DAIRYBULLS COULDBEAVIABLEBET
DAIRYBULLS COULDBEAVIABLEBET
With negligible calf costs, and domestic beef supplies
plummeting, could now be the time to consider dairy bull
beef? Wendy Owen reports
ABOUT 22% of beef eaten in the UK last year came from imports and this figure could rise to one third, as foot-and-mouth disease continues to impact on prime cattle slaughterings, according to MLC data.
In an effort to halt these imports, MLC beef economist Duncan Sinclair has been reviewing gross margins for rearing and finishing purebred dairy bulls. He has produced some surprising and highly encouraging figures.
Despite income from pure dairy bulls being less than for beef cross animals at £569/head compared with £657/head, respectively, he estimates gross margin is £12 higher. Mr Sinclair puts the dairy bull margin at £194/head, compared with a beef cross gross margin of £182 (see table).
"Carcass quality and finished weight will be higher for the beef cross. But although p/kg return will be more, these cattle will need larger amounts of feed to finish than pure dairy bulls," he says.
But he warns of possible pitfalls for anyone thinking of rearing dairy bull beef and stresses that eligibility for beef special premium is an essential part of the equation. He also says failure to meet market specifications could erode profits, so diets should be planned with the help of an expert.
Mr Sinclairs findings coincide with the relaunch of a dairy bull finishing contract by abattoir and meat processor, Anglo Beef Processors. Livestock manager, Emma Andrews-Moynan says there are two main reasons why it is keen to promote UK dairy bull production.
"By the end of next year, we estimate the UK will need to import 350,000t of beef to meet demand.
"Our wholesale customers want to buy British meat and we want to supply it so we are prepared to pay a reasonable price for finished dairy bred bulls to make the scheme attractive to producers. We have also invested heavily in slaughterhouses around the country and need high throughput to make them economical."
Since 1999, ABP has offered 140p/kg for a bull with a deadweight of about 280kg which grades O- or P and has a 2, 3 or 4L fat cover. There is also a bonus system built into the scheme which pays extra for any O+ carcasses.
The company deals with about 15,000 dairy bulls a year on contract, supplied by 220 producers to its abattoirs at Perth, York and Shrewsbury. Among these suppliers is the Brownbridge family, who have 2ha (5 acres) of land and some rented ground at Rose Dean farm near Goole, South Yorks.
The family buys black-and-white calves from a local dairy farmer at 10 -14 days old, paying an average of £8 each.
Although foot-and-mouth disease has hampered expansion, most animals have been sold at 300kg deadweight, with 20% grading O+. The average finishing time is 14 months.
Brenda and John Brownbridge are in partnership with their three sons, John, Robert and David. The family joined the scheme in 1999, when they were looking for extra income but did not want to increase numbers on their 300-sow finishing unit.
They have since put up a purpose-built calf shed and a unit which is divided into four sections to hold 100 older bulls.
Mrs Brownbridge says she had difficulty managing a calf milk machine which was used initially and now finds individual bucket feeding the best way of controlling and monitoring calf milk intakes.
At six-weeks-old, calves are moved to straw-bedded pens with 30 animals in each. By nine weeks old, they are put on a home-mixed 16% protein ration containing distillers grains, barley, maize and minerals and offered hay.
When they reach 6-7 months old, calves are moved into the finishing shed where they are given wheat straw and maize is replaced by wheat.
Batches of animals are kept in the same groups until slaughter and there has never been a serious injury due to fighting.
"We only had pigs before so we had no experience of cattle: It has been a steep learning curve," says Mrs Brownbridge.
"The main art is judging when bulls are finished, but ABP has helped with that. With this enterprise, less investment is required than for beef cross breeds because calf cost is much lower."
The MLC has published a guide called Bull Beef – Costings and Production Systems, which gives practical tips on housing and the selection of animals for slaughter (01908-844271). *
Bucket feeding milk to calves is the best way of monitoring intake, believes Brenda Brownbridge.
DAIRY BEEF
• Higher margins for purebred.
• Must claim BSP.
• Consider contract finishing.
Projected margins for dairy-bred young bulls
Pure dairy bulls Beef cross dairy bulls
Costs:
Calf value/mortality 10 90
Rearing to 12 weeks 60 60
Finishing concentrate 210 230
Vet/med, sundries 35 35
Straw (2t @ £30/t) 60 60
Total cost £375 £475
Income:
Carcase value 392 480
Beef Special Premium* 128 128
Slaughter Premium* 49 49
Total income £569 £657
Gross margin £194 £182
* 2002 rate converted at 1k = 61p. Data supplied by MLC.
Contract finishing purebred Holstein bulls for Anglo Beef Processors provides extra income for the Brownbridge family, based in SouthYorks.