With the Galway Races now behind us and the Tullamore Show approaching this weekend, autumn is well and truly on its way and August is a good month to begin drafting cattle off grass for selling.
Some farmers will have already sold factory fit heifers (and steers in some cases) off grass this season, but numbers of cattle coming off grass tend to increase significantly into the back end of the year.
All farmers have their own preferences on when to sell their cattle, but with beef prices holding steady this week and price offerings for prime cattle up to 35c/kg above the same week of last year, now could be as good a time as any to sell factory-fit cattle.
There are also good market opportunities for forward store cattle at marts around the country, offering another sale outlet for farmers with cattle to sell.
As always, the best advice for farmers is to sell cattle as they come fit.
The wet spring earlier this year resulted in many cattle missing out on an early spring thrive, but cattle have performed reasonably well since then – despite much talk of reduced carcass weights again this year.
Where farmers are not confident on drafting their own cattle, most processors will be willing to send an agent out to view the cattle and select cattle that are factory fit and agree a price and a booking date.
Where cattle may be falling a little short of the mark on weights or fat covers, supplementing with concentrates at grass could be an option.
Cattle that are within two months of selling can be grouped and fed concentrates at grass to help boost performance.
Grass quality will naturally begin to deteriorate in August and livestock performance will dip as a result.
Where cattle could be gaining 1.0-1.2kg/day in summer, that figure could drop to 0.75kg/day from the end of August onwards, according to Teagasc.
Where concentrates are supplemented along with good quality grass, similar weight gain to summer months can be maintained.
In terms of meal feeding levels, the Teagasc advice is to supplement with 500g of concentrate per 100kg of live weight where grass quality is good.
In situations where grass quality is poor, this supplementation rate should be increased to 1kg/100kg of live weight. For example, a 500kg steer needs 3kg/head/day to finish on quality grass and 5kg/head/day on lesser quality grass.
A basic beef ration or nut will be adequate to feed to finishing cattle and a protein content of 11-12% will suffice as finishing cattle need energy while there’s not a huge demand for protein.
If difficult weather conditions occur, a short housing period might need to be considered.
According to Teagasc, Friesian steers need to be close to the 470-480kg mark and be a softer, fleshier type in order to have them finished before the winter. For early-maturing breeds, similar weights are desirable.
Drafting cattle off grass
When selecting animals for slaughter, farmers need to ensure that their cattle have an adequate cover of carcass fat and will meet factory carcass specifications to ensure the animal value is maximised at slaughter time.
Some farmers prefer to take their cattle to the mart to sell them and with good demand from northern customers for heavy cattle, this is another feasible sale option.
Market specifications require animals between 2+ and 4= for carcass fat score. Drafting animals that will not meet market specifications will result in price penalties applied on the quality pricing system at the factory.
Fat cover in early-maturing breeds and heifers can change dramatically over a short period, and the Teagasc advice is to draft animals every 10-12 days to ensure animals don’t go overfat.