In recent years there has been an increase in the volume of beef processed from cattle that originated in the dairy herd.
With the dairy herd expanding to over 312,000 cows, there has also been a growing trend to use traditional beef breeds, such as Angus and Hereford sires, on dairy cows to improve the value of the progeny produced.
In 2017, the number of Angus-sired calves was 74,237, an increase of almost 16,000 head when compared with 2015.
The number of Hereford calf registrations has also increased by more than 7,000 head from 2015 to 2017. In both cases the bulk of these calves were registered to a dairy dam.
The rise in beef cattle coming from the dairy herd is now filtering through to the local kill. In the first six months of 2018, Angus cattle accounted for 18% of the total steer and heifer kill. For the same period in 2014, the figure was 14%.
At the same time as the dairy herd has expanded, there has been a small reduction in the number of suckler cows. A number of farmers have reduced cow numbers or exited the sector, and instead opted to rear dairy-bred calves to slaughter.
Dairy-bred calves
There are many advantages to setting up a dairy-calf-to-beef enterprise. The purchase cost of calves is much lower when compared with purchasing cows, breeding heifers or in-calf animals for a suckler herd.
Therefore, it is possible to build numbers much faster in a calf-to-beef system.
Calves are also easier to graze in spring and autumn when ground conditions are not always favourable for suckler cows or heavier store cattle. Calves also have a much lower grazing demand and can be tightly stocked.
While the conformation and carcase weight of dairy-bred cattle tends to be lower than suckler-bred animals, it is still possible to have a higher output/ha farmed in a calf-to-beef system compared with a suckler system.
Assuming a stocking rate of one cow and calf unit per acre of grazing land, the suckler cow will produce one calf per year, which can be potentially sold as a weanling around 300kg liveweight.
The same area of ground could carry three to four dairy-bred calves and potentially produce 450kg to 600kg of liveweight per acre.
With many dairy herds calving all year round, calves are available throughout the year, although there is an increase in supply in autumn and spring.
Disadvantages
However, there are some drawbacks to the calf-to-beef system. The biggest negative is probably the risk of bringing in disease, which is increased when calves are bought from multiple sources.
Housing needs to be adapted to suit calves, especially if purchasing calves that are not weaned. Calf pens require bedding and regular cleaning.
Shed ventilation will also need to be addressed to prevent respiratory issues and, where possible, calves should not be housed in the same airspace as older cattle.
Purchase price is reflected in calf quality and Angus-sired animals, or calves sired by continental cattle, can be £100 to £300 more than Holstein-sired calves, which must be factored in to budgets when sourcing calves. Typical calf rearing costs are shown in Table 1.
1. Sourcing calves: When buying calves, you can source directly from a farm, from a cattle agent or directly through the mart.Buying healthy calves is critical to making a profit, so where possible try to buy calves from a known source to minimise the risk of disease. Calves should be no younger than 14 to 21 days and weigh at least 50kg when purchased. Calves should be alert, with clear eyes, walking freely, have no visible signs of a respiratory problems and have a shine to their coat.
Older calves will be more robust, especially if they are weaned off milk, but they will cost more than younger animals. Beef-sired calves will also cost more to purchase compared with Friesian- and Holstein-sired animals.
2. Managing calf on arrival: On arrival to the farm, calves should be housed separately from other cattle already on the farm. With new arrivals under stress this can trigger a pneumonia or IBR outbreak, which could be transmitted to other cattle.Calves should be housed in a clean, dry, straw-bedded shed with plenty of ventilation and clean water. Ideally, where calves are not weaned they should be managed in small groups.
It is often beneficial to feed an electrolyte to calves on arrival as they can be dehydrated when moving through a mart. Check calf temperatures as a high temperature is an early sign of sickness.
Calves should have access to a starter concentrate and fresh straw to eat.
Before calves are moved to join other cattle on-farm, they should be vaccinated for respiratory diseases and de-horned, if necessary.
3. Feeding milk: Calf performance will be affected by the quality of diet offered. Use a good-quality milk replacer with 25% crude protein on a dry matter basis. Milk replacer should be fed at a rate of 125g/l of water.Calves should be fed around 10% of their body weight in milk, which means a 60kg calf should be getting six litres per day.
As the calf begins to eat concentrate it will require less milk. The target is to have calves weighing at least 100kg by 12 weeks old – before they are fully weaned.
Calves should not be weaned until they are consistently eating 1kg/day of concentrate. Wean calves off milk over a period of 10 days.
4. Concentrate feeding: Keep the ration clean by offering a fresh allocation daily.As calves consume more concentrate they will have a greater requirement for water. Ensure calves have continual access to roughage in the form of straw or hay.
5. Grazing: Once weaned calves can be given access to grass. Calves require high-quality grass to maximise performance in the first year. Feeding a small quantity of concentrate during the grazing season will maintain animal performance, especially if grass is scarce and sward quality starts to decline.
6. Animal health: Make sure calves are covered with a proper health programme, which includes worm control and respiratory vaccines prior to housing. Worm control will also be required for cattle in their second grazing year.
7. Decide on your market: Dairy-bred calves can be finished as bulls or taken through to slaughter as steers. Angus and Hereford types are better suited to steer systems, while continental types will suit both the steer and bull system.Holstein-Friesian calves will struggle to finish as steers at 24 months at a suitable carcase weight and fat cover, so be prepared to continue feeding these animals for an additional period if you opt to run them as steers.
Beef-sired dairy crosses are better suited to kill as steers at 20 to 24 months. This is important for Angus-sired and Hereford-sired cattle in order to qualify for premiums.
8. Sell when demand is high: As with any type of cattle, you should be aiming to sell cattle at a time when there is traditionally strong demand for beef.As dairy-bred cattle will have lower conformation scores they can be heavily penalised if they fall out of spec and are sold when demand for beef is low.
In recent years there has been an increase in the volume of beef processed from cattle that originated in the dairy herd.
With the dairy herd expanding to over 312,000 cows, there has also been a growing trend to use traditional beef breeds, such as Angus and Hereford sires, on dairy cows to improve the value of the progeny produced.
In 2017, the number of Angus-sired calves was 74,237, an increase of almost 16,000 head when compared with 2015.
The number of Hereford calf registrations has also increased by more than 7,000 head from 2015 to 2017. In both cases the bulk of these calves were registered to a dairy dam.
The rise in beef cattle coming from the dairy herd is now filtering through to the local kill. In the first six months of 2018, Angus cattle accounted for 18% of the total steer and heifer kill. For the same period in 2014, the figure was 14%.
At the same time as the dairy herd has expanded, there has been a small reduction in the number of suckler cows. A number of farmers have reduced cow numbers or exited the sector, and instead opted to rear dairy-bred calves to slaughter.
Dairy-bred calves
There are many advantages to setting up a dairy-calf-to-beef enterprise. The purchase cost of calves is much lower when compared with purchasing cows, breeding heifers or in-calf animals for a suckler herd.
Therefore, it is possible to build numbers much faster in a calf-to-beef system.
Calves are also easier to graze in spring and autumn when ground conditions are not always favourable for suckler cows or heavier store cattle. Calves also have a much lower grazing demand and can be tightly stocked.
While the conformation and carcase weight of dairy-bred cattle tends to be lower than suckler-bred animals, it is still possible to have a higher output/ha farmed in a calf-to-beef system compared with a suckler system.
Assuming a stocking rate of one cow and calf unit per acre of grazing land, the suckler cow will produce one calf per year, which can be potentially sold as a weanling around 300kg liveweight.
The same area of ground could carry three to four dairy-bred calves and potentially produce 450kg to 600kg of liveweight per acre.
With many dairy herds calving all year round, calves are available throughout the year, although there is an increase in supply in autumn and spring.
Disadvantages
However, there are some drawbacks to the calf-to-beef system. The biggest negative is probably the risk of bringing in disease, which is increased when calves are bought from multiple sources.
Housing needs to be adapted to suit calves, especially if purchasing calves that are not weaned. Calf pens require bedding and regular cleaning.
Shed ventilation will also need to be addressed to prevent respiratory issues and, where possible, calves should not be housed in the same airspace as older cattle.
Purchase price is reflected in calf quality and Angus-sired animals, or calves sired by continental cattle, can be £100 to £300 more than Holstein-sired calves, which must be factored in to budgets when sourcing calves. Typical calf rearing costs are shown in Table 1.
1. Sourcing calves: When buying calves, you can source directly from a farm, from a cattle agent or directly through the mart.Buying healthy calves is critical to making a profit, so where possible try to buy calves from a known source to minimise the risk of disease. Calves should be no younger than 14 to 21 days and weigh at least 50kg when purchased. Calves should be alert, with clear eyes, walking freely, have no visible signs of a respiratory problems and have a shine to their coat.
Older calves will be more robust, especially if they are weaned off milk, but they will cost more than younger animals. Beef-sired calves will also cost more to purchase compared with Friesian- and Holstein-sired animals.
2. Managing calf on arrival: On arrival to the farm, calves should be housed separately from other cattle already on the farm. With new arrivals under stress this can trigger a pneumonia or IBR outbreak, which could be transmitted to other cattle.Calves should be housed in a clean, dry, straw-bedded shed with plenty of ventilation and clean water. Ideally, where calves are not weaned they should be managed in small groups.
It is often beneficial to feed an electrolyte to calves on arrival as they can be dehydrated when moving through a mart. Check calf temperatures as a high temperature is an early sign of sickness.
Calves should have access to a starter concentrate and fresh straw to eat.
Before calves are moved to join other cattle on-farm, they should be vaccinated for respiratory diseases and de-horned, if necessary.
3. Feeding milk: Calf performance will be affected by the quality of diet offered. Use a good-quality milk replacer with 25% crude protein on a dry matter basis. Milk replacer should be fed at a rate of 125g/l of water.Calves should be fed around 10% of their body weight in milk, which means a 60kg calf should be getting six litres per day.
As the calf begins to eat concentrate it will require less milk. The target is to have calves weighing at least 100kg by 12 weeks old – before they are fully weaned.
Calves should not be weaned until they are consistently eating 1kg/day of concentrate. Wean calves off milk over a period of 10 days.
4. Concentrate feeding: Keep the ration clean by offering a fresh allocation daily.As calves consume more concentrate they will have a greater requirement for water. Ensure calves have continual access to roughage in the form of straw or hay.
5. Grazing: Once weaned calves can be given access to grass. Calves require high-quality grass to maximise performance in the first year. Feeding a small quantity of concentrate during the grazing season will maintain animal performance, especially if grass is scarce and sward quality starts to decline.
6. Animal health: Make sure calves are covered with a proper health programme, which includes worm control and respiratory vaccines prior to housing. Worm control will also be required for cattle in their second grazing year.
7. Decide on your market: Dairy-bred calves can be finished as bulls or taken through to slaughter as steers. Angus and Hereford types are better suited to steer systems, while continental types will suit both the steer and bull system.Holstein-Friesian calves will struggle to finish as steers at 24 months at a suitable carcase weight and fat cover, so be prepared to continue feeding these animals for an additional period if you opt to run them as steers.
Beef-sired dairy crosses are better suited to kill as steers at 20 to 24 months. This is important for Angus-sired and Hereford-sired cattle in order to qualify for premiums.
8. Sell when demand is high: As with any type of cattle, you should be aiming to sell cattle at a time when there is traditionally strong demand for beef.As dairy-bred cattle will have lower conformation scores they can be heavily penalised if they fall out of spec and are sold when demand for beef is low.
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