Crossing breeds success

Getting future fit by building profitability through efficiency improvements is the driver behind introducing Beef Shorthorn to Duncan Parker’s Continental cross suckler herd.

While it’s still early days, Duncan is confident in his decision to invest in Beef Shorthorn by purchasing a bull specifically selected from within the breed’s top 10% for Self-Replacing Index.

“We already manage a low input unit without nitrogen application or field scale spraying and we’ve just entered the entire farm into Mid-Tier Countryside Stewardship,” he explained.

“We had gone down the beefy cow route and needed to inject some extra milk to improve calf growth rate. We recognised we needed to breed a low maintenance suckler; one that thrives on forage while continuing to perform, so the Beef Shorthorn made sense.”

Delivering Efficiency

Duncan, who farms 50 spring calving suckler cows in partnership with his partner, Diana Bird, is happy with the results he’s seen so far. “We’ve retained two crops of Beef Shorthorn cross heifers from our Continental cross cows. These heifers grew just as well as their Continental counterparts enabling us to continue to calve at 24 months. Our selection criteria includes ease of calving and we pelvic measure, a job Diana manages, which enables us to eliminate any heifers with an abnormally narrow pelvis.

“We’re also scheduling our new breeding strategy to deliver a more efficient cow. Our Continental crosses average 750kg mature weight, but we know that bigger cows don’t necessarily wean bigger calves. Introducing a smaller native breed means we can reset our target to achieve 650kg average mature weight.

“We’ve noted the heifers are good foragers and maintain themselves at body condition score three from a relatively low-quality diet - permanent pasture and meadow hay. Long-term, that should give us the option to maintain, or even stock more cows, by improving our cow efficiency from a current 43% to 50% based on 200-day calf weaning.”

Breed Benefits

Temperament was also an important selection criteria, Duncan explained: “While our Continental crosses aren’t wild, our Beef Shorthorn crosses have been different to handle. They’ve proved to be the quietest we’ve ever farmed and that’s important since there’s only the two of us and we’re not getting any younger.

“We also noted that introducing Beef Shorthorn had the added advantage of weaned steers attracting premiums for the Morrisons scheme. We’ve sold two, seven to eight-month-old crops through Thame market and they price matched our Continental crosses. In the event we have sufficient grass, then we have the option to finish these steers ourselves.”

Using a Shorthorn bull across his Continental cross cows is proving successful for Duncan Parker, with calves in demand as stores.

“Introducing Beef Shorthorn to enhance our efficiency is helping us become more resilient and profitable” Duncan Parker

Managing the environment

Chilton Grounds Farm covers 60ha of grassland, including 18ha traditional hay meadows. Cattle are winter housed for a minimum of 20 weeks, with locally baled straw bought in and a contractor employed to spread the muck. While the nutrient content of the farmyard manure hasn’t been analysed, Duncan is confident that the value of it greatly exceeds the contractor costs.

“We place great value on the FYM and use it carefully, both timing and targeting where it will do the most good. Our low-lying flood meadows can only be grazed for part of the year and then provide winter fodder for the cattle and sheep, so muck is needed to keep fertility and organic matter levels high, sustaining both soil biology and grass growth.”

A third-generation farmer at Chilton Grounds, Duncan understands that the entire grassland unit, which remains undrained, is already providing a major carbon sink. “Our permanent pastures feature protected ridge and furrow with a diversity of species and I’m a great believer in big hedges - we trim every two to three years. The lower input, lower output system we have developed over the last 15 years hasn’t actually changed the bottom line; it’s designed to work with nature and the environment rather than fight against it.” Focus on food

Duncan is clear that while the environment is important, his focus is efficient use of the land for food production. He added: “I want this unit to continue to be a productive farm, not a nature reserve. I’m concerned about our country’s selfsufficiency level being as low as 60% and I’m massively against the Government’s trade deals with Australia and New Zealand. These countries may be able to outcompete us by producing beef and lamb more cheaply, but shipping beef up to 12,000 miles while we plant trees just isn’t right.

“I’ll plant trees on the less productive areas which could amount to up to 5% of the unit. For example, odd shaped field corners and wet patches prone to poaching, compaction and possible run-off. It’s about putting the right species in the right place,” he says. “Entering the five-year mid- tier Countryside Stewardship is for us a bridge to ELM. Some land will already qualify for introducing GS2 species option, while other areas we will actively encourage to enhance the diversity.”

He added: “Going forward is without doubt going to be a challenge if we are to continue as primary food producers, however, I do believe there are opportunities to help us to become more resilient, and as suckler producers, we’re confident that introducing Beef Shorthorn to the mix to further enhance our efficiency is going to help us achieve that goal.”

FACT FILE

60ha Mid Vale Ridge heavy clay; all grassland inc 18ha traditional hay meadows

50 spring calving suckler cows and followers

125 breeding ewes Chilton Grounds suckler herd KPIs (ave), current v target

Cont x Current Beef Shorthorn x Target

Mature cow weight (kg)

750 650 Age at first calving (months) 24 24 Cows and heifers calving within the first four weeks (%) 60 65 Cows and heifers calving within the first eight weeks (%) 95 95 Birthweight (kg) 44 <40 Cow efficiency (%) 43 50 Calves reared from females served (%) 90 90+ Calf crops 5 6-7 Source: Chilton Grounds