Achieving liveweight gain at grass is one of the best ways to boost profit from finished cattle, writes Teagasc Beef Specialist, Niall Kerins, as the heavier your animals are at housing, the shorter the finishing period, which saves you time and money.
Grass is the cheapest feed you have, so getting weight on cattle while they are grazing makes economic sense. Every kilogramme gained at grass is a kilogramme less that needs to be gained while feeding cattle indoors, where it usually costs more.
Mid-season weighing is a simple job that helps you to check how stock are doing. Are they hitting their daily weight targets? If not, it gives you a chance to act early – whether that is improving grass quality, checking for parasites, or looking at general health.
Waiting until housing to find out they are behind is too late. Weighing also lets you split cattle into groups based on weight. Lighter cattle can be grazed separately to avoid competition from heavier cattle. That way, each group gets what it needs, and you end up with a more even bunch of cattle come housing time.
Heifer systems
Farmers who operate a heifer-beef system with the aim to finish heifers off grass can soon start to group forward heifers for finishing. Herein lies another benefit of weighing all stock at this time of year. In a year where every Euro counts, weighing cattle mid-season is a low-cost job that can pay off very well in terms of assessing overall animal performance and decision-making.
Weighing scales and electronic identification (EID) tag readers are Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) grant aided. Contact your advisor to inquire about these technologies, which could be beneficial to your farm for live weighing. Prior to using a weighing scales, make sure that it is calibrated correctly and weighing accurately.
Weighing for schemes
Dairy-Beef Weighing Scheme
Weight recordings for dairy-beef calves can be submitted now to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) under the ‘Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme’ tab as part of the 2025 Scheme – deadline November 1. Contact the ICBF or your local advisor for additional advice on this scheme.
SCEP – weighing action
Liveweights of cow and calf pairs can be submitted to the ICBF as part of the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) – on the tab ‘Record Calf and Dam Weights (Yr3)’. The calf must be over 50 days of age and not yet weaned. The ideal time to weigh is when the majority of calves are five to eight months old. Weights need to be submitted to the ICBF by November 1. Contact the ICBF or your local advisor for additional advice on this Scheme.