By Wendy Short

DOUG Dear used to keep his own cattle to complement the 800-acre arable rotation at Osgodby Grange, but these were replaced five years ago with an enterprise that offers a finishing service to beef cattle owners.

He currently has more than 15 'bed-and-breakfast' customers, who between them have almost 700 head in his buildings. The cattle arrive as stores and remain in their batches throughout their stay, although they are occasionally mixed towards the end of the finishing period, when numbers decline sharply.

Clients are asked to vaccinate and worm their cattle before arrival and are charged a daily rate, for the duration of their stay. They also pay for the TMR (total mixed ration), which is distributed through a Keenan mixer wagon. Its PACE system ensures that ingredient levels are measured and mixed accurately. A high degree of mechanisation is essential, as only one full-time and one part-time member of staff are employed across the farm.

"In a traditional system, the data associated with store cattle is lost when they are moved on," said Mr Dear. "But when they come here, their performance is recorded and can be tracked back through their breeding, which provides useful information for selection policies. Bed-and-breakfast also frees up land and buildings for my clients, making it a win-win situation."

David Evans, Morrisons’ head of agriculture, explained that the supermarket started working with the Beef Improvement Group (BIG), which uses the Stabiliser composite breeding programme, in 2012.

This year, Morrisons will take 3,000 Stabiliser yearling bulls at 12-14 months, with producers receiving a premium, as long as they hit the specification. It stipulates a grade R4L or U4L, at a target minimum deadweight of 320kgs and a maximum of 370kgs.

"The Stabiliser breed has longevity and the potential for producers to make a profit without support payments, mostly because the programme is aimed at selecting cattle on performance, including net feed efficiency (NFE)," said Mr Evans. "It is based on genetics from the USA, where good eating quality is a main priority, while the hybrid vigour from composite breeding also offers a benefit.

"Unlike USA producers, UK farmers cannot use hormones and other means of performance enhancement, which can improve growth rates by 10-20 per cent. Therefore, they need to choose animals which can grow quickly, while at the same time eating less feed."