FIRMHANDONBULLBEEF
FIRMHANDONBULLBEEF
AT FIRST glance, bull beef looks a good bet. As indicated by the latest advisory leaflet published by Livestock Knowledge Transfer, liveweight gains and feed conversion efficiency are better than with steers.
Surplus dairy bred bulls can achieve growth rates of at least 1.2kg/day, while earlier maturing beef breeds such as Hereford and Angus gain in excess of 1kg/day.
Also, bulls can be taken to 15% heavier weights than steers before feed conversion efficiency, which can be 10-12% higher with entire males, drops to uneconomic levels.
But from about six-months-old, bulls become restless, aggressive and potentially dangerous. Peter Joules, who runs 450 dairy cows in west Wales, has experienced what they can do.
"I refused to shoot healthy bull calves and decided to finish them in sheds on a rented farm. However, buildings which would have suited steers or heifers, were vandalised by bulls.
"They wrecked the building, bending gates and pen divisions, even creating new windows by pushing their heads through corrugated sheeting," says Mr Joules.
However, bull beef was originally planned as a short-term measure, Mr Joules was not too concerned, as long as bulls were contained and workers, safe.
But he has been so pleased with the margin of about £100 obtained on 550kg bulls, assuming the calf was valueless, he now plans to erect a specialised building.
Consultants say he should have few problems using this, providing bulls are kept in batches of up to 20 and care is taken when re-introducing sick or new animals to groups with an established pecking order. Disturbance must also be kept to a minimum and heifers and cows should remain at a distance from bulls.
In addition, safe routines for feeding and bedding bulls, minimum stress handling facilities and prominent warning signs are necessary to avoid accidents.
Though bulls are best suited to indoor finishing on a cereal-based system, spring born suckled calves may spend time outside in some herds. Where this happens, fields must be securely fenced and away from populated areas and footpaths.
Ready market
There has been a ready market for bull beef since the over-30-month-scheme deprived manufacturers of cow beef, but buyers insist there is no demand for poorly shaped and under-finished bulls.
Cereal beef bulls can command a price premium, which means growers with suitable buildings can use finishing to add value to grain when calf values are low.
Later maturing Holstein Friesian bulls are best suited to an ad-lib cereal/protein ration.
Feed conversion efficiency and profitability falls dramatically at weights of more than 500kg for pure black-and-white bulls and 550kg for dairy crosses.
Grass silage feeding is an option on farms with well managed pastures. From three months to slaughter at 15 months, bulls should receive high quality 65-70D value silage and 2-4kg/day of a barley protein mix.
Bulls also finish well on maize silage, as long as supplementation compensates for low protein, minerals and vitamins.
Fodder beet offers a potential feed between Oct and May, but extra protein is needed to balance high energy levels.
KT project consultants agree that a short spell of grazing can suit winter/spring born calves destined for finishing indoors. The aim should be liveweight gains of 1-1.2kg/head a day. Suckled bull calves should be finished on either cereals or high quality silage supplemented with cereals and a protein straight.
The first batch of Holstein bulls finished under contract at the University of Waless Tan-y-Graig Farm realised an average of 146p/kg. This was higher than expected as 25% of carcasses were better than the base specified conformation.
Growth rate from birth to slaughter averaged a little over 1.3kg/day. Bulls ate an average of 2.3t/head of concentrate, and either consumed or soiled 0.5t of barley straw to reach a mean slaughter weight of 531kg.
Sale value was £395/head after all premiums were claimed. The 12-week-old reared calves were valued at £85 each, so there was a margin of £108/head to cover overheads.
The enterprise made less money than traditional beef production would have done, but it eliminated the destruction of unwanted bull calves without increasing grazing pressure on dairy farms where the calves were born.
Livestock Knowledge Trans-fers leaflet on bull beef can be obtained by contacting (01970-823028). *
BULL BEEF SAFETY
• Secure housing essential.
• Minimise stress.
• Use warning signs.
Producers inexperienced in bull finishing should be aware of how destructive they can be.
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