Earn extra £10,000
Earn extra £10,000
BUYING a high beef value bull as opposed to one with a low index will earn suckler herds an extra £10,000 over five years.
Beef researcher Steven Johnston told visitors to Suckler 2000 that in a 40-cow herd the difference between high and low beef value bulls was about £50/cow.
Dr Johnston explained how EBVs work using two Charolais bulls from the college; Arnie Hitman and Givendale Gascon. Both had been used in the college herd; Hitman has a beef value of 23, in top 10% of Charolais; and Gascon a beef value of 36, in the top 1% of herds.
Arnie Hitman has a 400-day weight EBV of 36kg and a calving value of -2, whereas Gascon has a beef value of 68kg and a calving value of -4.
Dr Johnston said producers would expect Gascon to cost them £2 for every calf born compared with a bull a calving value of 0.
However, Gascon calves should be 0.5 grade better on average for conformation classification and 34kg heavier at 400 days.
Overall, compared with Hitman, Gascons progeny should be worth an extra £6.50 each, because his beef value is £13 higher than Hitmans. *