Our suckler herd calved over a 12-week period this year, starting on 3 March and finishing by 26 May. The aim is to tighten this.

Ideally, I would like to get to a point where all cows are calved by the end of April. We began breeding in late May this year to get calving started in early March 2018.

The herd has been established over the past four years at the expense of a sheep and store cattle enterprise.

We achieved this by purchasing mainly Aberdeen Angus and some Hereford-sired heifer calves, all from one dairy farmer, who also has a spring-calving herd of mainly New Zealand Friesian-type cows.

The first heifers were purchased in 2013 and calved down in 2015, so we still have a fairly young herd, with the oldest cows just turned four this spring.

It also means that this is the first year to have significant numbers of cattle available for slaughter. We also purchase 25 to 30 male calves each year, both Frisian and beef-bred, which we are carrying through to finish as steers.

It helps keep output up until we reach a manageable number of sucker cows.

Building numbers

There are 69 homebred suckler calves on the ground this year and, all going to plan, we should have approximately 100 cows and replacements in-calf this autumn.

The main benefit of building numbers in this way include having a herd established from one source with a known health status.

We also have a cow with good milking abilities from a herd with good fertility traits, while purchasing dairy-cross calves required a much lower initial investment and seemed like a much lower risk than buying cow and calf outfits or replacement heifers from various sources.

The major downside is the length of time until significant amounts of sales and cash start coming back into the business.

However, we feel we have a business plan, which, at current beef prices, should give a reasonable return on top of direct payments.

That assumes we can hit all the targets set, such as maintaining good herd fertility, achieving good performance at grass to have steers slaughtered at under 20 months, pushing stocking rates and improving herd genetics.

With a reliable source of first-cross dairy-bred heifers for our own replacements, we would also like to establish a customer base for our homebred second-cross heifers out of these cows.

These could be sold either as bulling heifers or after being scanned in-calf to an AI sire of the customer’s choice.

These should be ideal suckler cows for lots of commercial suckler farms looking to use a terminal sire. We have 24 heifers scanned in-calf and available for sale this year.

Scanning results to date

Along with 69 cows put to Hereford and Angus stock bulls, we also bred 42 heifers, 28 of which are first cross dairy bred heifers purchased as calves in spring 2016 and 24 second cross Angus and Hereford heifers from our own cows.

The aim is to calve all replacements by 24 months. This year we wanted to use more AI, adding the best genetics and hybrid vigour into progeny.

On Hereford sired heifers we used the Angus sire Netherton Americano and on Angus heifers a Limousin bull, Gleneagle Icon.

To help with heat detection one of the dairy bred bull calves purchased last year was left entire and we had him vasectomised, and fitted with a chin-ball marker.

Initially 36 heifers were in this group, over which heats were observed for five days starting on the 31 May.

We then used prostaglandin (estrumate) on all remaining heifers not bred after five days. This meant all 36 heifers were inseminated in an 11-day period.

In hindsight, I should have put the vasectomised bull in much sooner, perhaps three to four weeks pre-bulling and had him settled, as a combination of his excitement and eagerness to jump anything probably meant we submitted some heifers for AI at the wrong times.

From scanning results 22 of the 36 heifers held to first service, leaving 62% calving in the first two weeks. After this, a further six heifers and a sweeper Angus bull were added.

Scanning on the 7 August showed that a further 15 heifers held in the following three weeks leaving 88% or 37 of the 42 available for breeding, due to calve in a five-week period next year. The remaining five heifers will be scanned again along with the cows in September.

Breeding strategy

Next year with increased numbers, cows will need to be grazed in three batches.

One option is to purchase a third stock bull. Another is to use AI again in the heifers and in one group of cows.

In this scenario we could begin breeding the replacement heifers earlier than the cows, allowing the sweeper bull one chance with repeat heifers.

He could then be swapped over to sweep a batch of cows which would follow the same programme as the replacement heifers.

As well as meaning one less bull, it would also allow us to use some different genetics. I would like to introduce some continental breeding, and most likely Limousin.

2017 calf performance

Our aim this year to cross replacement heifers and cows with different breeds is backed up by the performance to date of the 2017 born calves.

Calves sired by the Hereford stock bull are growing at a faster rate than those sired by the Aberdeen Angus bull.

Of course it may be that the Hereford is just a better bull, but I also feel hybrid vigour is an important factor. The vast majority of my cows are Angus x Friesian.

I have also already started preparing for weaning. Calves received their first pneumonia vaccine last week. We will administer the booster when cows are being scanned next month.

Concentrate to steers

As with most parts of NI, up until August we had a relatively easily-managed grazing season thanks to favourable conditions.

However, rainfall in recent weeks has left it more difficult. I have still been able to manage by moving stock on faster to reduce poaching. Hopefully, we can improve utilisation in the next round.

The 2016 spring-born steers have performed well.

I am introducing 1kg of meal feeding this week. Unless there is a very good forecast, we will most likely house these cattle in the next couple of weeks in preparation for finishing this autumn.