The biggest risk facing the UK beef industry is reduced per capita consumption due to competition from cheaper, more efficiently produced meats like chicken and pork. To counteract this, as an industry we must ruthlessly improve the efficiency of beef production rather than constantly demanding higher farm gate prices and subsidies. There are many useful lessons that can be learnt from our competitor industries – mainly the use of specialist hybrid maternal genetics.
Two Facts:
• The biggest profit driver in suckler beef production is total kilos of calves weaned per hectare, and the biggest influence on this is cow type.
• Approx 2/3 of the cost of producing a kilo of suckler beef is the cost of keeping the cow.
Taking these together it is clear that suckler farms need to use cows which cost less to keep and have a higher relative output, ie efficient cows.
Various trials, including on our own farm, have demonstrated that using the best maternal genetics alone can improve total kilos weaned per hectare by up to 30% and net profit per cow by up to £300.
If we get cow type right, we can use which ever terminal sire which suits our farm system. If we get cow type wrong, it is virtually impossible to make money.
Maternal Profit Drivers
• Fertility – Our farm has moved from 10% empty in 12 weeks to 3% empty in 9 weeks.
• Calving Interval – 400 days to 361 days • Birth Assistance – 25% to 3%
• Birth Mortality – 5% to 2%
The combination of these factors has seen calves weaned per 100 cows put to bull rise from 83 to 95 and calving move from indoor with 24 hr supervision to outdoor checked twice daily with subsequent improvement in family life.
When considered alongside temperament and structural correctness (udders and feet), this increases longevity and reduces replacement costs.
Cow Size/Weight – Bigger, heavier cows do not wean bigger heavier calves. Eblex, DARD and Teagasc figures all show that 600kg cows wean the same weight of calves as 800kg cows. More of the smaller cows can be kept on the same land area at minimal extra cost, resulting in substantially more kilos weaned per hectare. This is expressed in the Cow Efficiency Percentage defined as: Total kilos of calves weaned at 200 days divided by the total kilos of cows put to the bull. UK average is below 40%. US Agrieconomists say that 50% is the figure generally regarded as giving sustainable profit. This is much easier to achieve with smaller cows and increasingly difficult when cow weight exceeds 650kg. The average cow weight in our herd is 620kg.
Two Year Old Calving
Virtually all large-scale beef producing countries of the world calve heifers at 2 years old. Compared to 3 year old calving, this increases net profit by over £40 per cow per year every year of her life. So early puberty-type cows, preferably containing at least 50% native breed influence and good heifer rearing are a necessity.
Net Feed Efficiency
Feed efficiency is usually considered in the context of influencing the profitability of beef finishing. While this is very true, the main financial effect of feed efficiency is in the cost of keeping the cow. Trials carried out in the USA have shown that harnessing this trait will readily reduce the cost of keeping a Cow/Calf unit by £100 per year without reducing output.
Hybrid Vigour
We all know the definition – how much better is a cross-bred offspring compared to the average of its purebred parents. In a four way cross, the extra output is 22%. This is one of life’s very few “Free Dinners” and it is a no brainer to utilise this. So, crossbred cows are an essential.
Milk Yield
We generally think – milky cow heavy weaned calf. This is true, however, if an excessively milky cow eg Holstein X is kept on inadequate grazing like marginal hill, then body condition and conception rates will fall. This has a greater negative financial effect than the benefit of the extra calf weight. So for maximum profit, milk yield potential must be matched to the nutritional potential of the farm.
Conclusion
Efficiency of suckler beef production and consequent farm profit will be massively improved by using specialist maternal genetics. Basically cows should be cross-bred, fertile, easily calved, easily fleshed, adequately milky, preferably polled, under 650kg and able to wean over 50% of their own weight.
On our farm, after much experimentation, we have achieved this by using American Stabilisers, which is a scientifically developed 4 breed maternal composite based on the pig/poultry model. In effect – a chicken with a rumen.