Advice for beef winter rations as feed shortages loom large
© Tim Scrivener Farmers are being urged to test forages and calculate feed stocks now so winter diets can be balanced.
Large parts of the Midlands, East England, South Wales and South West England have had little rainfall for months.
With grass growth stalled, many farmers have already started feeding winter forages prematurely and some have taken the drastic step of selling stock.
See also: FW Awards: Meet the 2025 Beef Farmer of the Year finalists
Top tips
- Get feed analysed
- Assess forage stocks
- Weigh stock monthly
- Make any diet changes gradually
Source: Andrew Jones, ChewintheCud
Independent nutritionist Andrew Jones, of ChewintheCud, says farmers must calculate how much forage is available and how many animals it will support.
“Make sure you get forages tested so you know the quality. Only then can you balance rations to get the most from what you have.
“There’s no point feeding excess protein, for example, if it is not needed,” he advises.
Andrew recommends retesting silage, ideally monthly, but certainly whenever farmers move to a new pit or cut. Bales should be sampled from different fields and cuts for accuracy, he adds.
Early results from his clients’ farms across the South West suggest this year’s silages are dry and first cuts are low in energy. “Grass grew over winter, resulting in high lignin levels and reduced quality,” he says.
“Some silages are over 50% dry matter—like shredded cardboard —which can suppress intakes. Adding molasses could help boost palatability and maintain intakes.”
Furthermore, because the silage is so dry, it has not fermented well. “I suspect that once the pits are open, we will see some secondary fermentation occurring,” he adds.
Balancing rations
With feed prices favourable, feeding more concentrate may be a cost-effective way to stretch forage.
Straw supplies are likely to be tight because of lower yields, but Andrew says moist blends look good value.
He stresses that it will be more important than ever for beef farmers to weigh stock regularly.
“If you can’t measure performance, you can’t respond. Cattle need to keep moving; the longer they’re on farm, the more they cost.”
Pregnancy diagnosis is another tool to help relieve forage pressure. He encourages farmers to sell empty cows to free up feed for productive animals.
Transitioning beef animals from grass to winter rations
Many beef farmers are already supplementing animals at grass, and this should make the shift to full winter rations smoother, says Andrew Jones of ChewintheCud.
However, he warns against rushing the process to avoid acidosis.
“It takes the rumen three weeks to adapt to a new diet. The biggest mistake I see is farmers trying to make the transition too quickly, particularly with finished animals.”
When introducing grain, Andrew suggests starting at 2kg a head a day and gradually increasing over a couple of weeks to 5-6kg a head.
Farmers should keep a close eye on dung consistency, rumen fill and coat shine to assess the effectiveness of the ration.
Stiff dung can indicate low protein, while loose dung can signal excessive protein or digestive upset.
Similarly, when transitioning calves onto creep, this should be done over a minimum of three weeks to allow the rumen bacteria sufficient time to adjust, he adds.
Suckler cow body condition
Many suckler cows will be dry at housing. The most important thing is to ensure they maintain a body condition score of 3 through to calving, says Andrew.
“Cows shouldn’t lose condition during the dry period or put weight on, because it will raise the risk of metabolic disease and calving difficulties,” he adds.
“In theory, low-quality forage should be sufficient, but it depends how harsh this summer has been.
“If cows haven’t had enough supplementation at grass and have lost condition, they might need extra energy when housed.”
Case study: Paul Westaway, Gamage Hall Farm, Gloucestershire
Kirsten and Paul Westaway © Chrissie Long
One farmer who has been badly affected by the dry weather is pedigree beef farmer Paul Westaway.
By mid-August, the 77ha (190-acre) county council farm he runs with his wife, Kirsten, had received less than 40mm of rain since March.
“We are in dire straits. It stopped raining on 1 March and hasn’t rained since.
“I don’t remember the dry summer of 1976, but I envisage it was like this,” says Paul, who has been feeding hay to cows outdoors since May.
“We keep getting promised weather warnings, but the rain seems to go around this part of Gloucestershire.”
Paul has been buying hay at more than £100/t, his own crop having produced little.
But with stocks fast depleting and the prospect of a long and difficult winter ahead, he opted to drastically cut stock numbers.
Normally, he and Kirsten would calve 80 pedigree Aberdeen Angus and Murray Grey cows plus followers to take them to a total of 170.
But to ease the growing pressure on feed, they decided to sell three groups of cows to young breeders establishing new herds.
This means they will only calve 40 next year and carry just 100 head this winter.
The couple sell pedigree bulls and heifers to dairy and beef farmers, but the reduction in herd size means fewer calves will be available to sell for the next two years until they get back up to numbers.
And achieving that will be difficult owing to their elite health status, which means they cannot easily buy animals in.
The only saving grace is that the 70 cattle they sold fetched good prices and went to good homes, says Paul.
Forage shortfalls
First-cut silage in mid-May was more than 50% down on last year, at 6.1t/ha rather than about 15t/ha.
Wholecrop, harvested in early July, produced just 20% of the expected amount, at 5t/ha, compared with 23.5t/ha last year. Stewardship ground hay also yielded poorly.
By early August, most of the herd was housed as grazing had burned off completely.
“Cows look well, but they’ve probably lost internal fat. Calves may wean lighter, and we won’t know the effect it has had on conception rates until scanning in a few weeks,” he says.
Resilience
Paul is considering shifting from mainly spring to more autumn calving to suit drier summers.
He hopes for September rain to secure a late cut of silage and reduce reliance on expensive bought-in hay.
“This year, running light on stock is all we can do. But it’s going to hurt for the next few years.”