Pasture-based systems for early-maturing dairy-beef heifers

Spring-born, early-maturing (Angus and Hereford) dairy-beef heifers can form high-output, low-input systems when finished during the second grazing season at 19 -21 months of age.

Despite the lower carcass weight potential of heifers compared to steers, pasture-based dairy-beef heifer systems have the potential for a high carcass output per hectare. This is due to the possibility of increasing the number of animals finished per hectare at younger ages from pasture, thus eliminating or reducing the need for an indoor finishing period. Heifer systems are particularly suited to farms with limited housing facilities and good grazing infrastructure.

Heifer systems are desirable as animals can be slaughtered at young ages, allowing for increased animal numbers and avoiding the need for a second winter indoors.

It is important that heifers in these systems achieve carcass weights in excess of 230 - 240 kg, as lighter carcasses are more difficult to market and do not avail of breed bonus payments.

Early-maturing dairy-beef heifers have the lowest chance of meeting minimum market specifications, so producers must be realistic when assessing calves’ carcass potential at purchase and reflect this in the purchase price.
Spring-born heifers finished at pasture are marketed in autumn, when supplies of finished cattle are at their highest and beef price is traditionally low.

Elements of success

• Complete a thorough budget before calf purchase; dairy-beef systems are sensitive to fluctuations in calf purchase, concentrate and beef price.
• Purchase healthy calves from a trusted, known source - preferably direct off-farm.
• Purchase high beef genetic merit (high Commercial Beef Value) calves.
• Implement a comprehensive herd health plan, including a robust vaccination protocol, ensuring adequate housing ventilation and space allowance, and awareness of reducing anthelmintic resistance through the use of multiple agents.
• Excellent grassland management, implementation of a rotational grazing system, incorporation of clover, and the production of high-quality silage (>72 DMD) are required.
• Monitor weight gain frequently and draft finishing cattle regularly.

Key Performance Indicators

• Finishing age 19 - 21 months
• >60% finished from forage diet
• >240 kg carcass, ≥O= conformation and 3- to 3+ fat score
• Lifetime concentrate 450 kg
• Lifetime ADG 0.8 kg

Heifer management guidelines

To achieve a lifetime daily gain of 0.8 kg, the calf-rearing stage is critically important to ensure the heifer has an adequately developed rumen capable of utilising grazed forage post turn-out.

Weanling heifers for this system should be on average 200 kg at housing in the autumn. This requires excellent grassland management and a well-implemented parasite control programme. Supplementation should cease two weeks post turn-out, recommencing in September (1 - 1.5 kg/head/day), to account for the declining quality of grazed pasture.

Over the winter, a moderate growth rate of 0.6–0.7 kg/day is targeted from a diet of high-quality grass silage (>72 DMD) and 1 - 2 kg of concentrate.

Yearling heifers should be turned out in early spring and should gain 200 kg over a 220 day grazing season.

Typically, a large proportion (60%) of the earliest-born heifers will achieve desirable fat levels from a grass-only diet. However, later-born heifers may require ~3 kg/head/day of concentrate over 60 days (at pasture or indoors) to achieve desired carcass fatness and weight.

Grazing management for calves and yearlings needs to be excellent, with rotational grazing of high-quality grass-clover swards.

Early-maturing dairy-beef heifer research

At Teagasc Johnstown Castle, the contribution of pasture type (perennial ryegrass-only, perennial ryegrass plus red and white clover, and multi-species swards that included perennial ryegrass, red and white clover, plantain and chicory) has been evaluated within an early-maturing beef heifer system (standard beef merit animals). The perennial ryegrass pasture received 150 kg of chemical N/ha annually, double that of the perennial ryegrass plus red and white clover and multi-species sward types (75 kg N/ha).

When dairy-beef heifers were drafted at a target fat score of 3=, CLOVER animals achieved the greatest net margin compared to the other two sward types (Table 1). This was due to a greater carcass weight, a lower chemical nitrogen application rate, and a greater proportion of these animals being finished at pasture during the second grazing season, which reduced overall costs. Incorporating clover or clover + herbs allowed the inorganic chemical nitrogen application level to be halved due to biological fixation by the clover plants, while still achieving the same herbage production, resulting in significant cost savings.

Despite having a light carcass weight, dairy-beef heifer systems have the potential to deliver a high carcass output per hectare and are profitable. This can be further improved by including clover or clover + herbs into pastures. The inclusion of clover or clover + herbs generated an additional €150 to €100 net margin/ha, respectively, through improved animal performance and lower input costs, offering farmers an opportunity to improve system efficiency.

Table 1. The effect of pasture type on animal, financial and environmental performance of dairy-beef heifers finished in 2022 and 2023

Base price of €4.56/kg on the QPS grid; €0.20/kg QA payment and €0.20/kg breed bonus. Finishing concentrate price €400/t. Protected urea price €550/t. *Net margin excludes land & labour charge and assumes a calf purchase price of €150 per head for early-maturing breed heifer calves.

Pasture-based systems for early-maturing dairy-beef heifers (PDF)

The DairyBeef 500 factsheets are based on real farm data and analysis from DairyBeef research units in Teagasc Johnstown and Teagasc Grange. They also use data and farmer experiences from Teagasc DairyBeef 500 demonstration farms which are purely commercial farms operated on a range of scales and soil types nationwide. View the full series of DairyBeef 500 Factsheets here.