Feeding beef and store cattle - value for money

As winter approaches, farmers should be planning their feeding strategy for beef cattle. There are several key factors which must be taken into account when deciding what type of feed to purchase and how much to feed.

1. COST

A cheap ration is not necessarily good value for money. The energy and protein concentrations of rations should be considered before purchasing a ration. In general, cattle will utilise low fibre/high energy diets more efficiently than high fibre/low energy diets. Cattle will also eat more of a high-energy diet leading to a higher killing out percentage and an increase in the rate of finishing. It is incorrect therefore to compare diets simply on a cost/tonne basis.

2. INGREDIENT COMPOSITION

The presence or absence of one particular ingredient, for example, maize, does not make a "good" or "bad" ration. The overall ration composition must be considered – if in doubt, ask your merchant for an ingredient listing. Details of the relative feeding value of several frequently used ingredients can be found on the Rural Portal website under the Online Services section.

3. SILAGE QUALITY

Silage is the single most important factor affecting the required level of concentrate supplementation. It is important that silage quality is known and that the concentrate purchased is suitable to complement your silage. Excellent quality silage can significantly reduce the amount of concentrate supplementation required to maintain target growth rates for both store and finishing cattle (Table 1 and Table 2). Feeding excellent silage to store cattle can reduce winter feeding costs by £20/head over a five month housing period. In comparison, reducing concentrate costs by £20 per tonne will save less than £10/head during the housing period.

Table 1 Feeding costs for continental steers gaining 1.0 kg/day and continental heifers gaining 0.8 kg/day

* Assumes a concentrate cost of £125/tonne.

Target live weight gain for store cattle

It is critical that store cattle are correctly managed this winter to make a reasonable profit margin. If growth rates are too high during the winter and cattle are turned out in very good condition, performance at grass will suffer. On the other hand, if growth rates are too low, cattle may have to be kept longer on the farm to reach acceptable weights, perhaps requiring housing for a second winter leading to additional feed costs. The target daily liveweight gain over winter for Continental type store steers is 0.6-0.7 KG/day and 0.5 KG/day for heifers.

Table 2 Optimum concentrate inputs (KG/head/day) for store Continental steers gaining 0.7 KG of liveweight/day when offered different quality silages.

* To minimise stress in weanlings at housing it is advisable to feed concentrates prior to weaning and for 3-4 weeks after housing, even on excellent quality silage. A mineral/vitamin supplement should be dusted on top of the silage every day when concentrate feeding ceases.

** Assumes a concentrate cost of £125/tonne

Rations for feeding high quality continental finishing cattle

Table 3 lists a few examples of suitable rations for finishing cattle and the ingredient cost.

Table 3 Suitable rations for finishing beef cattle

* This option is suitable for situations where barley is readily available and silage protein is lower than 12 percent

** These prices are for ingredients only and do not include any additional milling and mixing charges

Ration for feeding continental store cattle

Maize gluten or equal quantities of maize gluten, maize distillers and citrus pulp will provide a suitable store ration of 18 percent CP costing approximately £95/t.

The economics of a potential R3 grade steer purchased at 450 kg for £500, housed for a 5 month period and marketed at 330kg carcase weight are shown in Table 4.

Table 4 Budget for finishing steers over a 150 day feeding period

The economics of a potential R3 grade heifer purchased at 400 kg for £400, housed for 5 months and marketed at 290 Kg carcase weight are shown in Table 5.

Table 5 Budget for finishing heifers over a 150 day/feeding period

The above budgets clearly show that prices currently being paid for store cattle limit the scope for any feeder’s margin. It is always difficult to predict prices in 6 months time and there are two major unknowns at present, that is, the impact of cull cows entering the food chain and the effect of exports on local prices. It would highly optimistic to expect a substantial increase in beef prices necessary to justify the present high store prices.