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Down on the farm...
Details have been given on Beef Industry Page about beef from suckler and dairy herds. This page shows what happens down on the farm...
Teachers if you are registered there is a full screen video version of this page - go to
The UK Beef Industry - an introduction..
Beef cattle tend to be referred to as calves until they are 6-9 months of age when they are weaned. This process is called rearing.
After weaning these cattle are generally referred to as stores, this page looks at some of the more common methods of keeping and feeding beef cattle. The exact details will vary from farm to farm depending on the resources available, age and breeding of animals kept etc.
Beef Production Systems.
Housing Cattle
Since BSE all cattle for human consumption must be slaughtered under 30 months old. This has had an effect on how beef cattle are reared since they must be grow to a suitable weight and condition for slaughter by this age. To ensure this is the case many cattle are now housed in winter. Housing cattle over winter also has other advantages:
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It stops them damaging or 'poaching' the pastures in the fields where they would be kept, in some cases the fields became so churned up and muddy that they need replanting and the cattle's feet could also suffer from foot rot and other problems.
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It allows the cattle to be finished for slaughter by feeding them specially prepared rations easily.
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It allows sufficient grass to grow so that cattle can be finished for slaughter the following summer.
Housed cattle and feeding when inside.
Cattle are housed in purpose built sheds or just suitably adapted ones.
Housed cattle easier to feed, water, bed up (give fresh clean straw), and generally look after.
A good stock person checks on the cattle several times each day.
It also makes monitoring calving much easier.
Bedding Up
Bedding cattle up
Cattle kept inside do require more work.
Every few days they must be 'bedded-up' this means giving them clean straw so that they have a clean, healthy home to live in.
The cattle love the clean straw......
Feeding Housed Cattle
Feeding housed cattle.
Housed cattle need to be fed each day.
Cattle are usually fed silage and perhaps some concentrates which are things like barley, soya or other by-products like sugar beet pulp, brewers grains etc.
Silage is preserved or pickled grass - see page on silage making for more details.
The cattles' food or ration maybe mixed in a special machine called a 'feed or mixer wagon'.
This machine allows farmer to weigh and mix different ingredients together.
The cattle are then fed this balanced ration. A bit like 'fast food' gone LARGE, the cattle love it and gobble it up!!
Grass / Cereal Beef.
Cattle are finished on grass...
Most beef is produced in this way using a combination of grass, included preserved grass like silage and hay, and concentrates (barley, soya beans etc). The cattle may be finished inside over their second winter at around 18 months of age, or turned out to finish on grass during their second summer. These cattle are slaughtered any where from 18 - 30 months old at a weight of 450 - 550 Kg.
Having been housed over winter cattled are 'turned out' at spring back into their fields.
The farmer will manage his grass fields to get the most out the land he has available.
This will include applying fertilsier and saving some field to make hay or silage from later in the summer.
More on silage making coming shortly.....
This years 'new' calves will start to eat grass and be weaned from their mothers any where from 6 - 12 months old.
Older cattle (last years calves) may be fattened up and 'finished' for slaughtelater in the year at 16 - 20 months of age.
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