silage or straw.

In some instances where the farmers have exceptionally high-quality silage, bulls have been finished on a maximum of 8kg/day of concentrate and silage.

However, this requires specialised and experienced management to make sure animals get to the correct fat cover. It also highlights how following a specific system year-on-year can deliver efficiency gains.

4. Keep groups consistent

As young bulls are more aggressive than castrated males, they should remain in the same social group over the winter period.

It is also important that they have adequate housing space, as over-stocking animals in sheds will impact negatively on weight gain. All bulls should be able to feed at the same time until they move onto ad-lib feeding of concentrates.

Therefore, best practice is to group bulls at housing based on size, weight and breed type. Ideally, these animals should remain in those groups until slaughter. If bulls have to be re-grouped because of a lack of feeding or lying space, this should be carried out as early as possible.

Housing bulls based on their final liveweight means there is less risk of having to re-group animals. Weanlings housed now will have plenty of space.

But remember, in a group of 10 animals gaining 1.5kg/day, the group increases by 105kg every week.

Therefore, every five weeks, the combined weight gain of the group will be 525kg, which is the equivalent of adding an extra animal to the pen.

Over a six-month period, these animals can easily become over-stocked as they come closer to slaughter weight.

5. Weigh regularly

Bulls should be weighed every month to monitor performance. The weigh scales always give an accurate reflection of herd management and feed levels.

By weighing animals, problems will be picked up early and can be rectified. Weighing cattle also means the programme farmers are able to work out if it is still cost-effective to keep feeding bulls by calculating the margin over feed. This is vitally important as the bulls reach slaughter weight.

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