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Know How / Beef / Breeding and fertility

Good fertility is the foundation of a profitable beef herd. Here you can find the latest breeding developments including advice on selecting genetics, using genomics and EBVs. Learn how to improve heat detection and conception rates to maximise the number of calves born in your herd.

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Case studies

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BEEF

How a Sutherland suckler herd achieved a compact calving

Scottish farmers Vic and Jason Ballantyne have condensed their calving period of 10 weeks in recent years, to seven weeks over the past two seasons. This is contributing to a…

BREEDING AND FERTILITY

What is behind French Salers breed’s calving ease?

Any breed growth in a sector that is contracting is worth attention. This is true of many of Great Britain’s native breeds: ease of fleshing, calving ease and functionality have…

BREEDING AND FERTILITY

High-selenium diet helps to boost heifer fertility

A high-selenium cattle diet and focus on optimum pelvic area is helping Aberdeenshire farmers Craig and Claire Grant rear high-quality beef breeding heifers with an average conception rate of 99.9%.…

BEEF

How a suckler and sheep unit aims for 10% return after rent

A young Northumberland farmer is staying profit-focused on the family unit by aiming to generate enough cash to theoretically buy the farm. Covering a commercial rent and 10% interest after…

BEEF

How cow leasing helped grow suckler business

A part-time Aberdeenshire beef and sheep producer has become a full-time farmer by using a cow leasing arrangement to help build a suckler herd. Describing himself as a “fourth-generation farmer…

BREEDING AND FERTILITY

How suckler unit trebled and added pedigree Angus herd

Harnessing fertile, easy-calving suckler cow genetics and having an open mind about working with others have helped a suckler farmer treble stock numbers and add a pedigree enterprise to his…

Practical advice

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BREEDING AND FERTILITY

Why refreshing cattle insemination technique matters

All-year-round calving herds carrying out their own inseminations need to ensure operators attend a refresher course at least every two years. For block-calving herds, it should be an annual event,…

BREEDING AND FERTILITY

Tips for ensuring cattle semen is stored safely and cleanly

How clean is the farm’s semen flask? Artificial insemination (AI) training, a starter pack including flask, guns and gloves, and a liquid nitrogen contract will fail to generate a return…

BREEDING AND FERTILITY

7 tips to manage heifers calving at two years

Calving beef heifers at 24 months increases the lifetime productivity of the cow and reduces rearing costs, as well as lowering the carbon footprint of the herd. However, careful management,…

CALVING

Why assisted beef calvings carry a heavy cost

Attitudes to calving ease vary widely among suckler beef producers. While some clients expect to calve one-third to half of their heifers, and consider this acceptable, others are disappointed if…

CALVING

How to manage difficult calvings in beef cattle

A growing evidence base can be used by farmers to pre-empt difficulties in the calving shed and stay a step ahead of issues. Once a hygienic and safe environment is…

BEEF

5 ways to reduce assisted calvings for improved fertility

Bad calvings are bad for business, yet too many farmers are still assisting cows at calving. This is something suckler farmer Terence Pye believes must change. “We know bad calvings…

Insights

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SHEEP

Why "breed snobbery" could challenge liveweight sales

A desire to change the system, lower the cost base and move towards self-replacing maternal genetics has left some businesses in the cold when selling liveweight, Farmers Weekly has heard.…

BEEF

Why clear identification of polled genetics is needed

Disbudding calves is a challenging and expensive job and, as herds scale up and calving patterns tighten, it can put huge financial and time pressure on beef farmers. But, while…

BREEDING AND FERTILITY

How pedigree breeds have changed in each sector

We looked at the latest data and spoke to industry experts to find out more about the changing picture for pedigree animals. We look at the dairy, beef, sheep and…

BREEDING AND FERTILITY

Lim-gate: What next for EBVs?

The exposure of errors relating to the registration of birth dates and parentage of cattle last year brought into question the legitimacy and accuracy of data feeding into Estimated Breeding…

BREEDING AND FERTILITY

Why calving ease should be suckler herd priority

Selecting bulls with a positive calving ease estimated breeding value (EBV) should be a priority for suckler producers who are aiming to improve herd efficiency, a study has shown. Researchers…

BREEDING AND FERTILITY

Livestock gene editing: Current rules and potential benefits

The potential to make our own legislation after leaving the EU could provide scope for gene editing of livestock to become mainstream in the UK. Gene editing changes a precise…

BREEDING AND FERTILITY

Trial shows huge merit of using EBVs with beef herds

Using bulls with a higher terminal index can be worth more than £80 a finished calf, according to new research carried out at Harper Adams University. Using Hereford bulls, the…

LIVESTOCK

Finishing results reveal high reliability of EBVs

Repeating a trial comparing the performance of terminal beef sires has shown estimated breeding values (EBVs) are highly reliable, with higher genetic merit progeny outperforming calves bred from bulls with…

BEEF

Breeder outlines a new direction for a better beef industry

The beef industry requires an urgent change of direction with emphasis put on breeding and feed efficiencies to counter the effects of continuing commodity price volatility and uncertainty over farm…

BREEDING AND FERTILITY

Finishing performance of terminal sires compared

Calves sired by bulls with higher terminal indices record heavier carcass weights resulting in returns worth an additional £45/animal when compared to progeny of bulls with lower genetic merit. Harper…