The breeding period for our autumn-calving herd is now finished. All being well, we should have a good, compact calving period next August.
Breeding started on 15 October and finished on 15 December, just short of nine weeks in total.
During this period we served 28 cows and 11 heifers, with all animals covered by stock bulls.
Heifers were served by our new Limousin bull, who is a Bavardage son, with the cows covered by our Simmental and Stabiliser bulls.
The plan now is to leave cows on their existing diet of first-cut silage and 2kg/day of concentrates until they are scanned in-calf.
Based on blood samples, we used a high phosphorous mineral during the breeding period to give cows a fertility boost.
Scanning will most likely be completed in late January, with any empty cows weaned and fattened out of the shed.
Cows are mainly August- and September-calving, so if a cow is empty its calf will be strong enough to wean by February – as it will be relying more on concentrates and silage at this point, rather than milk from the cow.
Changing heifer type
The heifers are all first-cross animals sourced from a dairy herd that we are contract-rearing for.
The 11 heifers are just over 15-months-old and mainly Hereford-cross animals, with some Shorthorns in the group.
They were bought as calves last autumn and it was relatively straight forward to rear them. Calves are reared on milk with once/day feeding and 1kg of concentrates until they reach 12 weeks of age.
They get priority grazing during spring and summer so that they are well developed when housed before the breeding period.
We set a target breeding weight of 350kg liveweight for the heifers to meet before they were put to the bull and the 11 heifers comfortably met this target.
Milk
The reason we have decided to bring in replacements from a dairy herd is to try and increase milk in cows.
We have used Limousin and Simmental bulls in the past, but our heifers, especially the Limousin animals, have generally lacked milk.
Therefore, we thought it was a better option to source heifer calves from a dairy herd that we know the background of.
With an autumn herd of 28 cows, it would be a very slow process to try and breed milk into cows with such a small number of home-bred heifers born annually.
With the first group of dairy-bred heifers now served, we have already purchased a group of heifer calves to breed next year. These animals are now on-farm and doing well.
Spring calving
There are 78 spring-calving cows due to start calving from early March.
Dry cows are in great body condition and this is allowing us to save on silage. Cows are getting 22kg/day of silage fed through the wagon.
While we have more replacement heifers to choose from in the spring-calving herd, we have eight dairy-bred heifers held over to join the spring herd.
Again, the reason for this is to bring more milk into cows at a much faster rate than trying to breed for improved maternal traits.
The 2017 autumn-born bulls have all been slaughtered, with the final group sold last week.
The bulls killed out close on 370kg carcase weight, with a mix of U- and R-grades for conformation.
Overall, we are pleased with the bulls as there were a sizeable number bred from heifers and from Angus sires through AI.
The Angus-sired bulls ranged from 346kg to 356kg carcase weight.
The bulls were finished on a maximum of 8kg/day of concentrates and top-quality baled silage.
The animals averaged 1.6kg/day during the housing period, which at 58% kill-out, is 0.93kg of daily carcase gain.
At a U3 beef price of 340p/kg, the bulls would have a daily average income of 322p/kg.
Taking concentrates at an average of £220/t this autumn, and 20kg/day of silage at £20/t, daily feed costs would come to approximately 216p/kg.
Spring bulls
Spring-born bulls are currently performing well and have averaged 1.5kg/day since weaning in October.
The bulls were weighed on 13 December and averaged 370kg liveweight, giving a weight gain from birth of 1.2kg/day.
Bulls are being fed 5kg/day of concentrates and 18kg of first-cut silage daily.
Silage was analysed and first-cut is 72% D-value and 13.7% protein, with dry matter at 38%.
The plan will be to increase concentrate rates by 1kg every month until they reach a maximum of 8kg/day.
If animals maintain a similar growth rate, most of the bulls will be ready for slaughter by April, at just over 13 months of age.
Beef heifers
With dairy-bred heifers purchased as breeding replacement, this means we are finishing our 2017 autumn-born heifers. There are six Limousin animals in this group and they averaged 550kg liveweight on 13 December.
Weight gains have been exceptional at 1.4kg/day since housing.
Six Limousin-sired heifers born in August 2017 are due to be slaughtered early in the new year.
The heifers are also on first-cut silage and 2kg/day of the finishing ration.
The weight gains of the heifers really shows what good-quality silage can do in terms of performance. Heifers will be sold for slaughter in January.
For the first time in a long time, we have no real trouble with animal health after housing.
Spring-born bulls were wormed and vaccinated ahead of weaning and started on concentrates in late summer.
Calves were weaned outdoors by slipping a group of cows away from calves every few days.
This reduced the stress on calves, compared with abruptly weaning all young animals at the same time.
Bull calves were housed in October with heifer calves housed in mid-November.
With cattle being housed in phases, there was less stress on animals and this really helped with calf health.
Since housing, cattle have been treated for liver fluke, lice and worms and with animals free of internal and external parasites, this is also helping to improve weight gains with concentrate feeding.
Read more
Breeding for TB resistance
Second batch of steers drafted average 384kg in Newford Farm
The breeding period for our autumn-calving herd is now finished. All being well, we should have a good, compact calving period next August.
Breeding started on 15 October and finished on 15 December, just short of nine weeks in total.
During this period we served 28 cows and 11 heifers, with all animals covered by stock bulls.
Heifers were served by our new Limousin bull, who is a Bavardage son, with the cows covered by our Simmental and Stabiliser bulls.
The plan now is to leave cows on their existing diet of first-cut silage and 2kg/day of concentrates until they are scanned in-calf.
Based on blood samples, we used a high phosphorous mineral during the breeding period to give cows a fertility boost.
Scanning will most likely be completed in late January, with any empty cows weaned and fattened out of the shed.
Cows are mainly August- and September-calving, so if a cow is empty its calf will be strong enough to wean by February – as it will be relying more on concentrates and silage at this point, rather than milk from the cow.
Changing heifer type
The heifers are all first-cross animals sourced from a dairy herd that we are contract-rearing for.
The 11 heifers are just over 15-months-old and mainly Hereford-cross animals, with some Shorthorns in the group.
They were bought as calves last autumn and it was relatively straight forward to rear them. Calves are reared on milk with once/day feeding and 1kg of concentrates until they reach 12 weeks of age.
They get priority grazing during spring and summer so that they are well developed when housed before the breeding period.
We set a target breeding weight of 350kg liveweight for the heifers to meet before they were put to the bull and the 11 heifers comfortably met this target.
Milk
The reason we have decided to bring in replacements from a dairy herd is to try and increase milk in cows.
We have used Limousin and Simmental bulls in the past, but our heifers, especially the Limousin animals, have generally lacked milk.
Therefore, we thought it was a better option to source heifer calves from a dairy herd that we know the background of.
With an autumn herd of 28 cows, it would be a very slow process to try and breed milk into cows with such a small number of home-bred heifers born annually.
With the first group of dairy-bred heifers now served, we have already purchased a group of heifer calves to breed next year. These animals are now on-farm and doing well.
Spring calving
There are 78 spring-calving cows due to start calving from early March.
Dry cows are in great body condition and this is allowing us to save on silage. Cows are getting 22kg/day of silage fed through the wagon.
While we have more replacement heifers to choose from in the spring-calving herd, we have eight dairy-bred heifers held over to join the spring herd.
Again, the reason for this is to bring more milk into cows at a much faster rate than trying to breed for improved maternal traits.
The 2017 autumn-born bulls have all been slaughtered, with the final group sold last week.
The bulls killed out close on 370kg carcase weight, with a mix of U- and R-grades for conformation.
Overall, we are pleased with the bulls as there were a sizeable number bred from heifers and from Angus sires through AI.
The Angus-sired bulls ranged from 346kg to 356kg carcase weight.
The bulls were finished on a maximum of 8kg/day of concentrates and top-quality baled silage.
The animals averaged 1.6kg/day during the housing period, which at 58% kill-out, is 0.93kg of daily carcase gain.
At a U3 beef price of 340p/kg, the bulls would have a daily average income of 322p/kg.
Taking concentrates at an average of £220/t this autumn, and 20kg/day of silage at £20/t, daily feed costs would come to approximately 216p/kg.
Spring bulls
Spring-born bulls are currently performing well and have averaged 1.5kg/day since weaning in October.
The bulls were weighed on 13 December and averaged 370kg liveweight, giving a weight gain from birth of 1.2kg/day.
Bulls are being fed 5kg/day of concentrates and 18kg of first-cut silage daily.
Silage was analysed and first-cut is 72% D-value and 13.7% protein, with dry matter at 38%.
The plan will be to increase concentrate rates by 1kg every month until they reach a maximum of 8kg/day.
If animals maintain a similar growth rate, most of the bulls will be ready for slaughter by April, at just over 13 months of age.
Beef heifers
With dairy-bred heifers purchased as breeding replacement, this means we are finishing our 2017 autumn-born heifers. There are six Limousin animals in this group and they averaged 550kg liveweight on 13 December.
Weight gains have been exceptional at 1.4kg/day since housing.
Six Limousin-sired heifers born in August 2017 are due to be slaughtered early in the new year.
The heifers are also on first-cut silage and 2kg/day of the finishing ration.
The weight gains of the heifers really shows what good-quality silage can do in terms of performance. Heifers will be sold for slaughter in January.
For the first time in a long time, we have no real trouble with animal health after housing.
Spring-born bulls were wormed and vaccinated ahead of weaning and started on concentrates in late summer.
Calves were weaned outdoors by slipping a group of cows away from calves every few days.
This reduced the stress on calves, compared with abruptly weaning all young animals at the same time.
Bull calves were housed in October with heifer calves housed in mid-November.
With cattle being housed in phases, there was less stress on animals and this really helped with calf health.
Since housing, cattle have been treated for liver fluke, lice and worms and with animals free of internal and external parasites, this is also helping to improve weight gains with concentrate feeding.
Read more
Breeding for TB resistance
Second batch of steers drafted average 384kg in Newford Farm
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