Grazing ground has started to be closed up this week on the BETTER farms. Although heavy rainfall early last week made ground conditions difficult in the north and west of the country, drier weather towards the weekend made it possible to get paddocks grazed tight before closing.

The programme farms are following the autumn rotation planner to close up land. The target is to now have 60% of the farm grazed out over the next three weeks. The final part of the farm will be grazed out with young weanlings through on/off grazing. On drier land, some cows will remain at grass as long as weather permits.

Bulls destined for slaughter under 16 months of age have now been housed on the majority of farms. With housing weights of 400kg in early spring-born calves and 500kg to 550kg in autumn-born bulls, these animals will have a shorter intensive feeding period.

The farms that possess their own weigh scales have typically seen spring-born bulls averaged 1.7kg/day over a 150-day feeding period in animals with a high genetic merit. This is adding an additional 255kg of liveweight to bulls.

Young bulls will tend to have a higher killout than grass-fed 18- to 20-month-old bulls. At 60% killout, this brings carcase weight to 390kg.

Steers that are also going to be finished out of the shed have also been housed. The programme farmers have commented on how far ahead steers are compared to last year in terms of liveweight. Housing weights of 570kg to 590kg in spring-born animals will see them reach slaughter weights of 400kg by January.

Finishing cattle

Finishing cattle are being offered high-dry-matter and high-DMD silage bales that were saved from paddocks where grass was starting to get too strong during June and July. The advantage of these bales is that they are easier to manage than pit silage when only part of the herd is housed.

With finishing cattle on 6kg to 8kg of meal, they are consuming small quantities of silage daily (12kg to 18kg). This makes it difficult to manage the face of a clamp pit as feed-out rate is slow. Once cows are housed and silage demand increases, the pit can be opened as there is less chance of spoilage at the pit face.

  • Grazing ground has now been closed up for spring turnout on the programme farms.
  • Improved weather over the weekend and early this week has helped to clean covers out tight before closing.
  • The target is to have 60% of the farm grazed and closed in the next three weeks.
  • Finishing cattle are now housed and started on their finishing diet.
  • High-DMD baled silage is being fed to finishing cattle.
  • If offering silage to cows outside, budget for one 850kg round bale to feed 15 cows per day. If there is still grass available to graze, one bale should be lasting close to two days. Where possible, feed on hardcore areas to prevent damage.