Project Update (August 2021): Growing cattle at Bryn Farm, Cardigan

Huw Jones, Bryn Farm historically sold all beef calves off the farm as stores, but with TB becoming more and more of a mental burden on Huw, he wanted to investigate the farm’s ability of finishing cattle off grass. Huw is a member of a Farming Connect beef discussion group and a Farming Connect Prosper from Pasture group, which focuses on grazing management. Being an active member of these groups and being a demonstration site has given him the confidence to take on this change. 

It was identified that cattle needed to be sold by October by the latest to ensure the grazing platform had enough time to recover for spring grazing. With this in mind, a target of 1kg daily liveweight gain (DLWG) has been set and Huw has been weighing cattle regularly to ensure cattle growth is on track. In May, cattle growth was under target. The weather was a major factor with May being dominated by low pressure, bringing heavy downpours or prolonged spells of rain which resulted in Wales seen its wettest May since records began in 1862, with 245mm of rainfall, well over twice the long-term average. Grass growth remained slow at 36kgDM/ha in May and as a result of slow grass growth and harsh weather conditions for cattle, DLWG dropped to 0.71kg. As weather improved in June, grass growth jumped to 75kgDM/ha and, thankfully, cattle have returned to their growth target of 1kg/day in June and July. Huw is facing another challenge in August with grass growth plummeting to 7kgDM/ha after experiencing a heatwave and low rainfall. Huw has started feeding hay to buffer supply and demand. Cattle will be weighed again to track their growth. 

Graph 1. Average daily growth at Bryn Farm and average farm cover. 

Graph 2. Growth targets at different daily live weight gains.