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Steers and heifers that were built up on to heavy meal feeding in October should now be coming fit for slaughter.
In the case of heifers, extending the intensive feeding period beyond 60 to 70 days is questionable, as performance levels will be starting to drop. For steers, the feeding period can be extended for a further 20 to 30 days before performance levels start to dip. Keep a close eye on heifers and early maturing steers as they will start to lay down fat quickly.
With high cereal prices you should be selling at a fat score of 3- through to 3+. While you may increase output value, costs of production are increasing at a faster rate. Remember, where animals are being fed an ad-lib concentrate diet costing €250/t, daily feed costs are in the region of €3.00 per day or €21/head/week.
With a beef price of €3.55/kg, performance needs to be very high to keep on feeding. Handle cattle through a crush on a regular basis if you can. Take a note of what fat score you think they are and then compare your notes with the kill sheet. Weighing will also help visual assessment.
Keep an eye on body condition score of suckler cows. If silage quality is poor, there is a risk that body condition could drop off. Take a walk through your cows and look at the condition of them. They need to be around a 2.5 at calving. A score of 1 is very thin, while a score of 5 is very fat.
Calving with too much condition or calving thin cows will lead to problems. Addressing these issues a few months from calving will lead to better results. Can you separate out thin cows or first-calving heifers for some preferential treatment and then restrict the rest of the herd if they are over-fleshed?
Coccidosis can sometimes become an issue in autumn-calving herds. Inadequate bedding can be a cause. Calves ingesting faecal material will aid the spread of this parasite. Faecal samples can be taken to determine level of infection, however veterinary advice is that if you have one confirmed case in a group of calves, you are better to treat the whole bunch as the chances are the rest have been infected. Adequate bedding, good hygiene and keeping feed troughs off the ground will help to reduce disease spread.
Don’t forget to take a break over Christmas. On many beef farms workload can be kept to a minimum over the next seven to 10 days. Spend some time with family and take time away from the farm. This can sometimes help solve problems or issues when you come back taking a fresh look at things. With spring calving and lambing only a few weeks away, it’s important to recharge the batteries before this busy time
I want to wish all readers a happy Christmas and the health and good luck to make 2020 a prosperous year on farms.
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