Feeding store cattle

[Drillman]

Currently stuffing too much hard feed into stores (barley etc) and want to cheapen the job.

silage ain’t an issue we have a big heap of bales and more to make

I’m also thinking about some fodder beet, parsnips or whatever else I can lay my hands on to put thru the chopper bucket to fill them up and let them grow.
dont mind rolled barley to finish but only at the last couple of months if poss

thoughts or suggestions please

 

[Gedd]

Currently stuffing too much hard feed into stores (barley etc) and want to cheapen the job.

silage ain’t an issue we have a big heap of bales and more to make

I’m also thinking about some fodder beet, parsnips or whatever else I can lay my hands on to put thru the chopper bucket to fill them up and let them grow.
dont mind rolled barley to finish but only at the last couple of months if poss

thoughts or suggestions please

Feed them from the day they hit the ground and get them gone

 

[AngusLad]

Sounds like a no brainer

 

[som farmer]

we are feeding wheat gluten, to our dairyx bucket fed calves, ad-lib, through calf creep feeders in the field.

we sell as stirks, and we are good at it. Also being told there is no difference between steers and hfrs, growth rates, until 8/9 months old. That's the bit l am not sure about, would rather feed the AAx hfrs, 2kg in troughs, rather than 4/5 through ad-lib.

when it comes to selling, hfrs are always a min of £100 behind the steers, but both look a picture in the ring, topped £780 for 8/9 month steers, prices look to have moved up from there.

trouble is, so have the calves got dearer. But l do wonder where the profit is, buying non suckler stirks, at that price.

thinking of splitting out some lim and BB hfrs and steers, and seeing how they grow, on an indoor ration.

we source our calves ex farm, one big lot this year, BBx, Limx and AAx, quite a few AAx have required dehorning..............limx rather than AAx ?

 

[Wesley]

quite a few AAx have required dehorning..............limx rather than AAx ?

We’ve got an Angus bull & you’d say a few had horns. But most will never really come to anything. Modern Angus would be more like a Lim than the old fashioned Angus.

 

[thorpe]

we are feeding wheat gluten, to our dairyx bucket fed calves, ad-lib, through calf creep feeders in the field.

we sell as stirks, and we are good at it. Also being told there is no difference between steers and hfrs, growth rates, until 8/9 months old. That's the bit l am not sure about, would rather feed the AAx hfrs, 2kg in troughs, rather than 4/5 through ad-lib.

when it comes to selling, hfrs are always a min of £100 behind the steers, but both look a picture in the ring, topped £780 for 8/9 month steers, prices look to have moved up from there.

trouble is, so have the calves got dearer. But l do wonder where the profit is, buying non suckler stirks, at that price.

thinking of splitting out some lim and BB hfrs and steers, and seeing how they grow, on an indoor ration.

we source our calves ex farm, one big lot this year, BBx, Limx and AAx, quite a few AAx have required dehorning..............limx rather than AAx ?

same through the chain we are taking our finishers to the max because stores are such a trade

 

[michael N123]

Crimp your barley

no heads on the ground waiting for it to get ripe better feed value and clears the field ready for next crop or catch grazing crop like Stubble turnips kale ect

 

[som farmer]

crimped maize one year, when we had tremendous yields, cows milked extremely well off it, crimped wheat last year, worked well. Certain home grown cereals push proteins in the milk, therefore pushing up ppl. Our few acres look promising this year, after a poor start, and looks to be a lot of straw there. Whether we crimp, or roll, depends on the weather.

what bugs me, getting a ration for the beef side, and the dairy, always seems we have to add lots of expensive 'bits', to make it balance out. And told its cheaper to feed a blend................. one year bought a simple blend, that was 'great', and told them to leave the rolled barley out, and we would add it, that didn't go down well.

but for young calves, you need a high quality feed, at the lowest price, its the quality that counts, you have the best growth ratio to feed, you will ever get, skimping is stupid.

selling grain, you export a lot of NPK, feeding it, you do get some back as dung, and it makes winter cashflow easier, rains all paid for by then !

hoping as we grow more herbal leys, which look to be good nutrition, higher protein silage, should help balance the grain, and reduce feed costs.

well, that's the plan, but you never know till you have tried it !

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Be carfull buying beet , its ofter dearer than barley , what can you grow ?
You would have to buy beet today at £35 ton to break even with the barley Price

 

[Full of bull(s)]

Maize gluten about £230 onto farm. Silage ad-lib and 3-5kg/day with minerals. All the protein and extra energy you need

 

[Northern territory]

Surely a year to buy barley

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Also don't forget if your hauling wet feed like beet , for every ton of barley your paying haulage on your paying haulage on 5 ton of beet , unless you can find beet local I've viewed it as a convenience feed for sheep where cost is not such an isue

 

[Full of bull(s)]

Also don't forget if your hauling wet feed like beet , for every ton of barley your paying haulage on your paying haulage on 5 ton of beet , unless you can find beet local I've viewed it as a convenience feed for sheep where cost is not such an isue

Absolutely the haulage cost on low dry matter feeds makes them far too dear, they need to be within a very local area and collected direct.

 

[Full of bull(s)]

Surely a year to buy barley

By the time you add the protein and mix it plus the storage of two products is it any cheaper? Plus still end up with too much starch for storing them on if that’s what he’s doing. End up with half size fat heifers

 

[som farmer]

its creeping up in price.
but its £150 ish a tonne, add rolling, £25 ish, should be able to get on farm £200 ish

yes it is a good buy, when maize gluten is £235ish going forward.

My rule of thumb, since college, 50 yrs ago !, rolled barley, and s/beet are roughly the same feed value, and s/beet is dearer than r/barley, so never bought much since.

my big hate on the home grown cereal use, is all feed reps discourage it, and try to sell you extras to balance it out, which ever so suddenly, they say its cheaper to feed their conc.

l would like to grow beans as a protein source, but haven't got enough acres to grow maize, cereals, beans and grass. Used to grow lucerne, great crop, but couldn't grow all three, and have enough grass. Last winter, cheapest way to balance crimp wheat, was 1 kg soya, and l think feeding a 'quality' feed, improves solids in milk, and improves growth rates in y/s. Cheap conc, uses cheap 'fillers', might all add up in an analysis, might not in growth rates.

 

[som farmer]

By the time you add the protein and mix it plus the storage of two products is it any cheaper? Plus still end up with too much starch for storing them on if that’s what he’s doing. End up with half size fat heifers

therein lies the risk, as said earlier, add lib feed for hfrs ........................... l really don't know, are growth rates the same as steers, up to 9/10 months ? I have my doubts on that. TMR is a way forward, but you can end up with complicated mixes, for different age/sex groups of cattle, increasing work load.

one thing l do know, from feeding dairy cows for years, get a good balanced ration for them, and everything seems to 'fall' into place, and that starts with dry cows. Get it right, very few calving problems, cows soon get to peak, and fertility is great. And l don't think l have ever seen a recipe for TMR, that actually produces what its meant to. And never found 1kg conc =2 litres of milk.

but sales reps have to earn their commission. Uncomplicated rations and systems, is the way forward, tried virtually every system over 50 yrs, and simple really is best.

 

[Full of bull(s)]

therein lies the risk, as said earlier, add lib feed for hfrs ........................... l really don't know, are growth rates the same as steers, up to 9/10 months ? I have my doubts on that. TMR is a way forward, but you can end up with complicated mixes, for different age/sex groups of cattle, increasing work load.

one thing l do know, from feeding dairy cows for years, get a good balanced ration for them, and everything seems to 'fall' into place, and that starts with dry cows. Get it right, very few calving problems, cows soon get to peak, and fertility is great. And l don't think l have ever seen a recipe for TMR, that actually produces what its meant to. And never found 1kg conc =2 litres of milk.

but sales reps have to earn their commission. Uncomplicated rations and systems, is the way forward, tried virtually every system over 50 yrs, and simple really is best.

Look at the analysis of these 10 ingredient blends they push at you 12ish ME, 16-18% mainly RDP CP, low 20’s starch, plenty of digestible fibre. Double haulage, mixing, reloading, rates to pay.
Maize gluten,

everything you need, with extra protein. 4kg of that instead of 5kg of blend, 20% saving, plus some basic mineral for £60/ton less

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I used to grow 400 acres of Crimp Barley and Wheat ,to high for growing maize but two best feeds you can get for energy

 

[kps]

I just feed my older stores round bale silage. I want them going forward when they go out not backwards because there soft and fat. But I don't really know what I'm doing so it's probably wrong.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Has no one heard of grass