16 ways to improve suckler herd profitability

British beef farmers can check their management practices against a list of tried and tested ways to make their suckler herds more profitable and productive.

A joint levy board initiative used Adas to summarise the latest research into breeding, feeding and husbandry in a publication called Building Better Beef.

Dr Heather McCalman of Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC) said the joint project with Quality Meat Scotland provides insights and robust evidence to support and promote the beef sector. 

See also: Struggle for survival revealed in wide-ranging beef survey

“The outputs of this research will enable farmers to review and improve current farm practices and take advantage of practical advice that will boost productivity, profitability and improve environmental impacts.”

Farmers Weekly summarised the report, which is available online in condensed and full versions. 

Breed selection

Advice

Consider what type of cow would make the best use of the farm’s natural assets.

Research

HCC stresses there is “no optimum suckler cow breed”; rather, it depends on the production system. Research shows:

Dairy-cross dams

• Increased milk yield (23-59%) for calf
• Higher daily liveweight gain (66-205g/day) for suckled calves
• Weaning weights in dairy cross14-19kg heavier than other breeds in trials and reports of lower calving difficulty
• Possible increase in disease risk if replacements bought in rather than home-bred
• Limited control and direction over genetics and breeding

Native-bred dams

• Calf birth weights 8% lower than continental breeds, reducing calving difficulties (calving difficulty reduces lifetime calf production by 30%)
• 21-32% increase in gross margin, driven by reduction in use of concentrate feeds

Continental-bred dams

• 21% more milk than native breeds
• Greater cull cow value
• Higher age at first calving, more followers required, and longer time to slaughter than native-bred dams

Cow condition

Advice

• Calve cows at a body condition score (BCS) of 2.5-3
• Optimal BCS will align milk production, better calf vigour and result in fewer health issues
• BCS should be evaluated at weaning, 60-90 days pre-calving and at calving
• A separate heifer group will allow nutrition to be targeted to this priority group
• Conduct a pre-calving check to identify animals needing higher energy rations in the last trimester

Research

• Cows with suboptimal BCS had a pregnancy rate of 61%, compared with 79% for cows scoring medium BCS, and 90% for those at ideal BCS, in eight trials with more than 1,000 cows
• One study found Angus cows fed a high-energy ration for the 95 days either side of calving were 35kg heavier at weaning (but not too fat) and had a shorter interval between calving and first oestrus

Age at first calving

Managing heifers for the suckler herd so they calve at 24 months is linked to improving their lifetime productivity.

Advice

• Good-quality pasture must be available to help growth
• Improving age at first calving even a little can improve system productivity

Research

• Cutting age at first calving from three to two years increased profit by £18.50 a head a year, saved £17/year on heifer-feeding cost, and saved nearly £22/year on each slaughtered animal over the cow’s lifespan, in a Spanish study of 7,655 Blonde d’Aquitaine cows from 301 herds
• A £90/ha benefit was seen when calving age was cut in the same way on a 40ha (99-acre) Irish farm with 53 suckler cows

Mature cow size

About 50% of a suckler cow’s energy requirement is for maintenance, so reducing cow size can save money and improve efficiency on farm.

Advice

• Reduce mature size to help optimise BCS
• Smaller cows can be kept at a higher stocking rate
• Analyse input costs, outputs and market requirements to help determine optimal mature cow size

Research

• For every 10kg gain in mature bodyweight from 450kg to 650kg, an extra 60kg of dry matter is required for cows until 90 days after calving. The intake of a 650kg cow is 23% higher than a 450kg cow. Energy is 19% greater and protein requirements is 13% higher. 

Bull condition

A bull will typically run with at least 30-40 cows, so checking he is in good working order is essential.

Advice

• Get bulls inspected by the farm vet two months before the breeding season starts
• A full bull pre-breeding examination, including sperm motility analysis. costs about £100 plus VAT

Research

• A study of 339 bull evaluations found 29% of bulls either failed a sperm or visual assessment or both. Another study found 20% of bulls were defective in some way and 25% had impaired serving capacity
• For every 21-day period the cow fails to conceive, there is a loss to the following year’s calf weight of 23-27kg due to it being younger at weaning. One study found that of the bulls producing unsatisfactory pregnancy rates, 82% had failed their breeding examination.

Artificial insemination

Artificial insemination (AI) has the potential to improve productivity through genetically superior bulls.

Advice

• Expect lower conception rate (typically 10-30% less than natural service)
• Accurate oestrous detection is important for good conception rates
• Trained insemination technique and good semen storage are also important
• Costs are about £20-£100 for a straw, £240 for paying staff to yard cows three times to gather and work them through the race and £8-£10 a cow for oestrous synchronisation.

Research

• One study found calves by high index AI sires were worth 22% more for every kg of liveweight sold.
• A bull producing 40 calves a year costs £27/calf to keep over five years (cost of bull minus cull value, plus annual maintenance cost)

Feed efficiency

Advice

• Once estimated breeding values (EBVs) for feed efficiency are available, incorporating selective breeding for reduced residual feed intake* (RFI) will allow for the greatest genetic on-farm improvement in the trait.

Research

• Irish studies found high-RHI stock consumed 9% and 15% less grass silage than medium-RFI and low-RFI cattle, respectively. Cattle had the same bodyweight and growth rate.
• Another study found similar trends over a 73-day wintering study. RFI cattle eating 11-14% less would save £14-£18 a head over winter based on a cost of £60/t for grass silage at 30% dry matter (DM) and about 30kg (freshweight) intake/day.

*Residual feed intake is the difference between an animal’s observed and predicted requirements over a given period. It is what is left after feed has met primary energy demands for maintenance, growth and activity.

Terminal sire indexes

Terminal traits for growth rate, carcass conformation and weight at slaughter are often antagonistic, for example, heavier calves and more risk of calving difficulties.

Advice

• Terminal traits are most applicable to herds where all calves are sent for slaughter and all replacements bought in
• To get the most out of a terminal sire index, check which traits are included
• Check how traits interact and affect the production system

Research

• Highest sire index bulls can achieve 20-40kg heavier carcasses, a 3% better dressing specification, finish seven days earlier, improve condition scores, reduce DM intake and increase carcass value 13%, according to studies on more than 100,000 carcasses.
• An Irish study found carcasses of high genetic merit were 41.9kg heavier than the lowest genetic merit. A similar study found the benefit to be worth 25kg, 3.22% improvement in dressing percentage and seven days faster to slaughter, compared with the lowest animal in the group.

Next steps

The report also included a range of techniques farmers should investigate if they have not tried them already.

Rotational grazing

Stocking animals at a higher density and grazing for a shorter time – as little as one day – gives the previously grazed area more recovery time.

Doing this can:

• Improve animal productivity
• Improve pasture production
• Improve soil health and carbon sequestration.

Tight calving block

A shorter block-calving window minimises the amount of time extra labour is required on farm.

It can also:

• Mean cattle spend more time at grass, which can bring major cost-saving benefits if turnout is aligned with peak grass growth
• Save spring calving herds up to £300 a heifer reared from weaning to conception
• Maximise the number of cows in-calf within the first 42 days of the breeding season, which can help tackle issues that arise in later calving cows.

Timing of culling

When to cull depends on the market the system operates in. However, timing of culling hinges on two things:

• Biological efficiency The number of calves and weight of calves weaned a cow
• Economic efficiency A cow’s longevity in the herd and how her costs are spread over the number of calves produced.

Breeding for calving ease

One study suggested 20% of calves born in UK suckler herds require assistance at calving.

To help reduce this figure, farmers can:

• Use a pelvimeter to measure the heifer’s pelvis two months before bulling and reject those with tight pelvises 
• Understand the trade-off between calving difficulty and terminal traits
• AI and easy-calving bulls can be used to minimise issues.

Genomic testing

Genomic testing represents a huge opportunity to harness more information from young animals, according to the report.

Breeding animals are still selected based on the parent average of EBVs, if they are available.

Match nutrition to animal requirements

Farmers should know the stock’s nutritional requirements and the ration’s nutritional content (by testing forage).

Regular weighing of breeding heifers

Regularly weighing heifers is worth the extra handling time and the need for increased handling facilities. Information can be used to improve management, such as splitting the herd into groups with separate rations to help heifers reach the correct weight at service.

Maternal selection index

Maternal traits have the potential to bring massive gains for beef herds. Farmers can apply selection pressure on their own herds by recording the following:

• Calving ease
• Maternal instinct at calving
• Fertility (calving interval and number of days bred)
• Weaning weights and weaning efficiency.