Cost of Beef

[Walterp]

Must be from a dairy farming background, with the correct set up of fields to size of herd etc. I suppose it would work the cattle would soon become accustomed to moving on every few days and would oblige. Would make handling and temperament better too I would imagine.

With an expanding herd this would be difficult to manage? Say there's 120 cows in 4 management groups, along with 4 groups of yearlings and another 4 groups of fattening cattle - that's 12 groups to be kept in continuous paddock grazing, all Summer.

And what happens when grass growth stops due to a droughty time? In the only cattle RG system we've seen, none of the grazing sections had any grass in 'em...

Under this system, you might become so efficient that you run out of grass - is there a grass wedge 'backup' and, if so, how big need it be in these circumstances?

And is 'efficient' always the same thing as 'cheap and simple'?

 

[Penmoel]

With an expanding herd this would be difficult to manage? Say there's 120 cows in 4 management groups, along with 4 groups of yearlings and another 4 groups of fattening cattle - that's 12 groups to be kept in continuous paddock grazing, all Summer.

And what happens when grass growth stops due to a droughty time? In the only cattle RG system we've seen, none of the grazing sections had any grass in 'em...

Under this system, you might become so efficient that you run out of grass - is there a grass wedge 'backup' and, if so, how big need it be in these circumstances?

And is 'efficient' always the same thing as 'cheap and simple'?

One thing it would not be is simple.

The other thing is may not be cheap either

 

[Hilly]

My biggest over head is me, dose that mean a simple quick easy system is best ?

 

[Walterp]

My biggest over head is me, dose that mean a simple quick easy system is best ?

Really? Truly?

Down here, among the living, the biggest overheads are fertiliser, fuel and flashy machinery, in that order. The farmer generally works for nothing...

 

[Penmoel]

I thought the three "F"'s were Fertilizer, Fuel and Feed, now we have another Flashy machinery

 

[Gulli]

I am no expert but i try...
-every animal i have i graze in 2-3 day padocks. I'm not totally set up yet but i will be soon. I got 230kg at grass with my steers. 242kg with my replacement heifers. 93% conception with the cows and have been able to add body condition to them which can be taken off over the winter wirh restricting silage thus makeing for a cheaper winter keep. I use no suplemention of any kid at grass. Just keep it short 10-12 cm going in and out at 4cm no padock bigger than 3 days rotations from 13 days at the end of may up to 28 in october(augest on you can go in at 15 cm). In out fast then they don't be on stale grass for any length of time. If grass is getting too long skip a paddock and cut it.
You never have a bulk of grass but anything you do have is rocket fuel.

13 days is quite a short rotation. Grass must grow fast there?

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I thought the three "F"'s were Fertilizer, Fuel and Feed, now we have another Flashy machinery

More like the three 'S' s , Shite Sweat and Swearing

 

[Baling Hay]

With an expanding herd this would be difficult to manage? Say there's 120 cows in 4 management groups, along with 4 groups of yearlings and another 4 groups of fattening cattle - that's 12 groups to be kept in continuous paddock grazing, all Summer.

And what happens when grass growth stops due to a droughty time? In the only cattle RG system we've seen, none of the grazing sections had any grass in 'em...

Under this system, you might become so efficient that you run out of grass - is there a grass wedge 'backup' and, if so, how big need it be in these circumstances?

And is 'efficient' always the same thing as 'cheap and simple'?

Why so many groups? Why not run all your cows and calves together as one and all your finishers as one?

 

[topground]

Three 'P's for Sucklers.
Perspiration, Pain ('cos it's dangerous) and Penury.

 

[Hilly]

I thought the three "F"'s were Fertilizer, Fuel and Feed, now we have another Flashy machinery

Try to avoid flashy machines and if I do buy new it is here a very very long time, and I don't work for nothing there would be no point in that would there.

 

[Warp Land Farmer]

If there isno money to be made due to costs why are there so many people doing it??

 

[Walterp]

Why so many groups? Why not run all your cows and calves together as one and all your finishers as one?

Cows need to go into bulling groups (say 25 per group, but that's just us giving the bulls a bit of help).

We tried keeping young beef cattle in big groups once - more like Calgary than Cresselly, with the cattle more or less unmanageable once they got into bunches of 60, 70 or more. Complete and utter nightmare at handling time, with cattle jumping fences, getting stuck in ditches, charging quads, trying to kill the dog, trying to kill my brother (wish, now, we'd all stood back and let THAT happen...) and making a break up the road and aiming for the A40.

 

[Thick Farmer]

Cows need to go into bulling groups (say 25 per group, but that's just us giving the bulls a bit of help).

We tried keeping young beef cattle in big groups once - more like Calgary than Cresselly, with the cattle more or less unmanageable once they got into bunches of 60, 70 or more. Complete and utter nightmare at handling time, with cattle jumping fences, getting stuck in ditches, charging quads, trying to kill the dog, trying to kill my brother (wish, now, we'd all stood back and let THAT happen...) and making a break up the road and aiming for the A40.

I agree, once you start keeping sucklers and their offspring in groups of more than 60 you are asking for trouble.

I kept a group of 120 suckler bred limo stores in a group last year and would highly recommend it as a way to shorten your life!

 

[Penmoel]

I agree, once you start keeping sucklers and their offspring in groups of more than 60 you are asking for trouble.

I kept a group of 120 suckler bred limo stores in a group last year and would highly recommend it as a way to shorten your life!

When they start circling, or worse still running straight at the Land Rover, something has to change. Oh yes and as Walter says fence wire snapping

 

[Thick Farmer]

When they start circling, or worse still running straight at the Land Rover, something has to change. Oh yes and as Walter says fence wire snapping

It's quite a steep learning curve when you've been used to dealing with dairy cows and heifers that respect you and will at least run around you rather than over you!

 

[Penmoel]

This is the near side wing of our Land Rover after one steer went over the bonnetback in July, I am afraid its still the same now.

Mrs P says don't look at the nettles, their my job

 

[Poorbuthappy]

But you guys are all talking about limis aren't you! It doesn't have to be like that.

But agree if you need to have a specific breeding programme then groups have to match bulls.

 

[Baling Hay]

We used to keep our stores in one big group of a hundred all the time with no issues. I suggest a change in breeds is required @Walterp to something more docile!

 

[Thick Farmer]

We used to keep our stores in one big group of a hundred all the time with no issues. I suggest a change in breeds is required @Walterp to something more docile!

I admit that it has become a lot easier since we stopped keeping lims

 

[Walterp]

I admit that it has become a lot easier since we stopped keeping lims

We've concentrated on breeding quieter ones; earlier today my son cut out a Limousin bull calf (which has a touch of NFE and a snuffle) from a management group that was got in from grazing, put the calf through the handling system, treated it with Orbenin and Hexasol, put it into a pen with other calves, then cut out the dam from the group, put her in the same pen - all on his own.

Years ago, that would've been a major operation; now, a youngster can do it safely on his own. I'd like to pretend that the improvement is down to better breeding, but it's just down to management and infrastructure.