Research has been carried out recently by Teagasc to investigate the key performance factors linked to profitable dairy calf-to-beef systems. The strong growth in the national dairy cow population over the last decade is expected to result in a proportional increase in the number of dairy calves available for beef production. It is estimated that around 370,000 dairy calves are now destined to be replacement heifers, while a remaining 900,000 calves will be available for beef production.

With this in mind, it is vital to identify the ingredients necessary for a successful dairy calf-to-beef enterprise. With many beef farmers struggling to make a return from sucklers alone, a large number of beef farmers are now looking at dairy calf-to-beef systems to boost output on their farms.

However, just like the suckler cow, there is a constant challenge to run the dairy calf-to-beef system both efficiently and sustainably to maximise the gross margin of the enterprise. Teagasc has identified key performance targets throughout the animals’ life cycle to enable this, regardless of the system employed or the breed being used.

1.Calves - rearing

Calf rearing is one of the most critical times for dairy calf-to-beef systems, and is also the most labour-intensive task for producers. During the rearing phase calves should be allocated the correct amount of milk replacer and be fed at the same time(s) each day. It is essential that the water temperature is not greater than 45°C for mixing with milk replacer. Coarse, calf starter ration, hay/ straw and fresh water should be freely available. From three weeks of age calves can be fed once daily - this significantly reduces the labour input. Calves should be weaned on a weight, rather than an age basis; target weaning weight is 85kg. Successful calf-rearing enterprises have equipment such as water heaters, carts to transport the milk replacer to the calf-rearing unit, milk feeders with multiple teats to batch-feed calves, and concentrate feeders that protect the ration from vermin. This equipment ensures consistency in the calf-rearing process and is also labour efficient.

2.Calves - the first grazing season

Once weaned, calves are turned out to grass in late April to early May and supplemented with 1kg of concentrate dry matter (DM) per head daily for two weeks. They then remain on a pasture-only diet until early September. Around this time they are (again) supplemented with 1kg of concentrate DM daily for six to eight weeks until housing. Calves should be grazing pasture covers of 1,200kg DM/ha (approximately 10cm in height). Although calves can graze independently to a post-grazing residual of 4.5cm to 5cm, a leader-follower rotational grazing system can also be carried out with older cattle. It is essential that attention to detail is given to parasitic infections when calves are at pasture. The three main parasites to be controlled are stomach worms, lungworms and liver fluke. Fresh dung samples (from 10 to 15 calves) should be collected approximately eight weeks after turnout and sent to a laboratory to determine the faecal egg count. Treatment for internal parasites of calves can be administered orally, by using a pour-on product or by injection, and is required when egg count is greater than 200 eggs per gram. Calves should be moved to another paddock four to seven days after treatment. The target ADG for a calf during their first grazing season is 0.80kg, with a liveweight target at housing of 230kg for February-born calves. For later-born (ie April/May) calves, the target liveweight at housing is 190kg.

3.Calves - the first indoor winter

During the winter indoor period calves are offered good-quality (>70% DM digestibility, DMD) grass silage ad-lib, supplemented with 1.5kg of concentrates per head daily, depending on silage quality. The ADG achieved during the first winter is 0.70kg. If silage DMD is 65%, the concentrate allowance increases to 2.5kg DM/head daily.

Robert Prendiville at BEEF 2018.

4.Steers - grazing to finish

Typically, yearling, February-born steers are turned out to pasture at 320kg in mid-March and offered grazed pasture until housing. Throughout the grazing season pasture management should be maintained to optimise animal performance and ensure high-quality herbage is available. The target ADG for steers during the second season at pasture is 0.90kg. If a leader-follower system is used the ADG will be lower, at 0.85kg. Steers should be grazing pasture covers of 1,200kg to 1,400kg DM/ha (approximately 10cm in height) and to a post-grazing residual of 4cm to 4.5cm. Steers should be monitored for signs of worms (failure to meet growth targets, scour, faecal egg count) and treated if required.

A 23- and 24-month steer system: In these systems steers are finished indoors during the second winter on high-quality (72% DMD) grass silage ad-lib, plus 5kg of concentrates per head daily. They are housed in November at a target weight of 530kg. The finishing period for the 24-month Holstein-Friesian system is approximately 100 days. The target liveweight at slaughter is 620kg, resulting in a 320kg carcase weight. During this period ADG is 1kg. Carcase conformation and fat score are O= and 3=, respectively. The finishing period for the early maturing dairy crossbred steer is approximately 85 days; these animals can be slaughtered earlier as they will have an acceptable carcase fat cover (3-) at a younger age. Target carcase weight is 300kg, and carcase conformation and fat score is O+ and 3+, respectively.

A 26- and 28-month steer system: Steers in this system are offered only high-quality (72% DMD) grass silage ad-lib for the second winter. During this period they have an ADG of 0.50kg. Steers in these systems are turned out to pasture in March for a ‘third’ grazing season, and slaughtered in May/June. Average daily gain during this time is 1.2kg. In the 28-month Holstein-Friesian system steers achieve a carcase weight of 350kg and carcase conformation and fat scores are O= and 3= respectively. Finishing steers off pasture during the third grazing season is particularly advantageous for late-born (April/ May) calves, which are usually the early maturing crossbreds. The target liveweight at slaughter for the 26-month early maturing crossbred system is 620kg, with a carcase weight of 320kg; target carcase conformation and fat scores are O+ and 3+ respectively.

The research was carried out by Teagasc researchers Robert Prendiville, Gordon Peppard and Richard Lynch. Watch Robert Prendiville explain the research to the Irish Farmers Journal in the video above.

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