A Welsh livestock farm has increased its annual output of beef by switching from suckler production to a dairy calf-to-beef system.

Neil Davies and his family were running a 60-cow Belgian Blue-cross suckler beef herd but, in a change of direction, the herd was sold and they are now producing beef from Aberdeen Angus-cross dairy animals they buy direct from farms.

The business can now carry an average of three dairy beef animals for every suckler cow and calf previously allocated on the same acreage of land for the duration of time they are on the farm – from four months to being sold as stores or finished.

In 2021, 150 finished cattle averaging 680kg were produced – a total of 102,000kg on 114ha effective ha, although this land is also used for grazing sheep throughout the year.

Under the suckler cow system 50 cattle averaging 500kg – a total of 25,000kg – was produced off the same acreage with the same number of sheep grazing.

“It really surprised me how many dairy beef animals can be kept on such a small acreage in the first summer they are here, in that period we can run four youngstock on the same amount of land we needed for a cow and calf, three for the entire time they are with us,’’ says Mr Davies.

“We would need 180-190 cows with heifer replacements to match that, and not all the calves survive. I just couldn’t imagine having that many animals on the farm.’’

The Davieses farm at Cefnllan, a 105-hectare (ha) Farming Connect demonstration site at Llangammarch Wells, Powys.

Labour was the principal reason for making the initial switch to dairy beef.

The main enterprise is producing lamb from 2,000 breeding ewes and, in conjunction with suckler beef, this created pressure on labour at key points in the year.

“The sucklers were very labour intensive but with the new enterprise it only takes me half an hour a day to manage 150 cattle, it provides a more structured workload,’’ says Mr Davies.

Another reason for the change of direction was the high cost of keeping the suckler cows compared to the income from their progeny.

With younger, lighter stock, cattle can also graze areas of the farm that the suckler cows could not have utilised effectively.

Mr Davies has opted for Aberdeen Angus-crosses because he says these are the type of animals that suit his system.

One hundred and fifty four-month-old calves are bought direct from farms from February to April, grazing for the first summer before housing.

They are either sold as 18-19-month-old stores at 500-510kg or finished at around 680kg, achieving O+ or R grades.

Grazed grass is important to the economics of the new system – rotational grazing is a key factor in the increase in the amount of meat the farm can now produce.

“That’s when we make our money, when the stock are out at grass,’’ says Mr Davies.

There has been an extensive reseeding programme at Cefnllan with 20ha reseeded annually for the last seven years, on both owned and rented land, with medium to long term leys incorporating red and white clover.

In conjunction with reseeding, lime has been applied and pH levels now average 6-6.5.

In 2021 the farm grew 10.5t/ha, but Mr Davies says there is still room for improvement.

“We could split the fields up further but what is holding us back is the water infrastructure, that is our next investment.’’

There are also constraints with spring turnout because grass is needed for sheep post-lambing.

“The cattle have got to work around the sheep,’’ he says. “It might cost me more in making silage but I can’t lamb the ewes in the autumn so there has to be that trade-off.’’

Producing high quality silage, at an average ME of 11.5MJ/kg, is important for the winter ration.

To achieve cuts are taken every four or five weeks: in 2022, the first cut was taken on 25 May.

Through Farming Connect, Mr Davies has been working with independent nutritionist Hefin Richards to produce a ration for both growing and finishing cattle.

This includes 25kg of grass silage and 1kg of blend for the growers and 23kg of silage and 7kg of blend for the finishers.

During the finishing period it means that just 1kg/head/day of bought-in feed is needed.