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Getting started in beef
2 July 2007
Rearing calves, fattening stores, or taking the plunge and breeding your own beef suckler herd – which route would you choose to produce your own Sunday joint and what’s involved? Before choosing a breed, think about the management system, what facilities are needed and your level of commitment.
“Decide whether you want to go through the whole life cycle, or just rear a few head of beef for the freezer because you’re not keen on learning how to calve cows at 3am,” advises vet Rob Drysdale from the Westpoint Veterinary Group, Warnham in West Sussex. “People need to realise there is more to a beef herd than just having some nice looking cattle in their paddock. They will have to think about things like timing of AI (artificial insemination), bull selection, stocking rates and disease risks.”
By far the easiest option is to get friendly with a local farmer and, if your fields are well fenced and watered, offer grazing for his beef cattle. The next step would be to try finishing some store cattle, says Rob. “These are bought at 6-12 months of age and finished for slaughter at 14-15 months with a bit of concentrate feed at grass. Or, if going for grass-only fed cattle, you would take them to 30 months of age.”
Getting in touch with local cattle dealers and butchers can help to gauge the market, or find local breeders who may not have enough land to finish their surplus cattle. Then it’s a case of swotting up on the various rules and regulations from DEFRA about owning stock and farming land (see table below). There are ear tagging laws, animal transport rules and the obligatory registration of premises before being able to keep even one bovine for beef. Medicine records are obligatory, a movement book (every animal that goes on and off the property) and proper drug storage – animal medicines aren’t allowed in the family fridge! “There are different rules depending on whether you have stores, or the parish tests annually for TB. Any new herd will have a check test for TB in it’s first year so has to be registered,” says Rob.
For first timers, Rob believes native and rare breeds are ideal. Not only does this give provenance for meat sales, but these breeds are hardy, easy care and relatively low maintenance. They are easier calving and more amenable to handling. “Continentals, such as Limousin or Charolais, need buildings because you can’t finish these cattle off grass – they need hard feed. They can also be more difficult to handle, not just because of their sheer size. These more intensive breeding programmes have selected for beef characteristics and as far as health goes, they can be on a knife edge and it doesn’t take much to tip them off it. Their smaller lung to bodyweight ratio, for instance, makes them susceptible to pneumonia.”
A top priority is to find yourself a good cattle vet. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ website is a good starting point, says Rob. An email asking for a list of local accredited farm practices should generate the right information. “Then speak to your vet and spend time, effort and money on setting up a health plan and protocols for treating and managing various diseases. It’s a legal obligation to make sure cattle see a vet, but they can also help source stock for you and advise on management from beginning to slaughter. They may also run courses on stockmanship and medicines – we do.”
Good cattle health means handling facilities such as a race and crush are essential for jobs like ear tagging, weighing or blood testing for the safety of both humans and stock. “You need something that will cope with fully grown animals – a piece of baler twine and two gates won’t do,” Rob adds.
Buying in calves to rear can be a rewarding job for all the family. Bucket feeding milk replacer is a good way to involve children in farming life and food production. However, there are risks. Some calf bugs and diseases can be picked up by humans, such as Salmonella and E. coli and Cryptosporidium. This makes hygiene all the more important and it might be better to consider taking on weaned calves as they come with less risk . However, they are still susceptible to two potential problems: pneumonia and scours.
“We can vaccinate against viral and bacterial causes of pneumonia using Bovipast RSP when calves arrive, giving them a booster later on. A combined vaccine such as this is also worth considering for stores, particularly if they are to be housed. Suckler cows can be given Lactovac which protects the calf when it’s born from Rotavirus and E. coli by raising the antibodies in the colostrum. A belt and braces approach would be to vaccinate for Salmonella too with Bovivac S. In all, you could spend £15/calf on such preventative medicine, which isn’t a lot if rearing just 10 a year. But you only need one case of one of these diseases and losing a calf worth £150 puts it in perspective.”
The best step to reducing disease risk is to buy from a known local source, says Rob. While going to market might seem like fun, it runs a greater risk of bringing something extra and unwanted home. For pedigree stock that may produce home-bred animals for sale, or to step out in the show ring, vaccination against BVD, IBR, and leptospirosis is advised.
Young animals will need routine tasks doing before they are too big. Unless you buy polled cattle, they will come with horns which will need removing, although for some breeds (the Highland and Longhorn) they are an intrinsic part of the beast. And don’t forget another impartant vet job – all male animals should be castrated. “A vet can work out a programme of routine preventions for you including worming for lungworm with Huskvac before calves are first turned out to grass. Fly control using a pour-on insecticide (Butox Swish), a couple of times over the summer. Worm control using a bolus such as Panacur is easy to do and lasts the season.”
The acreage of grazing needed varies according to the type of stock carried. A common mistake is to forget that with a suckler herd, a calf is produced each year which also means a fattening animal in the second year, giving three animals to accommodate. “Work on a stocking rate of two acres/cow for something like a Dexter and three acres for bigger breeds plus an acre for the young fattener as well. And if you think you want to go organic, you need to increase the land area by half again,” says Rob.
Winter feed needs to be planned properly with provision made for buying, making and storing it, as well as feeding either silage or hay to the stock. “It means either sacrificing a paddock or finding somewhere to feed indoors during winter. There is a cost there, so think long and hard about this,” he adds. “Visit someone who is already doing it and find out what’s involved. Take advice and attend college workshops. There may be a local stockman who can offer back-up every week or to cover for holidays.”
CASE STUDY
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and, for Nick Harrison, it’s a low maintenance blonde. Or redhead. Sometimes it’s a raven haired beauty – as long as she has flowing locks, horns to die for and a nice rump. Nick is passionate about his Highland cattle and knows that when you have to get up in the middle of the night to calve a cow, liking the look of the beast is half the battle.
“Highland cattle look fantastic, they are good natured and their beef is good, lean and well marbled. I think you need to enjoy a breed if you are to have cattle about the place,” he says. “Highlands are cheeky, not aggressive – they use their horns to scratch themselves – and they are great for beginners. But, they are also very maternal and even the most placid cow might be aggressive just after calving, so you still have to be careful.”
Nick, together with his brother Alastair, runs the Frith Fold of pedigree Highlands at Frith Manor Farm, East Grinstead in West Sussex. The farm was originally bought as a base to relocate the brothers’ champagne importing business out of London, and what started out as four yearling females, to make effective use of 190 acres of grassland, now numbers 100 head including breeding cows plus followers, three stock bulls and fattening cattle.
With a lifelong love of Highlands, Nick says it was the natural breed choice for them and their farm. A hardy native, it meant cattle could live outdoors all year round without requiring new housing to be built. They have a double skin coat to protect them from the elements and shed it in summer to keep cool, explains Nick. Great foraging ability meant the farm’s rough neglected pasture on heavy soils wouldn’t be a problem. “We are on clay and wanted to run beef cattle that were low impact on the fields and reasonably low maintenance. The Highlands graze everything, including hedgerows, and they do a good job of clearing out brambles in our woodland.”
Cows calve outside in March and April. The weather is a bit kinder, but more importantly, spring grass is beginning to grow which gives cows a ready supply to convert into milk. The key to success is good grassland management as grass forms the basis of the herd’s diet until December, when ad lib hay is introduced. Grass supplies enough nutrients to keep cattle in good condition, get cows back in calf and fatten youngstock with minimal purchased feed. Nick and the farm’s stockman, Endre Adam, operate a grazing rotation, making sure each field is rested, harrowed to spread dung pats and topped to cut down seed heads and keep grass productive.
“Good grassland management saves money in the long run. We work on a stocking rate of one acre/head in summer. However, to keep condition on cows and ensure they produce enough milk, we start feeding in-calf cows with 1kg/day of a proprietary beef nut two months before calving. It contains a full range of minerals and vitamins, we also supply ad lib magnesium licks. When the bulls are working we feed them 6-8kg/day (they may get sugar beet, barley and a nut) as they lose condition quite quickly.”
The breed is very slow maturing which means heifers are not put in calf until they are three years of age, whereas bull calves are castrated and reared to slaughter at 30 months of age. However, this is what gives the beef its edge in terms of quality and flavour, Nick points out. “Word of mouth sells our beef and people come back for more. It’s a premium product and consumers are now prepared to pay for that.”
Steers are finished off fresh grass and perhaps a bit of sugar beet or barley depending on the animal. Three or four local slaughterhouses will take horned cattle (some race systems are too tight for horns) and he delivers animals himself. “We have a slot and know that within 15 minutes the animals will be killed. This is crucial because once their adrenalin is up it affects meat quality. We have also reared them from calves and so want it to be as swift and humane as possible. The abattoir then hangs the meat for at least 21 days, then cuts and packs it according to what we want. Local butchers are keen to take surplus beef, but tend to want continuity of supply.”
Nick recommends buying accredited stock from a pedigree herd to be sure they are free from IBR and BVD. Health status is important for a healthy herd and, with the same attention to detail they give to their champagne selection, the brothers have opted for a high health status fold. This involves regular blood testing to check cattle are free from BVD, Leptospirosis, Johne’s and IBR as part of the Herdcare scheme. “We also selected a young and dynamic vet practice, Westpoint Vets, when we started which was a great move. Any worries are easy to discuss on the phone and we have regular visits to discuss cattle health and management,” he says.
“Otherwise, the Highlands are very hardy and have no disease problems. You do have to keep them away from poisonous plants such as yew and like other cattle they are subject to bloat, but they have very good feet. They like to scratch, so fencing needs to be good – we have post and rail – and you need to keep checking it because they will knock posts over. But they only break out if they are hungry.”
With four years’ experience now under their belt, their goal is to expand the fold to 200 head to supply their own farm shop. Nick and Alastair are also keen to pass their enthusiasm and knowledge onto others, selling yearling heifers as a package that includes delivery, an information pack, halter, manual and a comb. “Normally people with five to 10 acres buy two as a starter to keep the grass down. We give them contact names for people such as local vets and feed merchants – after sales service counts for a lot.”
The clear message from the Harrison brothers is quality and attention to detail. The farm is also accredited through the Red Tractor scheme recognising the best practices adopted which, as Nick casually stated, was “no big deal since we were already ticking all the relevant boxes as a matter of course”.
FACT BOXES
GETTING STARTED IN HIGHLANDS
- Buy healthy stock from accredited folds
- Sign up with a knowledgeable vet practice
- Get information and advice from other breeders
- Ensure good stock-proof fencing
- No housing required
- Buy a mobile race for handling in fields eg blood testing
- Handle cattle from birth
- Register online with BCMS
- Highland Cattle Society registrations for pedigrees: annual sub plus £15/animal – now electronic
- Keep on top of paperwork and ear tags for the RPA
- Frith Manor Farm www.frith.co.uk tel: 01342 871444
- Highland Cattle Society tel: 01848 331866
CATTLE HEALTH CHECK LIST
· TB – Tuberculosis, notifiable disease, obligatory testing minimum every four years
· BVD – Bovine Viral Diarrhoea, causes abortion, deformed calves and persistently infected calves*
· IBR – Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis, affects nose and windpipe but also causes abortion*
· Leptospirosis – causes abortion, mastitis, affects fertility; affects humans*
· Johne’s – diarrhoea and severe weight loss
· Cryptosporidium – parasite that infects intestines and causes scouring in calves
· Salmonella – different strains causing abortion in cows and scouring in calves; affects humans*
· E. coli – infects the intestines and causes scouring in calves*
· Pneumonia – bacterial and viral causes*
· Rotavirus – common cause of scouring in calves*
*all these can be controlled with vaccination, contact your local vet
SOURCE BOOK
www.rcvs.org.uk/FindAVet
www.westpointfarmvets.co.uk
Traditional Meat Marketing Scheme tel: 01285 869666
Humane Slaughter Association tel: 01582 831919
Association of Independent Meat Suppliers
Tel: 01609 761547
Rare Breeds Survival Trust
Tel: 024 7669 6551
Rules and regulations
DEFRA (Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)