10 ways one farm makes suckler beef profitable

In 10 years, Philip Jones has shaved 36 days off his calving index, cut heifer age at first calving to 24 months and eliminated bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) from his herd.

Year-on-year gains in breeding, herd health and grassland management have helped the business make a profit from suckler beef at Lan Farm, near Cynwyl Elfed.

The most recent data from the Wales Farm Business Survey reveals the top-third of upland suckler farms are making a gross margin of £531 a cow. The average is £347 a cow.

By adopting a low-input, high-output system – the farm is organic – and getting to grips with fertility, nutrition and cost control, the performance of Mr Jones’ herd of black Limousins is approaching twice the average.

In a sector where margins are tight, he insists there is no room for sentimentality. “I have pride in my stock, but I don’t love them. If a cow or a heifer doesn’t produce, she goes.

“Ten years ago, we were too sentimental here; that doesn’t pay the bills.”

Mr Jones farms with support from his wife, Shân, a secondary school teacher, and their son, Gwion, who is studying agriculture and works in the business.

Ten key areas that make the herd profitable

1. Block-calving

Block-calving creates uniformity in calves. Bulls are turned in with cows and heifers on 1 June. On 15 July, after seven weeks, bulls are removed from the heifer group; bulls run with the cows for 12 weeks.

“There is no secret to getting a tight calving pattern: you put the bulls in, and you take them out,” he points out.

Calving takes place over 10 weeks from March to May.

2. Tightening the calving interval

By culling at either end of the calving spread, calving index has averaged 368 days in the past five years, compared with 404 days in 2010.

The Welsh average is 427 days, which Mr Jones says is equivalent to not producing a crop of calves every seventh year. “The whole point of keeping a suckler cow is to calve her down every year,” he says.

3. Calving at 24 months

Heifers that don’t get in-calf in the seven-week breeding window are sold as stores. Mr Jones says it can be a struggle to get enough in-calf in that period, but sticking rigidly to the policy underpins future herd fertility.

In 2021, 20 of the 38 heifers were in-calf after seven weeks – a 53% conception rate.

Mr Jones is not satisfied with that figure. “We need to get more fertile heifers in-calf. It is tempting to leave the bull in for longer, but the heifers that get in-calf are the most fertile and those are the animals we want for future breeding.”

Philip Jones © Debbie James

4. Fertility-testing bulls

The bulls, currently three black Limousins and a Stabiliser, are semen-tested every year, five weeks before the start of the breeding season.

5. Low labour input

Being organised means the day-to-day running of the farm can be done by one person, allowing the family opportunities to earn off-farm.

Mr Jones works for up to two days a week as a farmer mentor for the Gwaredu BVD, a Welsh initiative that helps farmers address BVD in their herds. He is also a relief milker.

This off-farm work enables him to diversify without capital outlay.

6. Low inputs

The family have been farming organically for 13 years. “We cut out inputs and captured the organic premium,” Mr Jones explains.

“At current prices, if we were still farming conventionally on 81ha, one dressing of fertiliser would cost me £12,000, so I am already £12,000 better off.”

7. Animal health plan

The plan, which is reviewed annually, has been crucial in eradicating and preventing disease at Lan Farm.

“This is where we went wrong 15 years ago: we didn’t vaccinate, we were firefighting diseases rather than preventing them,” Mr Jones recalls.

The farm vet is closely involved in herd health decisions. “Once you go down the disease-prevention route, you talk more to your vet,” he says. “It stops you getting complacent.

“We see more of our vet than ever, but at the same time our bills have come down.”

8. Maximising return on youngstock

The business has a 95% calf-rearing rate. Calves are weaned at seven months at an average of 270kg, when daily liveweight gain is 1kg without concentrates.

Previously, all youngstock were sold as weaned calves at one year old because Mr Jones wasn’t confident that he had sufficient grass to graze them over the summer.

Rotational grazing has improved productivity, and he can now sell the youngstock as stores off grass.

“We run everything off grass. With organic concentrates trading at £500/t, purchased feed is not an option. But we are under no pressure; we always have plenty of grass,” he says.

9. Grassland and forage management

Rotational grazing uses every field or paddock to its full potential. Last year, cows and calves were at grass until 10 November – a fortnight later than was previously possible.

There is also less waste and better-quality forage because paddocks can be cut for silage if needed.

All silages are independently analysed, and a feeding plan put in place. In the past, silage was harvested in a single day and the grass from every field clamped as one, but that ruled out opportunities to feed superior fodder as needed.

Silage for dry cows is cut from meadow grass and is based on quantity rather than quality – last year it analysed at a D-value of 60 and 35% dry matter (DM).

Hay is also harvested to provide balance in the diet and to avoid the need to buy in straw.

Red clover is undersown with an arable silage mix in the most productive fields and harvested as big bales to feed to youngstock. Last year it analysed at 51% DM, with a D-value of 71, 15.4% crude protein and 11.3MJ metabolisable energy.

10. Recognising where improvements are needed

Cow efficiency is one area that Mr Jones wants to improve – at one point it was 52%, but since sires in the top 10% for 200- and 400-day weights were used, increased growth has transferred to the replacement heifers and efficiency has decreased to 45%.

“In future, we will not be selecting for extremes in any trait, we will be focusing on maternal traits and hope that reducing cow size will be as easy as it was to increase it.”