Feeding finishing cattle

Grazing steers and heifers over 600kg for finishing is getting tricky due to ground conditions. Wet conditions underfoot and low dry matter grass will mean these heavy cattle won’t put on target weight gains outdoors and will struggle to do 0.5-0.6kg/day liveweight gain. Housing is a better option at this stage. Aim for a short finishing period indoors. Meal feeding at 6-8kg/day for 70-100 days depending on flesh covers should be OK. While costs will be higher, animals should have the potential to do 1.1-1.3kg/day on a diet of high-quality silage and concentrates. If animals are coughing, they should be dosed for fluke and worms, but keep an eye on withdrawal dates.

Grass growth

Despite the wet conditions on many farms, grass has continued to grow. While too much grass shouldn’t be a problem, it has presented issues on lower-stocked heavy farms. Some fields are too wet to graze with heavy cattle. Weaning calves and allowing calves to graze these areas could be an option on some farms and will mean the grazing season can be extended. Some beef farmers have turned to buying store lambs to graze some of this grass. If the fields are fenced and you are used to dealing with sheep, returns of €10-20/lamb have been achieved in recent years. However, if land isn’t fenced and you haven’t kept sheep before, one option could be to take in ewes for grazing over the winter. Rates of €0.10-€0.12/ewe/day can be paid by sheep farmers depending on quality of land and quantity of grass. The responsibility for tending to dosing, foot paring and general stock care stays with the owner. It could be a better option before diving into the unknown.

Slurry

With ground conditions still deteriorating in parts of the country, some farmers have been caught out with slurry tanks not empty. It’s important to make sure all tanks have been emptied well in advance of the closed period and in advance of animals coming into sheds. Where ground conditions are an issue, umbilical systems are a good option. Remember, if ground conditions are very wet or if heavy rain is forecast, slurry spreading is prohibited under cross-compliance laws. Don’t leave it too late to get it out.

THRIVE Virtual Open Evening

On Tuesday 15 September the Irish Farmers Journal livestock team will hold a virtual open evening on the Thrive dairy calf to beef demo farm in Cashel, Co Tipperary. There are 140 spring 2020-born calves on the farm and 130 2019-born cattle coming close to finish.

We have some interesting results on groups being fed meal compared to groups being fed grass only. Topics such as genetics used, calf price, calf rearing, grassland management, liveweight gains and slaughter performance will all be discussed on the night.

There will also be a panel discussion with industry experts on wider issues facing the dairy calf to beef industry. To attend the virtual evening you need to go to www.ifj.ie/thrive at 8pm on the night. For more see www.ifj.ie/thrive and page 36 of this week’s paper.