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For people, who own farm land
but cannot be a farmer full-time, beef farming can be the least
labour-intensive way to utilize farm land.
A
cattle enterprise can use family or surplus labour. Calving, weaning,
vaccinations, castration, and weighing can be planned for times when labour is
available.
Consider
your resources, the land available, and your level of interest and capabilities
before deciding to engage in the cattle business.
Identify
why you want to raise cattle and set goals to achieve the most constant
economic return or personal satisfaction. Your goals must be clearly defined,
firmly fixed, achievable, and have a realistic time frame. Otherwise, your
operation will lack focus.
Production options
There
are few types of small-scale cattle enterprises.
•
Growing and feeding systems--In these operations, calves or wearners are either
raised or purchased and then are fed (fattened for slaughter). Included in this
category are operations specializing in producing cattle for home use.
•
Breeding herds--A breeding herd consists of cows and bulls that are used to
produce calves for sale as breeding or feeder animals.
•
Combinations of growing, feeding, and breeding herds Success of your operation
will entirely depend on adapting a strategy that fits your needs and
capabilities.
Growing and feeding operations
In a
weaners (yearlings) operation, weaner calves are acquires after weaning at 10
to 15 months of age. They can be fed out and marketed in less than a year from
the time of purchase.
Thus, the investment on each calf is returned within a
comparatively short time.
This
type of operation may not require much land, but adequate facilities are
essential so that animals can be kept comfortable and under control. Some good
enterprises are based pasture operations. Weaned calves are purchased in early
spring, go on pasture (when the grass is at its best with regard to
productivity), and are sold when the pasture season is over.
On
the other hand, calves cost less during winter; therefore, depending on the
cost of winter feed, this may be the best time to purchase cattle for the next
pasture season. Purchase price and selling price greatly influence
profitability in this enterprise.
Managing calves
Keep
calves in an area that allows you to observe them quite closely for two weeks.
This enables you to prevent the spread of disease. Calves should have access to
plenty and fresh water and feed.
Working the calves requires a lot of patience,
as they are easily excited and stressed. Consult a veterinarian for a health
program that lowers the risk of disease for newly received calves.
Breeding herds
Establishing
a breeding herd is a long-term objective. It also requires more land than in a
situation where weaner feeding program is implemented. Consider how your
available resources match your long-term objectives.
There
must be adequate feed, water, and fences to accommodate a year-round operation.
Decide whether to have registered pure-bred cattle or commercial cattle. Income
from a commercial beef herd comes mainly from the sale of calves and old or
cull animals.
Sale
of breeding stock is the main source of income from registered cattle. Care and
management of registered cattle is more intensive than for commercial cattle.
Developing a registered herd
If
your objective is to raise registered cattle and supply breeding animals to
other cattle producers, it may be necessary to make large capital investments
in purebred stock.
Development
of a registered herd means that both the sire and dam must be purebred and
registered with the same national breed association on the stud book. You must
keep accurate records and register the desirable purebred calves to be retained
for breeding stock.
If
you raise bulls for the beef industry, you must develop a selection program
based on characteristics of economic importance, such as fertility, mothering
ability, ease of calving, growth rate, and carcass merit.
Also,
use great care in the selection of breeding females, as considerable time and
expense are involved. Competition is keen with already-established herds.
However,
there are successful registered herds with only 20 to 40 cattle.
Developing a commercial herd
The
criteria for selection, or selling points, of good commercial cows depend on
size, quality, age, condition, stage of pregnancy, and market price. You should
select breed and cow size to match your feed resources and topography.
Local
extension officers can give you an idea of what breeds are best suited to your
area. Crossbreeding (mating animals from two or more breeds) can be an
advantage in a commercial cow herd.
Capitalizing
on the merits of several breeds, plus the extra vigor from crossbred calves,
may give you a competitive edge in the market.
Remember
that advances in genetic merit probably will not be realized for several years.
Purchasing cattle There are many sources of good cattle, both registered (stud
breeds) and commercial. Usually it's best to purchase from a successful and
reputable breeder.
They
usually sell only sound cattle as breeding animals and they are helpful in
giving advice to less experienced producers. If you are inexperienced, it might
be best to buy good, young, bred cows that have calved at least once.
This
reduces problems associated with calving heifers. If you purchase open heifers,
you should breed them to a bull that has the traits for easy calving.
Managing a cow-calf herd
The
major concern of cattle producers is profit. For a cow-calf herd, profits are
determined by the percent calf crop (the number of calves weaned per cows
bred), the weaning weight of the calves, the costs of maintaining breeding
animals, and, ultimately, the sale price of the calves.
Because
your entire program depends on the fitness of the breeding animals, it is
essential to maintain good herd health by not allowing the cattle to become too
fat or too thin.
Cows
do not milk as well and may have problems calving or getting bred if they are
overweight or underweight (refer to Body Score Conditioning in beef cattle).
Bulls that are not in good condition may perform poorly during the breeding
season.
Breeding season
It
is ideal to have a controlled breeding season, rather than allowing the bull to
run with the cows continuously.
A
month to one and half or even two months breeding season is recommended. The
resulting shortened calving season increases the possibility of having a
uniform set of calves to sell at market time.
Cattle
of similar breeding and size usually bring more money.
Another
advantage is that you can concentrate your work with cows during calving into a
short span, instead of having it strung out for months.
Cattle
have a 283 days gestation period. Select breeding dates so that cows will calve
at the time of year you desire. Considerations in determining calving season
include weather conditions and the ability to match feed resources with the
cows' requirements.
A
quality sire is essential to maintain a good, healthy herd. The rule of thumb
in terms of bull to cow ratio is 1 bull to 25 cows. The ratio varies depending
on the bull's age and health, and the size of pasture.
Small
herd owners have the following options for obtaining a good-quality bull:
•
You can buy a bull in cooperation with another farmer.
•
You can lease or borrow a sire from a neighbour.
However,
using a bull increases the risk of diseases. Bulls also may pose a safety risk,
so treat them with respect. Another good breeding option is artificial insemination
(AI).
If
you use this method, you should synchronize oestrus in the herd. This process
may require the aid of a veterinarian. The last consideration of the breeding
season is pregnancy testing the cows.
The
test helps determine which cows should be culled from the herd to avoid the
costs of wintering a cow that is not pregnant. Veterinarians offer pregnancy
testing services.
Calving
This
aspect of beef cattle management requires experience and skill.
If
you are inexperienced, it is recommended that you contact your veterinarian
and/or extension officers for advice on calving management (refer to weaning
calves).
One
of the simplest ways to add to the value of your calves is to make sure they
are well fed, properly castrated, dehorned, vaccinated, and clearly identified.
The
most important thing to remember when working calves is to stress them as
little as possible. You can learn how to castrate, dehorn, and give
vaccinations under the supervision of an experienced cattle producer or
veterinarian.
Keeping performance records
Keeping
records enables you to cull poor performers and maintain good overall herd
healthy and vigour.
Examples of helpful calf records include birth weight,
weaning weight, and average daily gain.
Combinations
of breeding, growing, and feeding Most calves produced in small commercial
herds are marketed as weaned calves weighing from 250 to 300 kg.
Other
options include the following:
•
Wean the calves, winter them, and sell them as yearlings.
•
Creep feed calves while the animals are still nursing, put them on full feed
after weaning, and then sell them as slaughter cattle at 12 to 16 months of
age.
•
Wean calves, winter them on a growing ration, then graze them during spring and
early summer and finish them to slaughter weight at 18 to 24 months of age.
Facilities and equipment
Producing
beef cattle on a small farm does not require elaborate or expensive housing or
facilities. Under wide range of weather conditions, cattle do very well
outside.
One
method is to allow animals to have access to an open-air pole shelter. In an
enclosed building, proper ventilation is important to maintain good health.
Design
facilities to make your job easy and safe and to minimize your expenditure of
time and labor. An effective working facility consists of a crush pens, a head
clamp and a squeeze chute. The crush pen is needed for vaccinations, deworming,
etc.
Well-designed
handling facilities help to minimize animal confusion and stress.
Poorly
designed facilities increase stress on the animals and may cause poor
performance, which can affect meat quality.
Use
of electric prods is not recommended because they cause animals unnecessary
pain and stress. It is important to maintain the quality of feed.
Store forages
(including hay, straw, or silage) and grains in a dry building free from
rodents.
Forages
lose nutritional value when exposed to direct sunlight. Wet hay loses feed
value and palatability and presents a safety hazard due to combustion and
development of moulds.
Rodents
can damage feed and spread disease. Feeders reduce waste and prevent the spread
of many internal parasites and other cattle diseases. You can buy many kinds of
manufactured feeders. Or, you can build them out of materials on hand.
An
adequate, year-round supply of clean, fresh water is basic to any successful
cattle farming. Many types of water troughs are available from local feed or
farm supply stores. You can recycle old barrels and bathtubs to make functional
troughs; be sure to clean them thoroughly prior to use.
Pens,
feedlots, and crush pen should be located at a convenient distance from feed
storage facilities. These areas should be well drained, with drainage moving
away from feed storage, working facilities, and roads.
It
is important to make these areas accessible to tractors for easy feeding and
cleaning. Proper transportation is a must for your cattle.
A
1-ton or 3/4-ton truck and trailer are convenient for any beef operation. A
truck also is useful for transporting and dispersing hay.
Feeding beef cattle
Unlike
humans, cattle have a ruminant digestive system. Their stomachs are made up of
four parts. Ruminant microorganisms in the first three parts enable cattle to
digest fibrous feeds that single stomach animals cannot.
This
microbial breakdown produces essential nutrients such as amino acids and B
vitamins. The presence of these nutrients makes beef very useful for human
consumption.
Nutritional
needs Cattle require protein, energy, water, fat, minerals, and vitamins. The
amounts vary according to environment, the cow's age, time of year, and
production goals and stages. Availability of feedstuffs also varies by location
and season.
Up
to 75% of the cost of raising an animal goes to feed under intensive feeding
system. Protein and carbohydrate levels adequate for growth and maintenance
normally are found in high-quality legume hay, such as Lucerne and clover.
Poor-quality
feeds, such as cereal straw, grass straws, or rain-damaged hay, require protein
or energy supplements. You can purchase supplements from your feed supplier.
Beef cattle normally do not need vitamin A, B, or E supplementation.
They
can get these vitamins from normal-quality feedstuffs. However, a vitamin A
deficiency can result from feeding dry, bleached-out hay. Symptoms of vitamin A
deficiency include watery eyes, rough hair coat, night blindness, and poor
gains.
Vitamin
D is formed by the action of sunlight on animal tissues. If you confine your
cattle to a barn or stall for extended periods of time, vitamin D deficiency
may become a problem. Minerals are inorganic compounds that contribute to
bones, teeth, protein, and lipid functions of the body.
Minerals
are provided through natural feeds and supplementation.
There
are three main categories of mineral supplements:
•
Salt, which usually is sold as iodized salt and does not contain other minerals
•
Trace mineralized salt, which consists of a large percentage of salt and traces
of some or all of the following: copper, iron, iodine, cobalt, manganese,
selenium, and zinc
•
Mineral mixes, which usually contain major minerals such as calcium and
phosphorus as well as trace minerals and some salt You can provide supplements
as licks or mix them into feed.
The
composition of needed salt or mineral supplements varies depending on your
locale and feedstuffs. Clean water is essential and must be provided at all
times.
Under
normal conditions, cattle consume 20 to 70 litters of water per day depending
on size, age, and weather. Heat dramatically increases water consumption.
Types
of feed
Feedstuffs are categorized as concentrates or roughages. Concentrates
are high in digestible nutrients.
Grains
and protein supplements are examples of concentrates. Roughages are feedstuffs
that are low in digestible nutrients.
Examples of roughages include hay,
pasture, and silage.
Caution:
High-quality legume hay such as Lucerne may cause bloat (most probably if
grazed by hungry animals). As a general rule, beef cattle consume up to 3 kg of
feed per day for each 100 kg of body weight.
A
300 kg weaned calf, for example, will eat 9 kg of high-quality Lucerne hay per
day. Cattle usually weigh 250 to 300 kg before they are placed on a high-grain
(highenergy) ration.
This
diet is fed until slaughter weight is achieved. If you feed out cattle for
slaughter, you can purchase feed or grow and mix it at home.
If
only a few animals are being finished, it may be more economical to purchase
the mixed ration from a feed dealer. Growth promotants, including implants, may
have a place in your operation. They are used widely in the industry and have
been proven safe.
Ionophores
are feed additives that decrease rumen upset, increase feed efficiency, and
increase daily gains. These chemicals can improve gain significantly; however,
they do not compensate for poor management.
Health
problems
Cattle of all ages, particularly young, growing cattle, are subject to
a variety of ailments. They range from mild conditions to severe infectious
diseases that may cause death within 24 hours.
The
cost of caring for sick cattle can seriously reduce your profit margin. With
the increasing need to cut production costs, good herd health care is very
important for any beef operation. Prevention is the easiest and cheapest method
of disease control.
Clean
sheds, lots, and feed and water troughs give disease less chance to get
started. A sound vaccination program, parasite control, and frequent
observation of the herd also help to reduce the occurrence of illness.
You
can recognize a sick animal first by its abnormal behavior or physical
appearance. Droopy ears, loss of appetite, head down, scouring (diarrhea), or
inactivity may indicate illness.
The best course of action is to
find a sick animal quickly, treat it, and then work to eliminate the cause of
the sickness. If one or two animals come down with a disease, the rest of the
herd has been or will be exposed to it.
Health problems are more common during and
after periods of stress, including calving, weaning, shipping, working or
moving the cattle, and extreme weather conditions. Stress can reduce an
animal's ability to resist infectious agents.
After
a period of stress, give extra attention to your animals' health.
Common cattle diseases
The
following are five of the more common health problems that beef producers
encounter. You also need to be aware of other diseases that affect the health
of livestock in your region.
Respiratory
diseases Respiratory diseases are common in cattle. A number of factors
contribute to an outbreak: inadequate nutrition, stress, and viral or bacterial
infection.
Good
management and vaccination of cows and calves is the best way to prevent
outbreaks of respiratory disease. Your veterinarian can help you develop a
program to reduce losses on your ranch and in the feedlot.
Brucellosis
Brucellosis is a serious disease. It causes abortion and sterility in cattle.
Under South African Animals Health Acts, they effectively outline brucellosis
as notifiable disease.
Vaccination
is required for all heifers. Brucellosis most commonly enters a herd through
the purchase of infected cattle. To help prevent brucellosis from entering your
herd, vaccinate all heifers between ages 4 to 10 months, and purchase only
brucellosis-vaccinated cattle.
External
parasites
External parasites include horn flies, face flies, stable flies,
ticks and lice. The largest health problem comes from the additional stress
these insects cause to animals.
When
infested, cattle spend more time in the shade and don't graze, which causes
poor performance. You can reduce these problems by using flyrepellent ear tags
or another parasite control treatment.
Eliminating
the areas where pests reproduce also helps to reduce the severity of external
parasites. Pour-on and dips are effecting in treating animals infested by tick.
Internal
parasites Internal parasites such as roundworms, lungworms, and liver flukes
commonly occur in cattle. These hidden parasites cause poor performance and
occasionally kill young animals. Cattle are likely to pick up internal
parasites when they graze established pastures.
Internal
parasites also can be a big problem in confined areas. Invasion of the stomach
or intestinal wall by a parasite leads to poor digestion of nutrients and
damage to organs.
Signs
of parasite infestation include scouring, rough hair coat, poor gains, and
potbelly appearance. Use dewormers at strategic times during the year to reduce
the numbers of internal parasites. Use fecal sampling to determine the severity
of the infestation and the type of dewormer that will be effective.
Disease
control Vaccinations and parasite controls are available for many of the
diseases affecting cattle.
The choice of remedy and time of application depend
on a variety of things, including the animal's nutritional level, disease
prevalence in the herd, and the region in which the cattle are located.
Local
veterinarian should be consulted for a vaccination program according to the
conditions existing at that area.
Marketing
It
may not be easy to determine how and where to market your animals. The choice
of market outlet depends on the class and grade of the cattle.
Thus,
the method of marketing usually is different for fed cattle, feeder, or
purebred cattle. There are many different methods of marketing cattle, but most
livestock are marketed through one of three channels: auction, carcass grade
and informal market (ceremonies, funerals and rituals) basis.
The
informal and auction markets are for both fed (feedlots) and feeder (farmers)
cattle, while the carcass grade and weight basis is primarily for fed cattle.
Informal marketing
Direct
selling, or farm selling, refers to sales of livestock directly to packers,
local dealers, or farmers without the use of agents or brokers. The sale
usually takes place on the farm, or some other non-market buying station or
collection yard.
This
method does not involve a recognized market. Sellers who participate in
direct-market should be aware of possible regulations regarding Animal Welfare.
Niche marketing
A
producer often can develop a local or regional market for certain cuts of beef
or specialty beef products.
If
this interests you, check into meat handling requirements, inspections, and
permits that may be necessary. This type of marketing usually takes time to
develop and also may require a consistent seasonal or yearly supply.
Auction
marketing Livestock auctions or sales barns are trading centers where animals
are sold by public bidding to the buyer who offers the highest price per
hundredweight or per head. Auctions may be owned by individuals, partnerships,
corporations, or cooperative associations.
Grades
of carcass beef Carcass beef sold to wholesale and retail outlets usually is
graded to determine the quality and price. There are two categories of grades
for beef: yield grade and quality grade.
The
system is especially designed to make the purchase of red meat simple for
customers. The main characteristics used to classify beef carcass are the age
of the animal and the fatness of the carcass.
The
age of an animal is determined by the number of permanent incisor teeth; the
more permanent incisors, the older the animal. The age of an animal is an
indication of the tenderness of the meat - the meat of younger animal is more
tender than that of older animal.
The
age classes are known as
A = meaning the youngest animals;
AB = meaning older
animals
B = meaning even older animals; and
C = meaning the oldest animals.
The
fatness classes are known as class zero (no fat) to class 6 (excessively over
fat). The roller mark on a carcass includes the age class (AAA, ABAB, BBB or
CCC) and the fatness class (000, 111, 222, 333, 444, 555 or 666).
When
referring to a class of carcass, both the age class and fatness class are said,
written, read or supposed to be listened to e.g. A1, AB2, C3 etc.
Each
abattoir has a specific identity code which also appears in the roller mark.
Consumers can therefore read in a roller mark on a carcass its class as related
to carcass and eating quality characteristics and also be assured that the
carcass originated from an approved abattoir and has passed a health
inspection.
Budgets
and financial records Standard ranch records cover all production and financial
management aspects of a beef operation.
Use
records to evaluate your business in terms of efficient use of resources and
productivity. Records are important for ranch planning, tax reporting, and
applying for credit.
Budgets
Decisions
are only as good as the information on which they are based. Budgets provide
the information for making ranch management decisions and are constructed to
estimate the outcomes of future activities.
Budgeting
allows you to anticipate problems that you may encounter, and to alleviate or
avoid them.
Financial records
The
way ranchers keep financial records varies, but the key is to use a system that
provides the information you need to meet your responsibilities.
The
minimum set of financial records should include a balance sheet, a statement of
cash flow, and an income statement. There are several ways to keep accurate
records.
Hand-kept
records are inexpensive and easy to store. On the other hand, this method may
be slow and subject to errors.
Retrieving
information may be time consuming if extensive records are kept. Computerized
record systems are available, from simple checkbook balancing systems to
sophisticated, double-entry accrual programs.
Computerized
systems for production records also are available in a range of features and
reporting capabilities.
Advantages
include easy retrieval of information and reduced chance of mathematical
errors.
However,
entering information takes time, and entries must be posted properly. If you
choose a computer system, it should meet the requirements and objectives of
your individual operation.
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| For people, who own farm land but cannot be a farmer full-time, beef farming can be the least labour-intensive way to utilize farm land. |
Source: www.nda.agric.za
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