Regularly weighing livestock can deliver numerous benefits, irrespective of farm enterprise. The obvious benefit is being in a position to monitor performance. The pig and poultry industry have honed in on the potential of weight recording as an accurate assessment of how animals are performing. If animals are not meeting targets set for daily gain, then there is automatically questions raised about whether the environment is suitable for animals to perform, if there are underlying health issues or if changes are needed to the diet animals are being offered.

Dairy farmers have the benefit of being able to track performance twice daily by means of the volume of milk produced

There are big differences between the intensification in the poultry and pig sectors and in livestock enterprises, but even so, there is so much more potential that livestock farmers can gain from weighing animals. Dairy farmers have the benefit of being able to track performance twice daily by means of the volume of milk produced, but the only means of tracking regular performance across young dairy stock, sucklers, beef animals and sheep is by regular weighing.

Better equipment

The range of handling equipment and software available for weighing animals and analysing information has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and continues to improve. Sheep farmers can avail of grant aid through the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II) for weighing equipment and electronic tag readers and associated software.

A basic portable sheep handling race has a reference cost of €881.96

The reference cost for sheep weighing scales is listed at €845.92 excluding VAT, while a PDA EID tag reader and a management software package is listed at €1,820, significantly higher than a standard EID tag reader and software, which has a reference cost of €710.

It looks increasingly likely that electronic tagging will be rolled out across bovines in the coming years and as such, it is worth assessing readers that can be used across the two enterprises. A basic portable sheep handling race has a reference cost of €881.96, while a portable unit complete with wheels for towing and incorporating footbaths has a reference cost of €3,186.54. Penning is priced at €27.93 per linear metre.

Weighing cattle

With regards the weighing of cattle, a weighing scales has a reference cost of €1,164. A barrier to weighing on many farms is insufficient facilities to easily handle livestock on out-farm blocks. The TAMS II scheme is finishing at the end of the year and given the recent uncertainty surrounding the opening of tranches, it is worth getting an application prepared sooner rather than later if interested in investing in handling facilities.

A fixed handling unit is costed on all the individual components included and as such, it is not straightforward to give a standard price for a handling unit. These components are listed in the reference costs, which can be found at www.agriculture.gov.ie under the schemes and payments section. A mobile cattle crush (minimum length of 2m) has a reference cost of €1,568, while associated mobile penning is costed at €43.50 per linear metre.

Weight benchmarks

Where animals are being weighed, there are a number of key performance indicators that can be used to establish if animals are hitting desired performance. Progeny of dairy cows born in spring 2020 should be achieving an average daily gain in the region of 0.9kg per day over the grazing season, with a good benchmark for heifers to weigh in the region of 190kg to 200kg on 1 September.

For sheep farmers, the general benchmarks for performance from grazed grass are for lambs to achieve a daily gain of 150g to 180g in August

Cattle aged one to two years should achieve an average of at least 1kg liveweight gain per day over the grazing season, with a good benchmark for dairy heifers to hit an average weight of 425kg to 450kg on 1 September. The target for spring-born suckler calves is typically 1.2kg to 1.3kg for bull calves from birth to weaning and 1.1kg to 1.15kg for heifers. All heifers earmarked for breeding need to be on target to hit at least 60% of mature weight at breeding.

For sheep farmers, the general benchmarks for performance from grazed grass are for lambs to achieve a daily gain of 150g to 180g in August, reducing to 100g to 150g in September and 60g to 100g in October, with performance thereafter strongly influenced by weather. Ewe lambs should be on target to hit at least 60% of mature weight at breeding, while two-tooth hoggets should weigh 90% of mature weight at time of joining.

Efficiency measurements

There is a greater emphasis being placed on efficiency measurements, with cows and ewes assessed on their level of output and how this equates to their weight. For example, some suckler farmers are targeting an efficiency figure of cows weaning at least 45% of their weight, with some dairy systems targeting one kilo of milk solids per kilo of liveweight.

In my opinion, these measurements should be used as a tool to benchmark performance within a herd or flock and not across systems. There is also a risk of getting too hung up on some figures and losing sight of other aspects. For example, I have seen suckler herds highlighting an efficiency figure of weaning 50% of their weight, but when assessed on a liveweight basis, this equates to a weaning weighing of just 260kg to 280kg, with the efficiency figure resulting from a lower cow liveweight rather than the performance of her progeny excelling.

Health treatments

The final area where weight monitoring is invaluable is in administering health treatments. A high percentage of farmers regularly underestimate the liveweight of animals and this risks increasing the rate of resistance to important veterinary medicines where insufficient volumes are administered.

An analysis of ewe liveweights in Tullamore farm last October recorded a weight range from as low as 65kg to in excess of 100kg in the same ewe type, when it would have been anticipated at a range of 65kg to 85kg.