Tips on starting out in dairy beef production

Vet and dairy beef consultant Rob Drysdale has finished thousands of dairy beef cattle. He has learnt just how tight the margins can be, and the importance of an even-handed and trustworthy supply chain.

Below Rob lists some pointers to make a dairy beef system work, taken from both his own experience and the lessons of others. 

See also: Opinion: More needs to be done to market dairy beef

1. Start with a simple three-stage system

Aim for steady growth and a slowly rising plane of nutrition to avoid growth checks.

Remember, compensatory growth is merely making up for lost growth beforehand, and growth checks and compensatory growth result in tough muscle and gristle.

Aim to tick one or all of the following, depending on the age the cattle enter and leave your stewardship:

• Condition the rumen of the weaned calf Birth to 200kg. Aim to average 1.1kg of daily liveweight gain (DLWG). Cattle should achieve a DLWG of more than 0.8kg on milk and 1.25kg of growth a day thereafter.
• Grow frame 200-450kg. Continental and native-cross cattle out of Holstein-Friesian cows should gain more than 1kg/day through this period.
• Flesh and finish the animal To 600-700kg liveweight. Aim for a minimum 1.6kg DLWG over a maximum of a 90-100 days.

2. Read contracts carefully

Several direct deadweight contracts and schemes are available that tie farmers into integrated supply chains to varying degrees.

Cattle supplies are historically tight, so make sure you leverage this to get the best terms you can.

Bed-and-breakfast schemes and other integrated supply chains can be helpful for a young business or a business with limited time or cashflow, and reduces risk.

• Read the contract carefully Contracts need close scrutiny so you know exactly what they entail in terms of premiums, penalties, limits on mortality and the ownership of the cattle in all eventualities (TB, bankruptcy and so on).
• Understand your supply obligations Premiums of 40-50p/kg are possible if a farm is a sole provider of regular, large batches of cattle, but there is no guarantee that loyalty will always be rewarded. Also, to ensure you produce the volumes the processor needs, you are forced to pay top price for cattle to keep your pens full and keep up with your supply obligations.
• Share risk and play the market if possible It might be best to shop around by supplying several outlets. This way, if one treats you badly, you have other options.

3. Be your own master

For some established farming businesses, the best option could be full ownership of the cattle. This means you have all your options available if you are hit with high feed costs or a drought.

Alternatively, if summer conditions are good, you can finish your cattle off grass.

• Engage with progressive dairy farmers Ask your vet practice if they can recommend calf producers with good colostrum, calving and health protocols. Some integrated schemes only work with Holstein-Friesian dairies as they produce cattle with sufficient stature and frame to produce 280-320kg carcasses. Some dairies will let you consult on the type of easy-calving, short-gestation sires that suit both parties.
• Source what you need Your farm and skill set dictates the type of cattle you can make the most margin on. Native crosses might suit a rotational grazier producing good silage, whereas an arable unit might achieve good performance off a higher concentrate level from continental-cross cattle.
• Keep your options open Stay in touch with live markets or dealers/agents you know, and check how saleable your cattle are as stores.
• Know your end goal Avoid getting into contracts for the sake of farming cattle. Do you want to grow a business? Do you want to add value or direct-sell? Would you make more by letting someone else farm the land?

4. Know your cost/kg of liveweight gain

You must know the DLWG gain of your cattle to make nutrition, health and management decisions. Without this, you are in the dark.

But, to inform decisions on cost control, you must know how expensive the gains are.

For example, if an animal kills out at 50% (conservative estimate) and achieves 1.8kg DLWG when finishing at grass, then at a deadweight price of £5/kg, the animal will return £4.50/kg (0.9 x £5/kg). With the cost of grazing at below £1 a head a day, the potential margin is £3.50/kg or more.

Understand that cattle eat about 3% of their bodyweight in dry matter up to about 300kg. This drops to about 2.5% when they are older.

• Get set up with infrastructure You will need an electronic identification system, an electronic weigh scale and some software to help you order and visualise your data. A lot of programmes record health records, grazing management and cattle movement details all in one place, which simplifies management decisions and data recording.
• Invest in a good handling system Data collection needs to be easy to ensure you will do it often enough. Look at tips from Miriam Parker and Dr Temple Grandin on handling livestock and how to design and make cost-effective adjustments to help cattle flow.
• Avoid overweighing Weighing cattle takes time and labour and can unsettle animals, meaning they grow less that day. On a more expensive finishing diet, cattle can be drawn and weighed every two to four weeks, as a rule of thumb, and need six to eight weeks to settle and grow initially.
• Grass is not free A day at grass can generally cost 30-70p a head or more, depending on labour, rent, new fencing, infrastructure, fertiliser and opportunity costs.