Finishing cattle off grass - the factors to consider
With beef prices remaining high at around €7.50/kg, farmers may want to take advantage and push cattle to finish a little earlier than other years, Co-ordinator of the Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Campaign, Alan Dillon shares key advice
While there aren’t any current indications of big price drops on the cards, some farmers may wish to hedge their bets and move cattle a little quicker to ensure they aren’t disappointed if prices were to dip a little in early autumn.
From mid-June to late October, a substantial number of beef cattle will be finished off grass. Such a system has a number of advantages due to its lower cost of production with less meal input and cheaper weight gain off grass. In the average year, cattle marketed in early summer generally benefit from a price rise also.
For farmers targeting a mid-to-late summer sale, there are number of factors to take into account.
Dietary requirements
Dietary requirements for finishing cattle consist of energy, protein, fibre, minerals and water.
- Energy is the main driver of live weight gain in cattle and should be maximised throughout the finishing period.
- At grass this is achieved by utilising top-quality grazed grass at 1,200-1,600kg DM/ha covers throughout the grazing season.
- Protein requirements for steers and heifers are relatively low during the finishing period.
- Around 11-12% will suffice at this stage of the animal’s life as they have already achieved most of their target frame growth and the main aim is to lay down fat cover.
- Growing bulls will require a higher level of protein in the diet.
- Fibre requirement, where forage makes up a large proportion of the diet, is likely to be adequate.
- Mineral supplementation is required. A general-purpose mineral will suffice at grass.
- Water supply is critical at all times of the year.
- The supply of clean water to finishing cattle at grass should be monitored, especially during periods of hot weather.
Sward quality
Aim to graze top-quality swards at all times (1,200-1,600kg DM/ha or 8-10cm) Swards should be grazed to 4cm or topped after grazing to maintain quality if a large amount of material remains after grazing.
Feeding meals to finishing cattle at grass
Feeding meals at grass in early summer is rarely economical if grass quality and quantity is adequate. If grass supply or quality is below target, then there will be a response to feeding 2-4kg of ration to finishing stock. While this meal input will add to costs slightly, its input should help improve grade and help to achieve breed bonus or Quality Assurance payments once fat scores are in order.
Grass supply can often run tight later in the summer or early autumn time. Cattle have a higher grass demand as they grow in size and the energy value of grass later into the autumn reduces. Supplementation at this time of year is recommended to speed up finishing of cattle. Where grass quantity and quality is adequate a rate of 3-4kg/head/day is advised, where grass quality is poor or supply is low higher feeding rates of 5-6kg/head/day are advised.
A high energy, low protein supplement will suffice at this time of year as protein content in grass will be sufficient for finishing cattle.
In the autumn, concentrate supplementation is often worthwhile – even for animals that won’t be finished prior to housing - as it reduces the requirement for more costly silage later. Also, the ‘build up’ period to a concentrate finishing diet can be implemented at pasture prior to indoor finishing.