Building a profitable suckler herd with environmental credentials – combining technology and simplicity in equal measure
In Aberdeenshire, Duncan Morrison, a forward thinking 33-year-old beef farmer, is redefining the traditional concepts of cattle farming. Duncan's journey has evolved from being a fourth-generation farmer to an innovator in the industry and is stamped with a passion for agriculture, modernisation, and a pragmatic approach to his farming business.
Duncan's upbringing on the family farm developed in him a deep-rooted understanding for the land and a strong work ethic. In 2016 Duncan was made redundant from his farm management job and started his own farming business. Duncan started with a tenancy on 108ha at Meikle Maldron and now owns 200 cows and leaves 50 cows. He rents another 50ha and also uses his family's 45ha farm for grazing. In total Duncan farms 263ha split between owned ground, tenanted and contract farmed. He runs an Aberdeen-Angus pedigree herd alongside the commercial herd.
Navigating challenges and seizing opportunities in the beef farming industry
Duncan's entry into beef farming coincided with a period of industry uncertainty, particularly with Brexit looming and market volatility a constant threat. Despite these challenges, Duncan viewed them as catalysts for innovation and growth.
Designing the perfect system and cow herd
Inspired by his experiences in New Zealand, where he encountered low-input Aberdeen-Angus cows, Duncan sought to develop a farming system prioritising profitability, environmental sustainability, and simplicity. His vision involved minimising capital requirements, maximising scalability, and improving soil health and biodiversity.
Similarly, Duncan meticulously selects traits for his cow herd to thrive in his low-input, forage-based system, considering factors such as calving ease and adaptability to pasture.
Building a profitable suckler herd
Key to Duncan's strategy is minimising fixed costs and enhancing operational efficiency. Through meticulous management of calving seasons and winter grazing practices, Duncan aims to increase profitability. Employing data-driven decision-making and a never-ending quest for improvement, in Duncans words “Keep it lean and mean, the business not the cow”.
Breeding the right animal for the system
Duncan's breeding program prioritises performance recording and selective pressure to tailor the herd for his specific requirements. By emphasising traits linked to profitability, Duncan allows the system to dictate which animals thrived, thereby enhancing efficiency, and reducing costs.
• The herd is performance recorded under selective pressure, emphasising profitability over high input situations.
• Selective pressure is applied to areas most linked to profit, allowing the system to determine which animals thrive rather than retaining every animal.
• Instead of pulling lower Body Condition Score (BCS) cows out of the group in winter, the focus is on breeding those genetics out of the system to minimise added costs.
• A two-cycle bulling system is employed to weed out subfertile animals, with a high percentage of calves born in the first cycle.
• Breeding stock are not fed concentrates; they must thrive on grass, the cheapest feed available.
• Sensible use of Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) is emphasised, understanding their implementation and trade-offs.
• Finishing data is utilised to optimise selection.
• Mature weights, BCS at weaning, and frame score are recorded, with a focus on understanding Bonsma theories on bovine selection.
• The average herd characteristics include 649kg weight, 3.4 condition score, and 7.04 frame score.
• In the forage-based system, moderately framed, maternal cows capable of feeding a calf well while retaining enough condition to winter cheaply are preferred.
• Animals born from this system tend to be good forage converters and inexpensive to finish.
Finishing
• The aim is to achieve most of the growth during the summer months, leveraging compensatory growth.
• Compensatory growth is a natural process that questions the wisdom of pushing cattle hard through the winter when costs are higher.
• The strategy involves finishing steers and heifers within 18-20 months by utilising intensive rotational grazing on high-quality legume pastures.
• A brief housing period in autumn may be necessary, during which concentrates are used to add finishing touches.
• The target is to achieve a carcase weight of 280-330 kg R4L.
Bull beef
The plan for the bull beef enterprise involves transitioning to forage finishing using a techno-grazing system with more intense grazing and daily moves. Inspired by the success of forage-reared pedigree breeding bulls, the goal is to apply
similar principles to finishing bulls, relying on compensatory growth and high-quality pasture. The strategy aims to reduce concentrate use, maintain short days to slaughter, and align with grass growth spikes, albeit with such risks as associated with poor weather and more variable factors than compared to indoor systems.
Harnessing technology with FARMAX
Utilising the FARMAX modelling and decision support tool, Duncan is able to analyse his farm's performance and forecast future expectations and test various scenarios to optimise and work out which is most financially viable.
Key insights
Duncan Morrison's journey epitomises the potential for innovation and success within the beef farming industry. His emphasis on simplicity, efficiency, and environmental sustainability serves as a guide for farmers navigating an evolving agricultural landscape. Duncan is pushing boundaries and setting innovative standards in the beef farming industry that are environmentally sustainable and profitable.
Duncan Morrisons final take home messages in his words are:-
1. Invest time understanding your business instead of spending time firefighting.
2. Investing in tech doesn't need to cost 6 figures!
3. Invest in flesh, not metal. Lean & mean!
4. System first, cows second
5. Apply selection pressure where it matters most
6. Strong correlation between productivity, efficiency, emissions & profit. Well managed pasture-based systems can also improve soil health and biodiversity.
You are in charge of your own destiny
Introduction of Aberdeen-Angus genetics drives expansion of Shropshire beef farm
Since joining his family's farming partnership, thirdgeneration farmer Chris Davies has significantly expanded the beef operation, with cattle numbers tripling in the past eight years.
Chris, alongside his parents Edward and Carole, manages Manor Farm in Shropshire, which now supports a herd of 120 dairy-bred suckler cows and 400 Aberdeen-Angus crossed dairy cattle finished on contract.
The farm has seen substantial changes over the past 10 to 15 years, largely driven by Chris's involvement and his commitment to developing the cattle enterprise.
Fifteen years ago, there were no suckler cows on the farm. The system at the time was to bucket rear and finish dairy-cross beef calves, with the farm carrying around 200 cattle plus a flock of 300 Suffolk pedigree and commercial ewes.
Suckler cows were first introduced in 2010 and by 2016 they were up to around 90-head. Some of the bucket reared calves were retained for breeding, many of which were British Blue cross – a legacy which remains within the herd today.
When they first started with the suckler cow enterprise, all cows were put to Limousin bulls, but a particularly challenging night calving in 2016 prompted a change of tack.
Introduction of Aberdeen-Angus
Chris says: “We had a really difficult time calving a heifer at night and we knew we needed to do something different.
“After finishing Walford College, I spent time working in Australia and saw some huge Aberdeen-Angus herds; they operated
forage based, easy management systems, and I liked the style of cattle.”
With their cattle buyer, ABP, also offering a good premium for Aberdeen-Angus sired cattle, the decision was taken to source an Aberdeen-Angus bull.
The Davies family purchased their first bull – Seafield Eric – in 2016, initially for use on heifers, and after the first crop of calves Chris and Edward immediately noticed the Aberdeen-Angus effect.
We saw a significant improvement in calving ease
says Edward
“This meant we had more live calves on the ground, but also because most calved unassisted, the heifers went back to the bull quickly, so we weren't losing cows from the herd because of poor fertility.”
The impact of less calving interventions and better fertility as a result was considerable, with Edward estimating a 20% improvement in the number of live calves born and reared.
Calving ease was not the only advantage they gained, with Chris noting improved calf vigour and easier management.
“The Aberdeen-Angus calves have a lot more get up and go and compared to the Limousin sired calves, the difference in temperament is huge,” says Chris.
“The calves are also much quieter to handle, in fact they calm the Limousin calves down and it's a bonus that you don't need to worry about de-horning.”
Pleased with the impact of native genetics, particularly in terms of their labour-saving attributes and their ability to efficiently convert forage, the Davies family has since introduced further Aberdeen-Angus bulls into the herd, to serve both heifers and cows.
Chris explains: “Since introducing our first Aberdeen-Angus sire, we've purchased three more Aberdeen-Angus bulls both from Stirling and privately from the Duncanziemere herd.”
With suckler cow production margins tight, Chris says: “Our priority is a simple, efficient system that is easy to manage; Aberdeen-Angus genetics align with this and have given us the confidence to expand cow numbers.”
He adds: “The importance of calving ease can't be underestimated, the priority has to be getting a live calf on the ground that will get up, suck and then grow well, and then the cow must get back in calf within the three-month window.”
A close eye on ration costs
Chris explains: “Generally speaking, we have a one ration for all policy to keep things simple and have been working with an independent nutritionist to keep costs low.”
When housed, all finishing cattle receive a grass based TMR comprising 50% good quality silage, alongside, fodder beet, potatoes, straw, wheat, rapemeal and urea plus bicarb and minerals, targeting growth rates of 1.4 to 1.6kg per day for steers and heifers and 2kg per day for homebred bulls.
During the winter, the cows are fed hay and supplemented with minerals.
“The TMR is currently costing £1.58 per head per day, we try and source alternative ingredients to keep costs as low as possible,” says Chris.
“Since working with our nutritionist, we've seen feed cost savings of around £2,500 to £3,000 per month,” adds Edward. In late April or early May depending on the weather, all cattle will be turned out to grass. To maintain growth rates, the younger cattle will receive a small amount of cake – 1.5kg per head per day – via a snacker.
The suckler cows are paddock grazed to make optimum use of pasture with cows being moved every five days.
Chris explains: “Fields are naturally quite small and even sized, each paddock is around five to six acres, and we have five paddocks in total.”
Going forward, they plan to reseed more of the farm with herbal leys under the GS4 countryside stewardship option to produce higher volumes of good quality forage.
Ambitions for the future
Confident they have a sustainable system in place that is manageable with existing labour and leaving a decent margin, Chris has ambitions to push cattle numbers higher.
“The ambition is to increase cattle numbers to around 900,” he says.
When it comes to the suckler cows, Chris says they are looking to introduce more native genetics into the herd.
“We want slightly smaller framed cows within the herd, certainly no bigger than 650-700kg, that will milk and hold condition well from forage; native genetics fit the bill for this.”
Farm facts:
• 161ha (400 acres) of grassland, 105ha (260 acres) are owned and a further 57ha (140 acres) tenanted
• Herd of 120 commercial suckler cows, all suckler bred calves are taken through to finishing and sold deadweight
• Aberdeen-Angus bulls were introduced to the suckler herd to improve calving ease, calf management and fleshing ability of suckler-bred calves
• Suckler bred bulls are kept entire and finished at 14-15 months old and heifers at 16-18 months old targeting carcass weights of 400kg and 330-350kg respectively
• Recently started contract finishing for Blade with a current annual throughput of 400 cattle per year
• The priority is to produce high quality forage to keep ration costs to a minimum, with the farm undergoing an extensive reseeding programme with herbal leys
