cattle

• The UK consumes about 1 million tonnes of beef annually, about 80% of which is domestically produced. Production has reduced in the past few years but is holding relatively stable. Export figures have seen a reduction due to Brexit but still export more than 100k tonnes of beef annually.
• Uk beef production is relatively modest (11kg/person/yr) compared to other countries and has reduced by about 30% over the last 60 years. Poultry is now a much more common choice.

  Meat consumption globally is increasing, particularly in countries undergoing strong economic transitions such as China
• European contribution to global meat production used to be about 42%. Net production has more than doubled however contribution now mostly comes from Asia
• Current strains on global meat production are mostly based around availability of agricultural land. Currently about 80% of agricultural land is selected for meat production so it’s not possible to just plant more crops – especially with increases in demand for land for housing.

  Conversion of amazonian habitat to beef pasture is having negative impacts on biodiversity, removes a crucial carbon sink and releases CO2 so is a huge climate change contributor

  Attempts to increase crop efficiency are unrealistic and animal productivity increases usually sacrifice welfare
• The system of feeding animals to feed us is inherently inefficient as land (and water) use per kcal is high compared to using the same land directly for plant protein. Consumer opinion is one of the largest drivers behind meat production but over time their diets will need to adjust, as will production, as the greater issues presiding over what we eat become more obvious.
• Beef makes up about 24% of global meat consumption, 34% poultry and 40% pork

  The global market is ever-changing (war, cost of living, politics etc) but all producers are playing to the same market so continual challenges are faced as these markets shrink and contract.
• Ultimately the consumer drives market demands; taste, value for money, food safety, animal welfare and environmental issues.

  Consumer preference has driven the want for leaner cuts of meat (health implications of a higher fat diet)
• Liveweight price is approximately half deadweight price as the value is mostly in the carcass - other body components have negligible value (killing out percentage)Killing out % varies between 45-55%
• The carcass is formed after the removal of the head, feet, hide, blood, stomach and intestines, heart, kidneys, lungs and liver. Killing-out percentage is influenced by many factors, such as gut fill, breed, sex, degree of finish, inter-animal variation and stage of maturity can be highly variable
• Beef cattle are considered finished and ready for slaughter when they have just sufficient fat to make their beef tender and flavourful. Young cows initially grow by laying down bone then muscle. Once maturity is reached this tails off and surplus energy is stored as fat.

  Cow meat is mature once the ribs have flattened, bones have ossified and cartilages are fully formed along the vertebral column. Mature meat also has a different colour and texture.
• Large framed breeds end up weighing about 750kg, smaller framed about 550kg.

  Maturity is reached later in life in large frame breeds so there is generally less accumulated fat at slaughter. Small framed breeds will always have proportionally more fat than larger framed breeds at the same age. Hence, it is often valuable to adopt a less intense approach to rearing small frame cattle to prevent fat accumulation before slaughter.
• Early maturing, smaller framed breeds are those of traditional British origin such as the Aberdeen angus, south devon, beef shorthorn, Hereford, welsh black etc)

  Later maturing, larger framed cattle are those of continental origin such as the limousin, Charolais, simmental etc
• Female cattle mature earlier than bulls so are at a higher risk of fat accumulation. Steers (castrated males) are somewhere in the middle
• The key points of beef transfer are

  • the point the live animal is sold to the meat processor (killing out, liveweight/deadweight price)
  • the point the processed carcass is sold to the butcher – wholesale price
  • consumer sale – retail price
• Deadweight sale involves waiting on the farmers part for processing, but suits the processor because they only pay for what they actually get and based on the quality of the carcass.

  Liveweight selling is generally through an auction ring and suits an average carcass quality. Traders can hold and re-sell animals to take advantage of market conditions at a later date
• Carcasses are graded on the EUROP scale (Excellent to poor with better (+) and poorer (-) subdivisions for UOP)

  Fatness (amount of fat visible to the assessor outside the carcass) is scored from 1 to 5 (leanest to fattest) with 4 and 5 subdivided into fatter (H) and leaner (L) classes

  The absolute best carcasses are E2 and are usually sold to specific export markets
• The vast majority of supermarkets and processors, a carcass of 260 to 380kg dw of R or above and fat class 3, 4L or 4H is wanted
• Assessment of weight is bone by bridging or weighbanding but carcass spec can be predicted in the live animal by looking over the pinbones, the round, the transverse processes of the loin, over the ribs, the chine and the shoulder blade ridge
• Historically cows were seen as dual purpose to produce milk and rear calves for beef however modern breeds are so specialised for either beef OR dairy production.

  DEFRA indicates there are about 3.3m breeding cattle in the UK (1.8m dairy, 1.5m beef)
• In the UK, dairy areas are most dense in the southwest of England, SW wales, W midlands, SW Scotland and Ayrshire- these areas are favourable for grassland farming.

  Whilst beef herd are also found in good grass areas, their wider spread indicates their ability to do well off less optimal ground
• Crossbred animals make up 90% of beef calf registrations in 2022. Aberdeen angus crosses and limousin cross breeds made up almost half of these.
• Suckler hards are capable of utilising poorer or marginal land unsuitable for cropping however they are also found as additional enterprise on arable farms or estates, utilising straw by-products or crop ends as part of normal crop rotation.
• Suckler cattle and sheep often graze the same pastures, either sequentially or together. This improves hectare (and animal) performance as sheep graze the lower grass and closer to cow pats (cows won’t graze close to their own shit)

  Parasitic burden is usually reduced as parasitic worms are usually host-specific .’. by alternating you reduce pasture worm challenge. Grazing together tends to be in smaller stocking densities per species, with each species consuming and destroying a proportion of the other’s worms
• The principle outputs from a suckler her are the suckled calves and culled cows. Calves are typically weaned at 6 to 10 months old and then finished to slaughter weight
• Once a calf is 200 days old, 75% of energy input should come from feeds other than milk. Calves are expected to gain about 1kg/d so should be 350kg by 10 months old (assuming 50kg birth w)
• An ideal suckler cow should be able to conceive annually and produce a live calf without issues during calving

  Be a good mother and produce sufficient milk

  Be of good temperament

  Be long lived (ideally 8-10 calvings)

  Produce good quality beef progeny when crossed with terminal beef sire

  Live well under adverse weather conditions and mobilise fat cover where necessary
• Suckler calves are weaned to allow for drying off between calvings. This is essential to allow the udder tissue to replenish and repair before the next lactation cycle and optimises nutrition balance on the runup to calving
• Most beef suckler cows are crossbred cattle to give the benefits of hybrid vigour and allow for different types of cow to be bred to suit different farm types and ENVIRONMENTS
• Hybrid vigour is the tendency of a X breed individual to show qualities superior to both parents. AKA heterosis. Calves displaying heterosis perform at a greater level than their parents. F1 heifers reach puberty earlier, have higher conception rates and easier calvings than their dams. They are longer lived on average and their calves can be worth up to 23% more weight.
• Pedigree suckler herds are easily managed and perform as well as a crossbreed herd when managed properly. Lack of complicated breeding programmes results in a consistent product and bulls can be sold at a premium
• Cattle domestication began from aurochs around 11k years ago. Historically oxen were the beats of burden  with their draught power and milk valued more than their maturing age. THE PAIL AND THE PLOUGH SET THE STANDARD, THE BUTCHER WAS IGNORED
• Robert Bakewell changed the standard of cows as part of the British Agricultural Revolution in the 1800s, founding selective breeding to feed the growing British population. Rapidly expanding demand for butchers meat led to animal and breed improvement for carcass.
• Traditional cattle hill breeds are incredibly hardy and do well off poor hill grazing. These include belted Galloway, highland and welsh black

   

  Purebred hill breed calves raised on pasture tend to be slow growing and slow to fatten but their beef quality is excellent. Their cross breeds produce useful offspring which are more suited to commercial production
• Common beef crossbreeds are with Holsteins. This has resulted in a noticeable decline in beef conformation (due to the dairy genes)- poor longevity, poor long-term fertility.
• In less favourable hill grazing, the breed emphasis is on coping through adversity and good mothering. Crosses with a traditional British breed e.g. angus x beef shorthorn. These breeds will be smaller than the pure breed
• On lowland or good quality grazing, more continental breeds are favoured with an emphasis on calf growth e.g. simmental x limousin. The simmental (or saler) influence helps maintain milk production to meet calf growth potential. These crosses are likely to be larger cows
• The primary marketable output in suckler cow herds is the calf therefore it is essential to minimise losses during pregnancy, parturition and rearing
• Every calf has to be registered with the British Cattle Movement Service.

  -          Birth date

  -          Sex

  -          Dam and sire
• In calves, it is reasonable to expect a daily liveweight gain of 1 to 1.2 kg/day from birth to weaning
• For each litre of milk a calf drinks it will gain 0.1 kg liveweight. Therefore for a minimum 1kg liveweight growth per day a calf must drink at least 10 litres