Eager to add value to their non-replacement dairy calves, Hayden and Robyn Williams have put their hands up to host Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Dairy Beef Progeny Test.
The Oamaru dairy farmers are one of five new host farms in the third phase of the long-running Dairy Beef Progeny Test (DBPT). The Test aims to identify the best beef genetics and to highlight the value superior beef genetics generate at every stage of the supply chain.
The move to run the DBPT across more sites has been driven by B+LNZ’s desire to include a better cross-section of farms across more regions and to better showcase the outcomes of the DBPT.
For Hayden and Robyn, who milk 700 Friesian-Kiwicross cows at Five Forks near Oamaru, the DBPT is an opportunity to make the most of what they already produce but it also represents a step-change in their business. Where they have previously sold calves at 100kg, they will now carry their non-replacement calves through to finishing.
Hayden says they have traditionally sold calves at 100kg because they didn’t have the scope to finish their non-replacement calves without compromising their replacement heifers.
“The focus had to be on our young stock.”
To add scope, the couple has leased 340ha to augment their 265ha home farm Huroo Downs, the 240ha they lease for wintering cows and yearlings and 170ha they also lease for grazing.
As well as leasing more land, they have employed a farm manager who will take care of the dry stock part of their business and have bought two new sets of weighing scale.
They will also be tapping into both the expertise and superior beef genetics made available to them through the DBPT.
Attending to detail
Nothing will be left to chance in their beef finishing enterprise and the couple will be applying the same disciplines to this part of their business as they do to their dairy operation.
This includes setting specific KPIs, a separate beef finishing budget and pasture management systems that are more akin to those used by dairy farmers than beef finishers.
Hayden says they will be striving to keep the cattle on pastures with an ME of around 11, as they do with their dairy cows. To do this, they will be carrying out regular pasture measurements and using electric fences – including back-fences – to achieve this goal.
Last spring, as part of the DBPT, the couple used Angus, Hereford, Charolais, Simmental and Murray Grey genetics across 220 of their lower Breeding Worth (BW) Cows.
They also used beef genetics in the high BW cows that had failed to conceive to dairy genetics in their first two rounds of AI.
Hayden expects that at calving this year, they will have around 250 DBPT beef-cross calves to carry through to prime.
Setting targets
As beef finishing is a new to their business, Hayden says they will be focusing on doing the basics well and asking a lot of questions as they strive to maximise returns on their investment.
This will include determining the optimum time to sell based on weights, the beef schedule and the cost of feeding.
“If we have to carry animals through their second winter what does this mean for our budget?”
They also want to understand what levers they can pull if the season turns dry or the beef schedule changes.
Hayden and Robyn have enlisted the help of a farm consultant who has used Farmax to set targets for their beef finishing operation and they will be regularly weighing their animals to ensure these targets are met.
This is on top of the 200,400 and possibly 600-day weights required for the DBPT.
Hayden says they will be using season one to find their feet with the beef finishing and seeing how it all fits together, but as with their dairy operation, the focus will be on feeding to the best of their ability to allow animals to realise their genetic potential.
The DBPT began at Limestone Downs in 2015 and subsequently moved to Pāmu’s Renown Farm. Progeny were reared and finished under commercial conditions at Pāmu’s Wairakei Estate. The DBPT has now moved from Pamu’ Renown farm and last spring, mating took place on five new host farms across three regions. Sixteen sires representing five breeds were selected for use in the DBPT, although not all sires will be used on all the new host farms.
The other host farms are two Dairy Trust Taranaki farms and two Massey University farms. For the first time, Jersey cows will be included in the DBPT through a70-80-strong herd which is run on one of the Dairy Trust Taranaki farms.