20 January 2025
Dairy-beef finishing – the key elements to get right
Aisling Claffey, Ruminant Nutrition Specialist at Teagasc, recently explored the key variables dairy-beef producers have to consider when maximising the efficiency of their finishing system.
Such factors, she told the ‘Sourcing and Finishing High Quality Dairy Beef Animals’ webinar organised by the Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Programme, include providing the optimal environment, ensuring good animal health and managing nutrition effectively.
“Environment and health are key and can’t be overlooked when it comes to getting the most value out of our nutrition and really expressing the genetic potential of our livestock,” she explained, before highlighting some key non-nutritional factors to get right:
- Have a herd health plan in place;
- Ensure animals have free access to clean water;
- Finishing animals require a space allowance of 2-3m2 per head, with a feed space of 0.6m/head;
- Appropriate ventilation must be provided.
Silage quality and concentrates
To maximise performance during the finishing period, Aisling Claffey highlighted the importance of having excellent quality silage of 74-75 DMD. Where silage quality drops below this, additional concentrate supplementation will be required, adding cost to the system.
Key tip: For every one unit decline in silage quality below 75 DMD, concentrate feed allowance will have to increase by 0.3-0.4kg to achieve the same level of animal performance.
Where excellent quality silage (74-75 DMD) is available, dairy-beef steers and heifers can be finished on a concentrate allocation of 5kg/head/day and 3.5kg/head/day, respectively. Such levels of concentrate input, provided the environment and health are adequate, will deliver a daily liveweight gain of 0.9kg/head for heifers and 1kg/head for steers.
As part of the webinar, the Teagasc Nutritionist also discussed how to maximise dry matter intake, noting that high-quality silage encourages greater intake, while poor-quality silage can slow down the passage rate through the rumen, and thus reducing feed intake.
The importance of regularly drafting animals was also discussed, with Aisling Claffey highlighting its role in managing feed costs. The duration of the finishing period, she explained, is crucial and optimal finishing periods are typically 70-90 days for heifers and 80-100 days for steers.
For more information, a recording of Aisling Claffey’s presentation is available to view below:
Find out more about the Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Programme here.