The Business Side of Beef

July 2011

Farmers make huge investments of time and money in their dairy herds with attention to detail in every facet of the herd. However now they also have the opportunity to maximise their income from beef by applying the same attention to detail to the beef enterprise. CF Agriculture have a specialised range of feeds which enable farmers to significantly increase their beef production by finishing the beef cattle much earlier and more efficiently.

Looking at the broad strokes first and then the fine detail, the benefits can often mean Continental X  beef cattle leaving the farm at 14 to 20 months rather than the 26-30 months which many farms have become accustomed to. This gives the farmer greater opportunities to finish more stock, which can create a significant increase in income.

So to the detail: best practice in the south west’s farms shows that those who gain most are those who plan the most. Realistic targets are set for live weight gains for each type of animal, in relation to the best market for each. Regular weighing is then undertaken as a matter of course to ensure that the animal is on target to reach the optimum weight at the right time for market. Everything is costed along the way. Superior feeds do cost more at the outset, but the animals then have a higher liveweight which leads to quicker finishing increased turnover and easier cash flow.. Using the best possible feeds is quicker, more efficient and effective than poorer quality feeds.

The feeds which CF Agriculture recommend:

4 days – 12 weeks - CF Duchy Blends Super Coarse Calf or CF Pinnacle feeds Baby Calf Pellets – To aid rumen development, Super Coarse Calf is also an excellent way to entice young suckled calves into the creep feeder

12 weeks plus - CF Duchy Blends Pedigree Heifer or CF Pinnacle feeds Heifer 18, the extra protein designed to grow more frame and increase skeletal growth giving you a bigger store animal sooner. This can also be fed in creep feeder’s to develop frame in suckled calves and pedigree beef animals.

Finishing - CF Duchy Blends Super Finisher or CF Pinnacle feeds Intensive Finisher.  To increase liveweight gain and finish cattle quickly and efficiently

These are well proven feeds in the local farming community, though CF Duchy Super Finisher is a new product devised in the last six months. It is a very high energy, low protein feed that finishes cattle very quickly and has been extremely well received. Maize-based, this form of high starch is safer than just wheat or barley; it can be fed at high intensities without feet or acidosis issues and has excellent fibre content to aid digestion.

Animal health is always an issue, so reducing challenges from worms is essential throughout the process, and extra care should be taken this year with fluke, as the warm weather of a few weeks ago may well lead to there being a second fluke cycle this year as the season becomes longer.

For further information please contact CF Agriculture’s nutritional specialists by calling Matthew Jenkin on 07770 598296, David Passmore on 07901 854463 or Blair Vanstone on 07799 773990.