How feeding wholecrop wheat to dairy-beef steers can help cut costs

Diets made up mainly of wholecrop wheat can offer a suitable alternative to bought-in cereals for finishing cattle, a recent study has found.

Research at Harper Adams University found that 400kg British Blue cross Holstein steers fed a good-quality, high-energy (25+% starch, 10.5+ME) 75% wholecrop wheat diet on a dry matter (DM) basis had performance comparable with those fed an ad-lib cereal diet.

Cattle also had a better margin per kilogram carcass gain. Feed is the main variable cost of finishing beef cattle and typically represents 75% of costs.

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Simon Marsh, principal lecturer and beef cattle specialist at Harper Adams University, says that with the recent volatility in cereal prices and relatively high price of cereals compared with forages, it is important to evaluate the effect of replacing cereals with a high-energy forage when finishing beef cattle.

He says: “Farmers need to look at ways of reducing costs while maximising production efficiency. With feed the major cost on beef finishing units, we felt it was necessary to explore alternative options.

“Wholecrop wheat was used instead of maize silage due to the inability to grow it in many parts of the UK.”

Ration comparisons

The trial compared four rations:

1. Ad-lib cereals
12% crude protein (CP) concentrates based on rolled barley, sugar beet pulp, distillers dark grains, rapeseed meal, molasses and minerals containing 41% DM starch. Fed ad-lib alongside ad-lib straw.

2. 25% wholecrop wheat (WCW25)
Total mixed ration (TMR) based on 25% wholecrop wheat and 75% concentrates comprising 14% CP/kg of DM. Fed ad-lib.

3. 50% wholecrop wheat (WCW50)
TMR based on 50% wholecrop wheat and 50% concentrates comprising 14% CP/kg of DM. Fed ad-lib.

4. 75% wholecrop wheat (WCW75)
TMR based on 75% wholecrop wheat and 25% concentrates comprising 14% CP/kg of DM. Fed ad-lib.

Wholecrop wheat used in the rations analysed at 46% DM, 4.4pH, 11.2% CP, 26.5% starch and 10.5 metabolisable energy (ME).

The diets were formulated to supply similar quantities of protein. Before the start of the trial all the cattle were fed the WCW50 diet. The rations were fed via troughs and gradually introduced over a 10-14-day period. Straw was offered ad-lib in racks.

Cattle were fed the diet from the middle of November, after they had become accustomed to housing and the winter diet. They were treated with anthelmintics, vaccinated against pneumonia and clostridial diseases, and their backs were clipped out.

Main findings

• Performance was good regardless of diet, with cattle slaughtered at 16-17 months old at carcass weights of 340-350kg, exceeding the recognised target for 18-month beef production systems.
• Carcass weights were similar across the four treatments. However, cattle on the ­forage-based diets tended to take longer to reach slaughter weight. Cattle fed the 75% WCW diet took the longest to finish.
• Replacing cereals with WCW increased daily DM intake, which partially compensated for the reduced energy value (ME) of cereals but resulted in a poorer feed conversion ratio (FCR).
• For example, feed intakes were 9.4kg a head in the concentrate group and 12.21kg a head in the 75% WCW group, but FCR was 6:1 in the cereal-fed group compared with 8.03:1 in the 75% WCW group.
• Diet costs were lowest with the WCW75 treatment at £284 a head because lower amounts of concentrate were fed.
• Carcass classification was similar across all treatments.
• Fixed costs were not taken into account but  a forage-based system would require silage clamps, a feeder wagon and a materials handler, which would involve significantly higher costs than one based on feeding cereals from hoppers.
• Take-home messages.

Take-home messages

Mr Marsh says: “As the results show, farmers should either finish cattle on ad-lib cereals or consider replacing a significant proportion of cereals – for example, 75% – with a high-energy forage.

“Feeding a 75% WCW diet has the ability to reduce price volatility and reduce feed costs. It is my recommendation, if farm resources are available to make, store and handle forage, the replacement of 75% of cereals with well-made, good-quality, high-energy [25+% starch, 10.5+ME] wholecrop should be considered.”

The trial showed cattle ate more forage to compensate for the lower energy value of the forage-based rations.

“An analogy I would use for the lower DM intake with the ad-lib cereal is that it’s like trying to eat three cream crackers in a minute without a glass of water. The WCW stimulated feed intakes.”

Mr Marsh says farmers considering making WCW should make it from a crop grown for quality grain production.

Wholecrop should be fed as a TMR and a shear grab block cutter should be used on the clamp. “Ideally, you should have a small clamp face and go through the clamp at least 1m a week to minimise any spoiling.”

• The study was funded by AHDB and carried out by researcher’s Dr Rob Wilkinson and Simon Marsh