Winter management of weanlings is an area that needs huge improvement on beef farms. On too many farms, weanlings do not achieve optimum performance over the winter months.

This puts weanlings behind for the start and will upset finishing dates at the end and also lead to increased finishing costs.

In the worst cases, weanlings may end up losing weight for the first winter.

The target weight gain over the winter will be influenced by the next stage of production – for example, weanlings going back to grass, sold out of the shed or transferring on to an ad lib 16-month intensive finishing period. In a high percentage of cases, weanlings are released to grass, for a second grazing period followed by sale or finish.

Teagasc research has shown the optimum liveweight gain target to achieve the most favourable balance between growth during the winter months and compensatory growth at grass is 0.6-0.7 kg liveweight gain per day.

While factors such as indoor management (stocking rate, ventilation, etc) and health can have a influence on winter performance, it is the winter feeding programme that has the greatest influence.

Thousands of silage samples are being taken as part of the National Beef Welfare Scheme.

It’s important to use the results to your best advantage.

It’s one of the most cost-effective things you can do for your winter feeding programme.

A silage test will cost between €20 and €30 and most feed companies will organise a test for you.

Try to get a good representative sample of your pit or bales by taking a cored sample and also taking a sample from a number of bales.

In terms of a protein content, which is given as crude protein (CP), a weanling ration should have 12% to 20% CP.

This range is included to factor in silage quality and different protein levels in silage.

For example, 12% to 14% CP ration will suffice on a high 14% CP silage.

On a lower 10% CP silage, the ration should be 16% to 20% CP.

If you don’t know the CP of your silage, a 16% CP ration is a safe bet.

High-protein feedstuffs include soya bean meal (48% CP) and maize distillers (25% CP) so watch out for these ingredients in a ration. In terms of energy, weanling rations should be no less than 0.94 UFL.

UFLs are the units for measuring the energy content of feed and forages for growing, store and mature cattle.

Be careful not to confuse with UFVs, the units for measuring energy for finishing cattle.

High-energy feedstuffs include barley (1 UFL), wheat (1 UFL) and maize grains (1.05 UFL) so watch out for these ingredients also.

One point of caution on this is that wheat is rapidly digestible, causing a high risk of acidosis and digestive upsets.

Table 1 outlines the feeding rates of meal required depending on ration quality.

While feed merchants aren’t required by law to specify what the inclusion rates are, most are happy to tell customers what they are.

Ration prices haven’t moved on that much since this time last year and a good weanling ration can be purchased this year between €280 and €300 depending on order quantities, etc.