FARMERS INFORMATION SERIES DAIRY BEEF Scheme blade-farming.com
INTRODUCTION to Blade Farming The Blade Farming business was established in 2001 as an integrated supply chain which is dedicated to supplying consistently high quality British Beef to retailers and their customer, the consumer. The business is expanding rapidly throughout the UK and Ireland, as links are developed with new and existing customers. The Blade business is unique in the UK, and we now have in excess of 20,000 cattle in our operation, and the demand for beef produced through the Blade system is increasing as producers and customers realise the benefit of beef that is produced to a defined specification. All the schemes that are run by Blade Farming are designed to produce meat to the customers requirements and premiums are paid for cattle that hit target specifications. Full management, technical and nutritional support is available as part of the Blade system and Blade producers now recognise the value of this support which is keeping them at the forefront of the industry. KEY POINTS The Holstein Friesian Dairy Development Scheme A carefully planned approach to efficient beef production An attractive pricing contract for the finished cattle, which pays +20p/Kg dwt over the ABP weekly base price Minimum required carcase weight of 255 Kgs dwt Unique classification grid Steers or bulls First class, high health status weaned calves supplied to order Full support package, including independent nutritional advice Management feedback on carcase weights and grades Prompt payment for cattle
BENEFITS OF BUYING Weaned Cal ves BULL PRODUCTION System requirements: All Blade calves are reared by professional calf rearers in specialist calf rearing units Fully transparent ordering system, pricing and payment terms, to ease enterprise budgeting All calves are reared to a clearly defined health protocol, to ensure they are able to grow to their potential. Group health certificate supplied, detailing vaccinations and treatments Calves are fully vaccinated during the rearing period, and extra treatments maybe given at the buyers request Calves are reared to order to meet your delivery requirements, and delivered by ABM approved hauliers Full nutritional support given to minimise the effects of the change of environment and diet at the time of transportation Calves are ear tagged to enable BVD screening Simple feeding system for ad-lib concentrates Unlimited access to fresh straw Consistent diet Sturdy shed and handling facilities, including weigh crush and loading bay SPACE ALLOWANCES FOR FINISHING CATTLE: SPACE REQUIREMENT Live-weight (Kgs) m2/hd ft2/hd 120 Kgs 2.0 21.0 200 Kgs 3.0 32.0 500 Kgs 4.6 50.0 600 Kgs 5.5 60.0 CALF ORDERING Procedure Discuss your requirements with a member of the Blade team Complete a Calf order confirmation form, detailing: Name, address & holding details Calf details; breed, sex, number and any specific requirements Delivery month required Set price for calves Two weeks before delivery, contact from Blade to discuss the Transition diet and the likely delivery date Calves bulk weighed, delivered and all details checked on the finishing farm Visit from Blade Farming to finalise contracts Payment due 14 days after delivery and acceptance TB APPROVED FINISHING UNITS There is a need for Approved Finishing units (AFU s) for Tb restricted H/Friesian bull calves coming through the Blade schemes. Such units would need to be approved and licensed by the APHA before they could be stocked, and cattle in the units would not be subject to the usual testing regimes. The cattle would still eligible for the bonus at slaughter.
DAILY LIVEWEIGHT GAIN CHART Holstein Friesian bulls 700 525 Liveweight (Kgs) 350 175 0 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1.4 Kg/d Age (m) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Date Average Weight (Kgs) 1.4 Kg/d 110 152 194 236 278 320 362 404 446 488 530 572 614 If cattle are not achieving the required liveweight gain, please contact your Feed supplier or Blade Farming.
TRANSITION Feeding FEEDING STRATEGY for male dairy calves Transition feeding is key in getting the calves moved over smoothly from the rearing unit and onto the feed on the finishing unit. All the calves that leave our rearing unit will have had access to ad-lib straw and ad-lib 16% protein calf pellets. When they leave the unit the calves will be eating 4.5 Kgs pellets per animal per day. FINISHER CONCENTRATE REARER PELLET STRAW Fresh feeding straw is required ad-lib Clean, fresh water is essential to maximise performance All animals will need a high level of concentrate The concentrate needs to be high starch Each animal will eat around 2.25 tonnes of concentrate The concentrate can be a cake, blend or home-mix and can utilise a lot of home grown feeds Steers can be fed on quality grass silage Maize or whole-crop silage can be used for bulls and steers Make any dietary changes gradually Bulls Steers TARGET WEIGHT 540 Kgs 650 Kgs Kgs TARGET AGE AT SLAUGHTER 13 months 24 months TARGET TIME ON FARM 10 months 21 months TARGET DLWG 1.4 Kgs/day 1.1 Kgs/day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Days on farm DAY 1 Feed the calf exactly as it has been fed on the rearing unit. Ad-lib straw and ad-lib pellets. DAY 3 Continue with the straw and pellets; slowly mix some of your own finisher concentrate into the calf pellets. Over the period of the next two weeks, increase the quantity of your finisher concentrate while reducing the quantity of calf pellets. DAY 14 Transition should be complete and the calves will be on the finisher concentrate with no calf pellets. Each calf will need around 40 kg of calf pellets to get them through the transition period. TYPICAL RATION TYPICAL RATION SPEC Ad-lib concentrate Ad-lib straw ME - 12 Mj/Kg Prot - 13% Starch - 30% For a tailored nutrition plan or for any questions or queries regarding feeding or nutrition please contact one of our nutrition team via the Blade Support office 01458 259413. 3.5 Kgs/day concerntrate Forage 10 Kgs Ad-lib straw ME - 11.7 Mj/Kg Prot - 13.5% Starch - 25% CONCENTRATE USAGE 2.25 tonnes 1.75 tonnes
BULL AND STEER PRODUCTION Costings Table DAIRY DEVELOPMENT SCHEME DDS Forward Price Contract Current farm performance Blade Farming performance BULLS STEERS Calf price 260 260 Comments Av. price; Inc vacc & BVD test Forage costs 70 240 Includes straw Vet & med 20 30 Worming etc Water & elec 30 30 The DDS contract will be for cattle being slaughtered from January 2015 onwards. Contracts are for steers under 30 months and for young bulls under 16 months. Prices quoted are base price (R3 / R4L). The contract only applies to calves supplied through the Blade Farming system, and will be based on each batch of cattle reared. Contracts will be signed for the lifetime of the cattle in the batch and ear tag numbers will be recorded. Contracts may be subject to change at any time. CONTRACT DETAILS The contract price that will be paid is +20 p/ Kg dwt over the ABP Sturminster weekly base price, and cattle will be paid according to the grid shown below. Losses 25 25 Transport 30 30 Deductions 45 45 Inc. abattoir charges Sub-total 480 660 Conc. feeds - bulls 405 2.25 tonnes @ 180/t Steers 315 1.75 tonnes @ 180/t 1+ 2-2= 2+ 3-3= 3+ 4-4= 4+ U- BASE 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 3 BASE R+ -10 BASE BASE BASE BASE BASE BASE BASE -3-5 R= -10 BASE BASE BASE BASE BASE BASE BASE -3-5 R- -10 BASE BASE BASE BASE BASE BASE BASE -3-5 Total inputs 885 975 Income: bulls 998 Steers 1155 Gross Margin 113 180 Prices correct as at Spring 2015 285 Kgs carcase @ 3.50/Kg dwt 330 Kgs carcase @ 3.50/Kg dwt O+ -15-5 -5-5 -5-5 -5-5 -8-10 O= -20-10 -10-10 -10-10 -10-10 -13-15 O- -25-15 -15-15 -15-15 -15-15 -18-20 P+ -35-20 -20-20 -20-20 -20-20 -25-30 P= -38-30 -30-30 -30-30 -30-30 -33-35 Variation in gross margin with fluctuations in feed and carcase prices P- -40-40 -40-40 -40-40 -40-40 -40-40 Bulls; 285 Kg carcase, grade -O2/3, 13-14 months old, 2.25 tonnes of feed Carcase price ( /Kg dwt) Feed price ( /t) 170 180 190 200 210 3.20 50 27 5 3.30 78 56 33 11 3.40 107 84 62 39 17 3.50 135 113 90 68 45 3.60 164 141 119 96 74 Carcase price ( /Kg dwt) Steers; 330 Kg carcase, grade -O3/4L, 24-26 months old, 1.75 tonnes of feed Feed price ( /t) 170 180 190 200 210 3.20 99 81 64 46 29 3.30 132 114 97 79 62 3.40 165 147 130 112 95 3.50 198 180 163 145 128 3.60 231 213 196 178 161 Weight Ranges All cattle must be in the following weight range: 255-400 kg dwt UNDERWEIGHT DEDUCTIONS 254.9 240.0 kg = - 10p/kg 239.9 200.0 kg = - 40p/kg 199.9 kg and less = - 1.00/kg Abattoir charges, incl. insurance 18.55 // Blade commission: 2% This payment grid may be subject to change in the future Prices correct November 2015 Overweight deductions 400.1 kg and above = - 10p /kg BLACK & WHITE Bulls
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