The Suckler Cow Efficiency Project
Measuring the impact of Beef Shorthorn in commercial herds
An increasing number of suckler producers farming Continental cross cows are introducing Beef Shorthorn to their herds. They share the same common goals - to reduce cow size and improve maternal traits together with temperament. To sum up, they are attempting to improve their herd’s efficiency and subsequently make more money.
Whilst suckler cow size has steadily increased in recent years, we have become aware that the biggest sucklers are not always the best. Smaller suckler cows are in general more efficient at producing calf weight per unit of cow weight, consequently they don’t cost as much to keep compared with the higher cost of maintaining bigger cows.
As a rule of thumb, a suckler cow should be weaning a calf 50% of her body weight at 200 days. The bigger a cow, the more unlikely it is for the calf to hit the 50% dam weight target. A small cow is just as likely to produce a big calf at weaning. There is no evidence that cow size influences calf growth rates. Growth rate is driven by milk, not cow size. See table 1.
Farming smaller cows also enables higher stocking rates, which means the opportunity to wean more calves. Introduce Beef Shorthorn noted for its longevity and the chances these producers will increase the number of calf crops per cow. Consequently, stocking larger cows for their cull value is unlikely to stack up.
In 2019, the Beef Shorthorn Cattle Society officially launched its own Suckler Cow Efficiency Project designed to identify the breed’s impact amongst commercial herds. The results are just starting to come in.
“Continental cross Beef Shorthorn cows are slightly smaller, and they’ve proved they are efficient in terms of rearing a calf with a higher daily liveweight gain.”
David Monkhouse, Tow Law, County Durham - 70 cow suckler herd
“Our Continental cross suckler cows were averaging 800kg mature body weight. The issue wasn’t just size; we found these cows were losing their maternal traits including milk and calving ease.
“We’ve now had five crops of Beef Shorthorn cross heifers coming in to the herd; they are going on to mature at 650kg to 700kg which is enabling us to keep 10% more cows on the same area farmed.”
Mark Webb, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire - 190 suckler cows plus followers
Recent SRUC studies involving three Farming Connect demonstration farms in Wales have also shown that suckler cows of a lower weight are, in general, more efficient at producing calf weight per unit of cow weight. This was achieved at lower cost due to the high cost of maintaining bigger cows. In a 12-month period, 75% of feed consumed is used for maintenance by the animal and this is directly related to cow size.
At one of the trial farms, the 12 heaviest cows with an average weight of 678kg had an efficiency factor of 44.5% compared with 60.5% in the 12 lightest cows averaging 521kg. By replacing the larger cows with smaller ones it would be possible to carry 15% more. Why keep big cows unless it is proven that they are more efficient on your farm? The size of the cow needs to match environmental resources, otherwise fertility and calf performance will be compromised, SRUC concludes.
We are welcoming more commercial herds to join the Society’s Suckler Cow Efficiency Project. For further details please contact the Society on +44 (0) 1604 698060.