New report unlocks productivity, profitability and sustainability of suckler cows
A new report compiled by ADAS on behalf of the UK’s red meat levy boards, aims to ‘inform and empower’ farmers in making their beef suckler enterprises more profitable.
Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC), AgriSearch and AHDB commissioned ADAS to conduct a comprehensive study called ‘Building Better Beef’ to help unlock greater productivity, profitability and sustainability of suckler beef herds.
The report acknowledges the diversity of enterprises by explicitly outlining the reasoning, benefits and limitations of the approaches for the environment, infrastructure and set-up of different businesses – whether that’s an extensive upland hill farm, a more intensive lowland enterprise or something in between.
Read the full reportReport findings
Eight priority areas for improvement
As well as delving into emerging ideas and technologies, ADAS researchers used the breadth and depth of scientific evidence to identify eight priority areas for improving performance. They are presented as the ‘foundations of efficient suckler management’ and are all backed by robust evidence:
- Breed selection
- Scoring cow condition
- Calving heifers at 24 months
- Breeding for reduced mature cow size
- Conducting a pre-breeding examination on stock bulls
- Using AI and sexed semen
- Breeding for reduced residual feed intake
- Using a sire selection index
One study quoted in the report saw a 16% increase in calf income when cows had ideal, rather than low, body condition scores (BCS). It’s a good example of a fundamental management practice that can be overlooked when the pressure is on, but has a significant financial impact.
Additional gains possible
ADAS outlined other areas where scientific literature shows where there are additional gains to be had. The areas include tightening the block calving window, cull timings, breeding for improved calving ease, and genomic techniques.
Further research
Finally, the report looks at newer and less well-researched approaches for refining high-performing herds. There are many exciting developments in suckler beef production – from rotational grazing with the use of geo-fencing to the use of sexed semen and artificial intelligence. It’s important that these are brought to the fore and put into context.
The ‘Building Better Beef’ report
We were commissioned by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC), AgriSearch and AHDB to conduct the study.
Discover the full report