beef for beginners

[missjones]

So the land I have access to already has sheds, a crush (not sure which condition) etc and as I want to keep the farm with diversity to limit the need for working else where (and now being a lot less scsred of cattle) im thinking of a micro beef enterprise.. like 2-5 calfs to grow.train around people and ai to high genetic bulls. (this will limit costs for bulls and limit my fears of a bull knocking about the place)

Looking to retain the initial stock to keep breeding from so im not buying in new cattle all the time.
* want to finish beef calfs off grass
* outdoor as much as possible, light footed (belted?)
* outdoor calving as natural as possible
* easy going temperament

Any ideas on breeds? Any info will be gratefully received and its a long term goal but want to start researching now as I have time..

Ideas on costs? Buying mother & daughter a good idea?


Anyone in leics/rugby area who wouldnt mind a volunteer at weekends?

Thanks

 

[multi power]

Hereford, or any other native breed would be ideal outdoor at grass

 

[caveman]

Go for some natives that are farmed really hard. For a start they should be able to stand up to all the environmental challenges that they encounter on your holding and build up and pass on their own unique immunity.

 

[missjones]

Mainly used for meat production, the Hereford cattle are red in colour with a white face and belly. Cows can often weigh up to 550kg and bulls 850kg, making them a hard and strong breed, easily handled because of their very docile temperament. Traditionally used in Herefordshire to work the county's fields, farmers would then sell the cows on for fattening after five or six years. Exports to a variety of countries in 1817 increased the breed’s numbers and they are now common cattle across the globe.

how long do Herefords take to grow? hopefully quicker than 5-6 years

 

[Guiggs]

Go native,
Personally I went lincoln reds but Herefords, ruby or south Devon
Make sure they're polled.

 

[missjones]

i was thinking herefords before the comments on here i wouldnt want horns!

 

[caveman]

Or Sussex. Just make sure they are not just red limmies.

 

[GTB]

We have some Hereford (not pure) cows here and they are very easy to keep and the steers do well on grass. We haven't fattened any on grass alone (as we have a lot of sheep) but I'm sure they would do if given enough grass and some time. The cost of keeping a native cow is significantly less than a big continental x, but they're calves will grow quicker and be worth more at the end I suppose.

What we did here....

We had a herd of Limx Cows that were generally wild and very aggressive at calving. We were using a BB bull on them and were getting top quality calves but the temperament of the cows wasn't acceptable and we had the scars to prove it.

So we bought some Hereford x Holstein weaned heifers and bred them to a Hereford bull. The purchased heifers had poor conformation but had plenty of milk and reared good calves. The resulting 3/4 bred Hereford heifers were all kept as replacements and have made very nice hardy cows.

Not wanting to go too pure we have then tried a Stabiliser bull on the 3/4 bred Hereford heifers and the resulting yearling heifers are with the bull now. Also just calved another bunch of heifers to an AA bull and planning to keep all heifers for breeding.

Only got a few of our original Lim x cows left now and phasing them out as the Hereford numbers increase. We sell the steers either as forward stores or finished if under TB restrictions. We find them quite easy to finish but tbh it pays just as well to sell stores.

 

[missjones]

Not wanting to go too pure we have then tried a Stabiliser bull on the 3/4 bred Hereford heifers and the resulting yearling heifers are with the bull now. Also just calved another bunch of heifers to an AA bull and planning to keep all heifers for breeding.
.

the reason i've been scared of cattle is being chased by them at my mums x's he had lim x things and they were bloody wild!!

whats a stabiliser bull? and why don't you want them pure?
what are the growth differences from the AA bull? would they fetch a premium over pure herefords for store prices?

 

[GTB]

whats a stabiliser bull?

A Stabiliser is a composite breed developed as a self replacing suckler breed.

and why don't you want them pure?

I don't know really. Was worried pure Herefords might not have enough milk though but I've seen pures with plenty of milk too. Also wanted a bit of hybrid vigour.

what are the growth differences from the AA bull?

Too early to say yet, the calves are only two months old.

would they fetch a premium over pure herefords for store prices?

Not really. There is a premium on Hereford beef too but it's a job to access it. When we sell stores we get good prices and I assume the buyers have got access to those premiums.

 

[missjones]

thanks sounds like a good little venture alongside the sheep for me then if the equipment is there anyway... and whilst my uncle is still able to help and teach me the odd bit
when you say you get good prices of stores, isn't it worth while keeping them for longer? as presumably the buyer of stores would make further money? (sorry if that's a really common sense question..)

 

[GTB]

when you say you get good prices of stores, isn't it worth while keeping them for longer? as presumably the buyer of stores would make further money? (sorry if that's a really common sense question..)

There no more profit in selling finished really as you have to add in the feed to finish them. We can get ours to 550/600 kg at 18/22 months and they will make between £1000 and £1200. We can only get the standard price for beef but the finishers who buy ours probably can hence why they can pay as much for the stores.

Finished prices.... Say 650kg live at 54% kill out is a 350kg carcass at £3.40 a kg brings in about £1200, less if it's an O grade. Finishers with access to a premium scheme will not only get more per kg but will be able to feed them cheaper than we can here too.

 

[missjones]

so if your feeding calves on grass and breeding your own,, what is there to pay for?

 

[GTB]

so if your feeding calves on grass and breeding your own,, what is there to pay for?

Silage to make, slurry to pump out and a bit of creep feed.

Edit: Straw for bedding and also ferts for grazing and silage ground.

 

[missjones]

but if you mob grazed it.. you'd need less silage? and wouldnt need slurry etc... so its just housing? i'll go and see my uncle then

 

[czechmate]

Silage to make, slurry to pump out and a bit of creep feed.

Edit: Straw for bedding and also ferts for grazing and silage ground.

Vet bills

 

[GTB]

but if you mob grazed it.. you'd need less silage? and wouldnt need slurry etc... so its just housing? i'll go and see my uncle then

Depends on your soil. Outwintering not possible here.

 

[Guiggs]

Maintaining fencing, diesel/transport?

 

[Qman]

It seems odd that someone can go into livestock farming without any knowledge of the subject. I think the OP would be better renting the land out for a while and getting a job on a livestock farm to gain experience.

I'm not wishing to be nasty to the OP, but animals deserve to be properly looked after and if you don't know what you are doing , how can they be?

 

[ARW]

I'd be more concerned about cash flow, 5 cows will cost as much as they bring in