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For more information, please contact the FeedLine on
01278 444829 or email info@molevalleyfarmers.com.

Grass Beef Production

Grass beef or extensive beef has the longest production cycle of all the beef systems.

As the system concludes with grass finishing, it is well suited to early maturing cattle and heifers. Slaughter starts in mid season and reduces cattle numbers in line with declining grass production. Later maturing animals can also be used.

Autumn and winter born calves are reared through their first winter, grazed and fed a store ration in the second winter with a target daily gain of 0.4 - 0.7kg/day, depending on breed type and sex. They are then finished at grass in their second summer.

Targets for steers in grass beef are shown in the table. Controlled feed costs in the store winter and achieving high daily gains during grass finishing are key components of profitable management.

Other options include growing animals to around 450kg as “stores” and then selling them to be “finished”. It is important to understand the principles of feeding the right diet at the appropriate time and the financial implications of ration design on daily gain, duration of the finishing period and total feed requirements.

Liveweight (kg)

Reared calf (3 months)

120

Slaughter (23 months)

610

 

Daily LWG (kg)

First winter

0.80

First grazing

0.80

Store winter

0.70

Grass finishing

1.00

Total 

0.85

 

Carcass weight (kg)

340

Killing out (%)

55

Animals per hectare

1.6

 

Feed (kg)

Concentrate

600

Grass silage (25% DM)

6000

 

 


 


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