Top margin from dairy calf to beef

With an exceptionally high gross margin per hectare of £1,500, Kilkeel farmer James Henderson is at the top of his game when it comes to rearing dairy calves through to beef.

Outlining his system during a joint CAFRE/Teagasc webinar held last Thursday, the Co Down man has integrated a dairy calf enterprise to sit alongside an existing sheep flock on the 60ha farm.

A total of 90 dairy bred heifer calves are bought in the autumn, with 250 breeding ewes, and 60 ewe lambs, also lambed down. The house used to rear calves is then utilised in the spring for his mid-season lambing flock. Between four and five hectares of winter barley is also grown to provide feed and bedding for livestock.

The calves are bought at around three weeks of age, with the aim to get them weaned and at sufficient weight in the spring to go to grass without any concentrate supplementation. Most are out of British Blue and Limousin sires, with some Hereford and Angus also in the mix. “We are looking for a good growthy calf, with a good frame, and able to grow fast at grass,” said James.

Calf mortality is currently sitting around 2%

On arrival on the farm, the first feed is an electrolyte sachet, along with 2g of Solacyl, an oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, which is also offered over the next four days. It has helped significantly reduce antibiotic use on the farm, said James. Calves are vaccinated within 24 to 48 hours of arriving on the farm using Rispoval Intranasal, and usually get an IBR vaccine within the first week.

Calf mortality is currently sitting around 2%. James would like to have it at zero, but given that calves are being bought in marts, from multiple herds, it is impossible to eliminate the disease risk. However, he has noted a general improvement in calf health in recent years, with Red Tractor rules requiring dairy farmers to hold calves for at least two weeks before sale, and BVD tissue tagging helping remove diseased calves.

Milk replacer

Over the first four to five days on farm, calves are gradually built up to receive 700g per day of milk replacer (23% crude protein; 17% oil; 7.6% ash; 0.0% fibre), fed in individual pens. The aim is to wean at around eight weeks, when calves are eating 1kg of pellets.

Calves then move over into group pens, with some straw and silage introduced, and between 12 and 16 weeks they transition on to 2kg per head of a home mix (575kg barley; 200kg soya; 175kg soya hulls; 25kg flaked maize; 25kg minerals).

The sides are Yorkshire board, and there is an open roof ridge with a cap

Initially the calves in the group pens are on slatted floors with a straw lie-back, but later in the season will be closed onto the slats. The intention is to put down slat mats this year.

There is no forced ventilation in the sheds. The sides are Yorkshire board, and there is an open roof ridge with a cap. “We want clean, dry housing, good deep beds of straw and good ventilation with no draughts or dampness” said James. Last winter, calves averaged 0.86kg/d up to turnout.

The first calves James Henderson has bought in the autumn of 2020 are costing between £50 and £80 per head more than last year.

He told the CAFRE/Teagasc webinar last Thursday that his preference is to continue to buy in British Blue and Limousin calves, but if that price trend was to continue he may be forced to look at Holstein Friesian bull calves next year.

“The Hol/Fr bull is good value for money, but when I have a system going, that is working well, and it is profitable, I am reluctant to change it. But the economics might change it for me” said James.

No question that the Hol/Fr is coming out on top, purely on the basis that it is cheap

He was joined on the webinar by Teagasc adviser Alan Dillon who emphasised the importance of calf price in ensuring a positive margin per head.

He quoted Teagasc analysis which suggested it is impossible to cover costs with dairy crossbreds (Jersey x Friesian), and that the profit achievable on other calves is generally matched by what is being paid, meaning margins are virtually non-existent.

“No question that the Hol/Fr is coming out on top, purely on the basis that it is cheap. All the other breeds are by and large, over-priced” suggested Dillon.

Context

However, it is important to put those comments in context. The dairy industry in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) is predominantly spring calving, using smaller-framed Friesian type cows.

“Buy-in in the autumn if you can, but around here these calves are extremely scarce” acknowledged Dillon.

The problem with a spring born calf is that it needs fed concentrate in the first summer, and probably will be kept over two winters, which significantly adds to cost.

Looking at data from calf-to-beef systems in ROI, Dillon maintained that on-farm performance can be neglected in the first winter, with calves falling behind target due to poor silage and insufficient concentrate feeding. “We often see calves go in at eight to nine months of age into the shed for the first winter, and coming back out at the same weight,” he said.

CAFRE demonstrating calf-to-beef steers

A new dairy calf-to-beef technology project has been established at CAFRE Greenmount which aims to demonstrate profitable beef production from a predominantly grass and forage based system.

The top 25% of herds had higher weight gains, and produced more weight per hectare, yet were feeding less concentrates

Speaking at the CAFRE/Teagasc webinar last Thursday, Natasha Ferguson from CAFRE said that analysis of benchmarking results across 51 local farms with dairy calf-to-beef systems had clearly identified a knowledge gap to be addressed.

In 2017-2018, the top 25% of farms achieved a net margin of £362 per animal sold, compared to the average of £81/head, and a loss of £223/head for the bottom 25%. The top 25% of herds had higher weight gains, and produced more weight per hectare, yet were feeding less concentrates. So they are doing a lot of things to a high standard, including making better use of grass.

It’s not an easy system to sell to a family farm

The CAFRE project is based on research conducted by Teagasc, and aims to take dairy bred steers through to slaughter at 21 months. The decision was made not to go with bulls, as it requires high concentrate feeding, so is high cost, and margins are variable.

“It’s not an easy system to sell to a family farm,” said Ferguson.

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