The key factors in efficiently finishing your cattle
The buying and selling costs of the cattle are obviously huge factors in this equation. Buyers really need to know their full costs before purchasing stock. Are the stock suitable for your system and facilities? Have you built in all the costs associated with finishing animals?
Checklist
- Forage costs
- Concentrates
- Minerals
- Parasite control
- Vaccinations
- Bedding
- Associated housing costs
- Associated feeding costs, diesel etc.
- Mortality
The challenge as always is to get weight on animals as quickly and cost effectively as possible. This involves many issues such as:
- Maintaining good animal health
- Keeping cattle mortality to a minimum
- Supplying a good quality high energy diet consistently throughout the finishing period
- Achieving a good consistent weight gain throughout the allotted finishing period
- Providing your cattle with a comfortable environment
Efficient weight gain is the priority when finishing cattle. Obviously feed costs are very important but, more importantly, it must be the correct feed.
Once you begin to finish cattle it is very important to keep them on the same diet throughout.
Changing your animal feed supplier to give everyone a turn may seem like a good idea, but each new formulation is slightly different and may well reduce the digestive efficiency in stock.
Try to buy your concentrates based on their energy value, rather than its protein content. Energy is what gets flesh on animals.
