Accurate cattle weighing is crucial to the success of Robert Neill’s beef enterprise, which involves finishing all the progeny from his herd of 300 Limousin cross females.
Mr Neill bought his first set of Tru-Test weighbars more than a decade ago. He has since bought a second set, which is used with a separate cattle-handling system on the land he farms next door.
While admitting that the Tru-Test system is not the cheapest option available, Mr Neill says the high quality of the weigher, coupled with the fact that it is accurate to plus or minus 1% - even when the animal is moving - fully justifies his investment. The XR 3000’s ability to show daily liveweight gains helps him to control his costs, and gives valuable feedback on breeding and performance.
All the cattle from Upper Nisbet, in the Scottish borders, are sold live at a local auction. Batches leave the farm 52 weeks of the year. With calving from March until July, Mr Neill relies heavily on fine-tuning finishing dates and cattle weights.
“My target market is high street butchers’ shops, which require a regular supply of beef at a consistent quality. My customers are looking for an animal that weighs less than 600kg. To achieve the maximum return, I have to produce cattle that weigh 590-600kg.”
The reason for the tight specifications required by Mr Neill’s customers is two-fold: Carcases have to be physically carried from the delivery van into the shop, and there is a demand for a thicker type of beef steak.
Achieving a high killing out percentage is also very important, says Mr Neill.
“Butchers need a high yield of meat from each carcase to make a profit. They also want to minimise waste, as they have to pay for its disposal.”
To maximise killing out percentage, cattle destined for a Monday market are put on a limited diet of straw and fresh water the preceding Friday, with concentrate levels drastically reduced. Belly clipping is carried out prior to transport.
“Removing the regular ration goes some way towards preventing the build up of faeces in the wagon, which means the animals are relatively clean on arrival. This kind of attention to detail on presentation helps to make my cattle stand out from the crowd. An animal with a full belly may look large when it gets into the ring at the auction, but buyers will probably be disappointed with the way it kills out.”
Mr Neill weighs his cattle before they are transported to the mart, allowing him to make a check against the reading taken at the auction. This method would also be useful for deadweight sellers, by offering an opportunity to accurately predict the killing out percentages of individual animals, he adds.
Pinpointing cattle weights is also important when it comes to dosing. Making an accurate assessment of the weight of an animal by eye is just not possible, in his opinion.
“Drugs like wormers have become very expensive. I could look at a weaned calf in the autumn and think it weighs 300kg, when its actual weight is 400kg,” he says. ”Inaccurate weighing can lead to wormer resistance. This in turn can cause scouring, and result in a check in growth.”
The farm’s cattle are weighed at birth, and again at weaning, after which steers are weighed every 30 days. Mr Neill refutes the suggestion that regular weighing causes stress. He says that as long as the handling system is well designed, stress is kept to a minimum, and the animals soon become accustomed to the procedure.
The three-way drafting facility on the XR3000 Tru-Test weigher has proved very useful, allowing him to make cost savings through targeted feed programmes, he says.
“For example, this year I brought back 120 cattle that had been wintered away. The 40 heaviest animals were split off for finishing on ad-lib cereals, while a further 40 were housed separately and fed a ‘tick over’ ration. The final batch went out to grass.”
Mr Neill firmly believes that heifers should not be pushed too fast.
“Heifers run to fat at an earlier age than bulls or steers. If they are fed an intensive ration too soon, the result will be a lighter carcase with high levels of fat. I invest a lot of money and time in my herd, so it is vital that I aim for the end result that will bring me the most profit.”
BOX
Mr Neill uses his Tru-test weigher in conjunction with electronic cattle tagging.
“Where I used to input ID numbers manually, I can now download tagging information into the Tru-Test weigh head. Daily liveweight gains for each animal show up at the press of a button.”
FARM FACTS
Upper Nisbet farm, near Jedburgh, Roxburghshire
Two neighbouring holdings, farmed as one.
300 Limousin suckler cows, put to a Limousin bull
All progeny reared to finishing and sold at 13-24 months
The beef cattle diet is made up of home grown cereals
Mr Neill won the ASDA beef farmer of the year award in 2006, and was also runner-up in the Limousin Cattle Society’s commercial suckler herd competition 2005.