CALF_News_August_September_2021

33 CALF News • August | September 2021 • www.calfnews.net By David MacKenzie Contributing Editor T he British Isles is famous throughout the world as the birthplace of some of the most commonly used and most iconic breeds of beef cattle such as the Aber- deen Angus, Beef Shorthorn, Hereford and South Devon. Since the 1970s they have faced stiff competition in the United Kingdom (UK) from the main European breeds such as Charolais, Limousin, Belgian Blue and Simmen- tal. The Continental breeds went on to dominate the market after arrival but, in the last 10 years, a resurgence in interest for native breeds has taken place. Aberdeen Angus have led the charge, having increased its market share from 11 percent in 2011 to 19 percent in 2020. Today, the Limousin breed is the mostly commonly used sire and has been for several years. Purebred breeding has been the main- stay, where sires are registered with their respective breed associations, holding pedigrees back at least five generations. In recent years, hybrid breeds such as Luings and the U.S.-developed Stabi- lizer have established numbers among cow-calf producers. A lot of larger cow-calf herds run more than 300 cows per stockman, calving in the spring over a 63-day period. However, whether pure or hybrid are used in the future, it will be the breed that requires less labor and ease of management for the cowman, combined with an exceptional feed conversion rate for the feeders. One animal that is gaining in numbers here in the UK is beef-sired calves born from dairy cows. Dairy production across the world has changed in recent years and the UK is no different. Consolidation within the dairy industry has seen the average herd size increase from 82 cows in 2000 to 148 today. It is now standard practice to use sexed dairy semen for replace- ment heifers. This has dramatically increased the number of dairy cows calving to beef sires, which are predominately the short-gestation Aberdeen Angus and Belgian Blues. Fully integrated dairy supply chains have become mainstream and beef from these dairy calves has made up for the reduction in calves from beef cows. These calves are moved to special calf growers between 2 and 3 weeks of age, and then on to finishing units at 20 weeks of age (375 pounds). Some cattle are grazed on grass for a time, but most are taken right through to finish on a mainly cereal-based diet. These animals are often under the ownership of our major beef processors and supermarket retailers, with farmers solely funding their feeding and management along the chain. The more intensive of these pro- cesses harvest cattle at 530 days of age, with steers weighing around 770 pounds and heifers 730 pounds carcass weight. A percentage of the dairy calves not in the integrated chain are traded through the UK’s auction system, but it is the calves from cow-calf herds that mainly use this traditional live trading platform. The biggest sales are held in the spring and fall. In the more rural parts, where input costs are higher, beef calves are sold in the fall directly from weaning at 6 to 7 months of age. Spring-born animals, once weaned, are housed and receive around half of their diet from cereal, mainly barley, alongside forage, additional protein and supplements, with breeders aiming to sell their “yearlings” just prior to calving starting again. The larger animals sold in the fall have been grown through the winter on a less energy dense diet with a higher forage content and then grazed and sold as forward “store” cattle at 17 months, around 1,200 pounds live weight. A Changing UK Beef Supply Continued on page 37 