A two-stage feeding regime to optimise the growth potential of younger cattle - and then to achieve the most cost-effective weight gain in the finishing period - is working well for Lancashire beef producers Alan Coates and his son Peter.
And the complete diet system used for the growing cattle is helping achieve a two to three week reduction in the time cattle need to spend in the finishing yards.
“We buy-in store cattle at a range of ages but it’s essential that we get the younger cattle to grow plenty of frame before we move them into the finishing yards,” says Peter Coates.
“If you get the early stage right you’ve got cattle that grow on well and respond more efficiently in terms of growth rate once the finishing diet kicks-in. It’s a part of the system we’ve really focussed on and it has paid off.”
The Coates family moved to Old Buckley Farm, Ribchester in 2002. Their beef system is based on buying-in store cattle all the year round ranging from at eight to eighteen months old.
“We have no set rules about what we buy and when we sell. The cattle are sold deadweight when they are ready. Everything, both steers and heifers, is sold through Dunbia weighing from 380kg. It’s just how they look or how they touch that governs when we sell.
“Some cattle could be here for several months or even up to a year. We buy continental crosses that look as though we can grow them into profit,” says Peter.
On arrival all cattle are vaccinated against pneumonia and have their tails cut as well as receiving a mineral drench and worming.
Growing cattle are housed in both straw yards and slatted pens but all finishing cattle are run in straw yards. The slatted pens have rubber-coated slats.
“The cattle on slats are a lot cleaner than we expected. If they go in clean they come out clean and we’re finding cattle don’t get stiff because they are standing on the rubber slats rather than just concrete.”
Two years ago, faced with high protein prices, efforts were made to adjust the ingredients of the silage-based mix to try and reduce costs without sacrificing performance.
“We decided to knock off 1kg of the protein meal and replace it with a molassed-based liquid feed and have never looked back. But as well as saving on cost the cattle have never looked and performed better.”
Cattle coming on to the unit are moved immediately on to the complete diet feed. The mix – fed once a day – comprises clamp silage, 1kg wheat straw, 1kg of a 19% protein meal and 1-1.5kg of the molassed-based Regumix 27.
“The growing cattle look tremendous with a real bloom on them. It’s great to see them lying down and cudding and that’s the best indication that we’ve got the diet right.
“When cattle are moved into the straw yards we don’t want the muck too thick so that we know the feed is doing the job and the guts are working properly,” says Peter.
Garry Starkie of feed compounders Dugdales formulates the diet which is usually based on fairly dry silage at around 35% dry matter.
“The Regumix 27 is providing a cost effective source of protein, improves the palatability of the mix and helps bind the meal to the dry silage. We’re aiming for a mix with an overall protein content of 16%.
“Being able to feed a balanced mix diet and achieve high intakes by using the mixer wagon has reduced the finishing time by two to three weeks. The rumen is being perfectly primed during the growing period and is ready to respond more efficiently to the finisher diet,” says Mr Starkie.
Peter Coates is in no doubt that the mixer wagon has given the business greater flexibility over the way growing cattle are fed. The previous system saw cattle fed silage and meal with access to ad-lib straw.
“But we weren’t getting them to eat enough straw. We were missing out on the scratch-factor but now the cattle are performing better since we moved on to a complete diet. We’re getting the straw into the cattle because of the increased palatability of the molasses.”
Peter Coates knows only too well how awkward big bales can be to feed. “The only option you’ve got is to put the bales up to the feed barrier and let the cattle pull at them.
“But the auger mixer loves big bales and it’s giving us what looks like clamp silage.
“Wheat straw can differ in length and if it’s too long – even though cattle can be hungry – they will sort through it. So if we have to use more straw in the mix we will probably look at pre-processing it.”
This year, with the likelihood of an increase in the number of cattle being finished. some diet “tweaking” will involve using hay to eke out silage stocks and possibly using more straw in the mix.
Each bunch of growing cattle in the three buildings is sorted through once every two weeks. “That gives us a six week rotation. When cattle have been taken out of the growing pens to be moved to the finishing yards we replace them with new arrivals to take the pen back up to its correct number. “
The finishing period can be from four to eight weeks but as soon as cattle are moved to the finishing yards they are switched from the complete diet to a concentrate feed and straw.
“Because the diet they’ve been on in the growing period is right for that stage of their development they move over to the finisher diet with no problem or check in growth. We build up to the full requirement of concentrate over the first week until they are taking 12kg a head a day.
“We’ve got a system that’s giving these cattle the correct levels of protein for growth and frame and then puts on just the right amount of cover but then provides a high-starch diet to finish them.”
All cattle are sold through Dunbia. Most are achieving an R conformation grade but include cattle at U+ and U-.
