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18 Month Beef Production

Targets for Charolais cross steers in an 18 month beef system are summarised in the table. Achieving the daily gain and stocking rate targets are critical to profitable production.

This was the first planned beef system in Britain and developed from the realisation that well-grown yearling cattle at the end of the grazing season, which historically were stored through the winter, could in fact be finished at about 18 months of age on a forage based ration supplemented with concentrates.

Calves born in the summer and autumn are reared through their first winter, grazed and then finished at 16 – 20 months of age on a silage and concentrate ration. Steers are most common – though heifers can be profitable because of their lower purchase price. The range of slaughter ages indicates that there is flexibility in planning the system for the individual farm.

In their first winter, reared calves should be fed rationed concentrates with silage to appetite, aiming at a daily gain of 0.9kg per day. The target grazing gain is also 0.9kg per day. Two thirds of the grassland is taken for first cut silage, about half for second and a third cut from as big an area as possible.

The effects of ration design on daily gain, duration of the finishing period and total feed requirements are very significant. Animal performance must be reviewed on a routine basis to ensure that the required daily gain is being achieved.

Liveweight (kg)

Reared calf (3 months)

120

Slaughter (18 months)

550

 

Daily LWG (kg)

First winter

0.90

Grazing

0.90

Finishing winter

120

Total 

0.95

 

Carcass weight (kg)

300

Killing out (%)

55

Animals per hectare

3.5

 

Feed (kg)

Concentrate

1200

Grass silage (25% DM)

5000

 


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