Last week, an examination of bull beef systems within the Teagasc/Irish Farmers Journal BETTER Farm beef challenge reminded us that, historically, bull beef is the most profitable beef farming system, with past programmes showing gross margins on bull beef farms to be, on average, €456/ha and €449/ha higher than their sole trading and weanling producing counterparts, respectively.

The examination of bull beef within the current phase of the BETTER farm programme also showed us there are now 16 farmers operating the system, 10 higher than what started the programme. One of the largest of these operations, with a plan to slaughter up to 150 bulls annually, is that of Westmeath BETTER Farm beef challenge participant Martin Downes.

Turning the attention to home

Martin is farming 105ha on the outskirts of Multyfarnham in Co Westmeath, 87ha of which are for cattle. The land, which is split into two blocks, is predominantly heavy in nature but has excellent potential for grass growth. Key to unlocking that potential was to drop rented land. Martin said: “I had land rented but I decided to drop it and reduce my cow numbers slightly and when I did the sums on it, I was no worse off.” By dropping the rented land Martin said “I’m trying now to get as much as possible out of my own ground. Every year I’m doing a little bit more wherever I can see an improvement.”

These improvements came in the form of grazing infrastructure with paddocks and water systems and implementing a reseeding programme, but the majority of the focus is being placed on soil fertility. At the start of the programme almost two years ago, only 4% of the farm had optimum soil pH, P and K. Through a nutrient management plan detailing the targeted use of compound fertilisers and slurry on low-index soils, the plan is to significantly increase the soil fertility on the farm – the underpinning factor in growing high volumes of grass.

Bulls for grass

But growing high volumes of grass will only get you so far. It is utilising this extra kg DM/ha and turning it into liveweight that will deliver a return. The farm plan, drawn up by the BETTER Farm beef challenge management team and Martin’s local B&T adviser Paul Fox, includes stocking the farm to 2.55LU/ha. Martin explained how this will be done: “Ideally, my number would be 110 suckler cows, 150 ewes and buy in 100 bulls every year.”

The plan also outlines a target liveweight output of 1,095kg/ha. For this, the extra grass grown on the farm will come into play. Bull beef systems can be broken into under-16-month and over-16-month systems. Martin has chosen to implement both systems to maximise grass utilisation and carcase weights going out the farm gate. With 110 cows going to the bull for calving in the spring, the plan is to have over 100 live calves on the ground, 50 bulls and 50 heifers. Once weaned, the heaviest 20 to 25 bulls will be picked out for slaughter under 16 months. These will be built up to ad-lib with a target slaughter date in May and early June and target carcase weight at 410kg. The remaining lighter bulls will be stored over the winter for early turnout in spring. Getting almost a full season at grass, these bulls are then housed in autumn for finishing at 20 months of age at 430kg carcase weight. The same goes for bought-in bulls. Some are purchased for slaughter under 16 months old alongside the homebred stock while more are bought to go to grass prior to the finishing period. Heifers are taken to slaughter at 22 to 24 months. Getting two full summers at grass and one full winter, these heifers are slaughtered out of the shed in the middle of their second winter, with target carcase weights of 340kg to 350kg.

Weighing up the under-16-month versus the over-16-month system includes a lot of factors. Despite consistent ADG of 1.25kg in male calves each year, calving occurs in late spring (March and April) to facilitate lambing the ewes in February. Therefore, only the top half of bulls will be able to hit the desired weights for under-16-month bull beef. The under-20-month bull allows Martin to reach his objective carcase weight easier and cheaper due to the second summer at grass. On the flip side, last week’s analysis of the bull beef systems showed that, on average, under-16-month bulls receive a higher price (€4.10/kg to €4.37/kg) than older bulls (€3.90/kg to €4.10/kg). By operating both, Martin is getting the best of both worlds and splitting his cashflow at the same time.

Farmer visit

Last week, a group of fellow BETTER farm beef challenge participants visited the farm. On what was an extremely wet and cold day, all discussion took place inside the sheds where new arrivals and soon-to-be departures were on show. Looking at the bulls nearing slaughter first, Martin explained they were his own bulls for 20-month slaughter. They are on 10kg/head/day of a bull finishing ration (Table 1) and we’ll move on to 5-7kg of our homegrown beet and drafting for slaughter will begin in the next 10 days. When questioned about running these bulls at grass for the summer, Martin said: “I run them in groups of 30. Before letting them out I just let them into the yard for a couple of hours and let them fight away until they get it out of their systems. I find it’s best to pen them in batches for the winter and turn them out in the same groups.”

Moving to another shed, Martin showed a group of some newly purchased weanlings destined for slaughter at under 16 months with his own stock. Outlining the system, he said: “I’ve gone for bulls with good potential. Finishers don’t want coloured bulls. I’d have to give another €100/head for Charolais.” On the regime after buying in, he said: “They get Bovipast and IBR vaccines on arrival and they will get a booster for Bovipast and a worm, fluke and lice treatment in a couple of weeks’ time. They start off on 3kg/head/day concentrates and good-quality silage and will be built up to ad-lib as the winter goes on.” A budget for these bulls is given in Table 2.