A change to the feeding regime of spring calving suckler cows has not only reduced costs by almost half, but cows are now calving down more easily, milking better and cycling promptly since producer Brain Atkinson introduced a high-fibre diet during the dry period.
"We're now filling up these cows with straw and making full use of the rumen. It's stopping them getting fat, reducing silage intake, and what silage they are eating is going through them more slowly.
"Cows are getting more from forage during the dry period but, because we've kept the rumen active, they're really keen to start eating after calving - and that's when we want higher intakes," says Mr Atkinson of Scratchmere Scar, Plumpton, Penrith.
Aware that lower energy intakes of dry suckler cows are about 17MJ a day, Mr Atkinson was concerned cows were scoffing restricted silage feed which passed through quickly and left cows with an empty rumen for the rest of the day."We were feeding chopped silage, but it wasn't working. We got too many twisted uterus problems because cows weren't full enough when they were calving down.
"Losing condition"
"We moved on to round bales, which was at least keeping the forage in them for longer, but still not long enough. Cows were losing condition after calving and failing to get back in calf, which was dragging out the calving period," says Mr Atkinson.
The farm's Keenan nutritionist Donald Brown believes dry-cow nutrition in the later stages of pregnancy was hitting profitability. "So many cows loose weight after calving, delaying oestrus and often leading to poorer fertility."
Dry cows from the 400-cow Limousin and Belgian Blue cross suckler herd have been switched to a daily diet of 5kg of straw and 18-20kg of silage to maintain rumen fill.
Calves are taken off cows in November, giving a five-month dry period before calving begins in April. Dry cow feed costs are 60p a day using straw compared with almost £1 a day on the previous system.
"As part of improving management there's a big opportunity to wean calves early, say at 200 days. There's no point in feeding cows just to feed calves that could cope on their own," adds Mr Brown.
Dry-cow regime
The herd is approaching its second spring-calving on the new dry-cow regime. "Cows are calving down much more easily, gaining condition faster after calving and generally seem healthier," says Mr Atkinson.
With cows now in the later stages of pregnancy, the straw, silage and minerals (0.15kg a head a day) diet will be spiked with a protein supplement.
It's important to keep the rumen microbes functioning, explains Mr Brown. "When silage is about 10-12% protein it can be difficult to achieve that without supplementation. So these pre-calving cows will get a distillers' by-product in the form of a pot-ale type syrup with a 32% dry matter."
Beef stock diets across the whole farm have also been revamped. The aim has been to encourage frame development and not weight on growing cattle, but then kick-start stock quickly on a fast-track finishing period of 40 days.
Protein and fibre inclusions have increased in the ration for growing cattle, while starch levels have been reduced.
Calves are weaned at approximately six months (average 230kg liveweight) and fed a total-mix growers' ration until 540kg (typically 15-16 months of age) when they are gaining 1kg a day.
Rations
The ration comprises 5.5kg grass silage, 5.5kg whole-crop barley, 3kg bread, 2kg Loch Lomond Gold, 0.75 kg rapeseed meal, 0.75kg straw and 0.125kg minerals (providing 11.2ME and 15% protein). Feed cost is about 64p a day.
Finished steers are sold at 360kg carcass weight having spent about 60 days on a finishing ration of 5kg whole-crop barley, 5kg bread, 5kg rolled barley, 2.5 kg Loch Lomond Gold, 0.5kg straw and 0.17kg minerals (providing 12.3ME and 14% protein). It costs £1.11 a day for an average weight gain of 1.75kg - equivalent to 65p/kg liveweight gain.
"Although we're still feeding whole-crop, bread and straights just as before, we've now got the mix right for the growing cattle. We've introduced rapeseed meal which has had its critics but it's giving us a high-fibre/high-protein feed with moderate energy," says Mr Atkinson.
"It was costing us almost £1 a head a day right through the system. Now we've switched to finishing cattle ourselves we don't need to be pre-occupied with getting stores into a forward condition for the sale ring.
"Our priority is to get frame and growth and then move to a fast 40-day finishing period to produce steers weighing 350kg and heifers at 320kg at 18 months old."
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