SRUC: Bull of the future, breeding the cow we need

Bulls of the future and breeding the cow we need

SRUC Consulting beef specialists, Robert Ramsay and Lesley Wylie

Fertility is key to profitability in suckler enterprises. Focussing our efforts on breeding efficient cows which require less maintenance whilst providing us a with a live calf each year is major step towards developing a resilient beef herd that can withstand high input price pressures and crucially have a positive impact on the environment.

The UK government has set out a net zero target by 2050 with considerable reductions in emissions required to be achieved by 2030. Agriculture has an important role to play in meeting these targets and while 2030 still seems some way off, the bulls we’ve already purchased this autumn and those next spring will have a huge impact on our breeding herd and its efficiency over the next 10 years. The bull you’ve bought this autumn will not have calves on the ground until 2022, at the earliest, and those calves won’t be slaughtered until 2023/24, heifers retained for breeding won’t calve down until 2024 at the earliest and the calves from those heifers won’t be slaughtered until 2025/26. 2030 doesn’t seem so far away when we look at it like that.

In beef systems, the main contributor to carbon emissions is the cow herself - 47%, with empty, non-productive cows being the main offenders as they continue to emit methane without contributing to beef production. However, there are many changes that can be implemented into our breeding decisions and management strategies that can reduce the carbon footprint of the beef herd, whilst also improving the profitability of the business.

Fertility

By focusing on maternal traits when looking at a bull we can move to counteract some of these fertility problems. What we need to do is to make the existing cows / numbers more productive. The more live calves we can have on the ground the lower the emissions per kg of beef produced and the better the overall profitability of the beef enterprise.

EBVs worth considering when looking to improve fertility:

• Calving Ease EBV - less assistance required therefore less chance of calf loss at calving and associated problems with getting cows that have had bad calvings back in calf • Gestation length EBV – shorter gestation length usually results in a smaller calf and fewer calving difficulties • Age at first calving EBV – Calving heifers younger, two years instead of three years – if applicable to the breeds and system) will reduce the number of non-productive cattle held while also reducing feed and fertiliser requirements • Calving interval • Scrotal circumference – a larger size is linked to earlier puberty in heifers, allowing the potential for these heifers to calve down at two years of age, which can lead to a 4% potential reduction in emissions Out with emissions and profitability, breeding for an easier calving cow will reduce stress at calving time and also help to deal with the ongoing challenge many farms have of finding good staff willing work with cattle who don’t want to have to sleep with the cows at calving time.

Temperament

Temperament is another important trait to work on for cows of the future, again with many farmers working alone with cattle it is vital that they are docile. Research also shows that flighty cattle are often harder to finish and may often result in dark cutting meat once slaughtered due to high levels of stress hormones in their bodies, which reduces the value of the end product. Temperament is also a heritable trait, culling flighty cows out will have a positive and lasting impact.

Feed efficiency

While there are a few breeds out there working on providing net feed efficiency figures that allow you to select animals that require less feed to achieve similar growth, it is an area that all breeds should be looking at. With feed costs being around 70% of variable costs of a livestock enterprise, being able to select animals that can be more efficient at converting feed into liveweight will help to reduce feed costs as well as reducing emissions. With higher feed costs impacting farms this year and continued pressure on finding sustainable protein sources for cattle feed it is key that as an industry we make progress in selecting cattle that utilise feed best.

Cow size

Mature cow size will also become more important as we move forward, small to medium sized cows are more than able to wean calves of 40% to 50% of bodyweight, and more whilst having a lower maintenance cost than larger cows. See p50, 51 for more information on optimising mature cow weight.

Bull selection and breeding decisions that have been made in 2021 will not only have a large impact on where your herd is in terms of its carbon footprint come 2030 but on how resilient your herd will be to the challenging sector that beef continues to be.

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