Farmer Focus: Steers gaining 1.3kg/day on grass and clover

The weather has been very kind to us over the past few weeks, compared with many parts of the country.

We were glad to receive our first load of straw, and hopefully there are more to come.

Grass has been growing well and, as a result, the lambs and cattle have been fattening.

See also: How to get the most from red clover in silage

About the author

Dafydd Parry Jones

Dafydd Parry Jones and wife Glenys, Machynlleth, Powys, run a closed flock of 750 Texel and Aberfield cross ewes and 70 Hereford cross sucklers cows on 180ha. Their upland organic system uses Hereford bulls, Charollais terminal sires and red clover silage, multispecies leys and rotational grazing.

Read more articles by Dafydd Parry Jones

We weighed a group of 15-month-old steers recently and were pleased to learn that they had achieved about 1.3kg daily liveweight gain since turnout.

They’ve been two months on average pasture, and the past five weeks on rich clover pastures. T

he aim is to gain another 100kg in the next few months to get them to their target of 550-600kg.

To achieve this, they will be continuously moved around the red clover leys, using electric fences.

We took a faecal sample to the vet to monitor worm burden. The result showed that no fluke was present and worm count was very low.

We were therefore advised by the vet that no worm dose was needed – a pleasing outcome.

 Our early May reseed was harvested mid-July as arable silage into the silage pit.

It was harvested at 10 weeks to secure a good seed establishment and regrowth for a quality second cut.

Meanwhile, a red clover ley reseeded last year has just given us a third cut. These leys are usually cut every four to five weeks to give us high-quality silage.

The first cut went into the silage pit and the other cuts were made into bales. An additive was used to secure a better fermentation.

The summer work has to be done around the social calendar.

The Royal Welsh Show was a huge success this year, with favourable weather and plenty of entertainment that brought the crowds out in abundance.

The National Eisteddfod was held in Wrexham, where people from all walks of life joined together in a festival of Welsh culture and music.

Still to come are the many local and county shows at the end of August, with every region making an effort to stage their own.

These are ideal opportunities to get everyone together, and they remind us all that we are not alone.

We are part of one big family, working together trying to achieve the same goals.