Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Twitter LinkedIn
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Magazine Subscriptions
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    • News
      • Arable & Agronomy
      • Dealership News
      • Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy
      • Event News
      • Health & Safety
      • Machinery
      • People
      • World News
    • Farm Machinery
      • Amenity & Maintenance
      • Cultivations
      • Drilling
      • Grassland Equipment
      • Harvesting
      • Muck & Slurry
      • Sprayers
      • Telehandlers
      • Tractors
      • Tractor of the Year
      • Tyres & Tracks
    • Precision Farming
    • Markets & Policy
    • Profiles
      • Company Profiles
      • Reader Profiles
    • Livestock
      • Beef
      • Dairy
      • Sheep
    • Magazines
      1. February 2023
      2. National Arable & Grassland Awards Supplement
      3. January 2023
      4. December 2022
      Featured

      National Arable & Grassland Awards 2023 Supplement

      By adminJanuary 26, 2023
      Recent

      National Arable & Grassland Awards 2023 Supplement

      January 26, 2023

      February 2023 Issue

      January 25, 2023

      January 2023 Issue

      January 4, 2023
    • Events
    • Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Beef

    Boost suckler genetics using free KPI app

    John SwireBy John SwireAugust 2, 20213 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Livestock data management platform Breedr raises £12 million to build better trading and cash-flow products for farmers

    Suckler producers can dramatically improve performance and financial returns by monitoring key breeding indicators – but manual recording is laborious and time consuming. Now, farmers can record everything on their phone using a new feature on the free Breedr app, generating automatic reports and easy-to-understand graphics. 

    The new breeding feature aligns with AHDB Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and helps farmers to identify the best animals to breed from, whether that’s producing beef calves to finish or heifer replacements. 

    “Genetics affects almost every element of suckler cow performance, and by benchmarking farmers can speed up the rate of genetic improvement – particularly if they are calving at two years old,” explains farmer and Breedr founder Ian Wheal. “Our free tools enable farmers to analyse the genetic performance of their herd and individual animals quickly and easily.”

    The best place to start is logging when females are bulling – this will create an alert for 20 days later so producers can check to see if they’re cycling again. Logging the AI date or when bulls are turned out, as well as any pregnancy diagnosis results, will automatically calculate and flag the likely calving date. 

    “At calving, you can log the birth in seconds ready to sync with BCMS, and enter the calving ease, calf weight and vigour – by linking with the dam and sire, this makes it easy to identify the best cows and bulls to use,” says Mr Wheal. Medicine records and activities like disbudding can also be kept in the app, so that all of the animal’s information is in one place. 

    When weaning, calf weights can be captured in just 10 seconds with the Crush Mode tool, and when more than one weight has been recorded the app will predict future growth rates to help with finishing plans. 

    “According to AHDB, achieving 10kg higher weaning weights can increase output by an average of £20/head,” explains Mr Wheal. “This can be influenced by a compact calving period; the more calves born in the first three weeks of calving, the older they are at weaning, so the heavier they will be.” Farmers can use the KPIs to select the most fertile females to breed from, achieving a tighter calving period and ultimately boosting profitability. 

    Significant genetic gains can be made by calving heifers at two years old; not only does the heifer produce more calves over her lifetime, the farm can also reduce its stocking rate compared with calving at three. “According to Teagasc research, each month that first calving is delayed by costs on average £43 per heifer.”

    Clearly, the main objective of suckler beef farms is to maximise output. “An efficient suckler cow will calve unassisted, produce one calf per year, wean that calf to 40-50% of her body weight, return in-calf with minimal inputs and have a docile temperament,” says Mr Wheal. 

    “Recording and subsequently analysing performance and activities at herd and individual level is therefore essential to make informed selection and management decisions. Historic data can be uploaded to enable year-on-comparison and our free KPI reports make it easier than ever to start making data-backed decisions to drive greater genetic advancement.”

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleJohn Deere introduces biggest ever trailed sprayer
    Next Article Renewable energy price comparison start-up launches
    John Swire

    Read Similar Stories

    New research shows effective prevention against necrotic enteritis

    January 26, 2023

    Major shake-up for BFREPA’s annual conference

    January 18, 2023

    BFREPA roadshows announced as producers put turbulent 2022 behind them

    January 16, 2023
    Most Read Stories

    Lidl’s £4bn investment into the British food industry to support the industry

    January 31, 2023

    Ceat plant awarded by the World Economic Forum

    January 31, 2023

    Cereals 2023 to be the ‘largest fundraiser to date’ for the MSA Trust

    January 31, 2023
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer

    The UK's leading agricultural machinery journal

    Twitter LinkedIn
    © 2023 Lewis Business Media. All Rights Reserved.
    Lewis Business Media, Suite A, Arun House, Office Village, River Way, Uckfield, TN22 1SL

    Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • AA Farmer
    • Poultry News
    • Pig World
    • OvertheCounter

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “ACCEPT ALL”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsREJECT ALLAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Analytics" category .
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category .
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to store the user consent for cookies in the category "Others".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to store the user consent for cookies in the category "Performance".
    PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
    Functional
    Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
    Performance
    Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    CookieDurationDescription
    _ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
    _gat_gtag_UA_31822138_191 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
    _gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    CookieDurationDescription
    OAID1 yearThis cookie is set when an AdsWizz website visitor have opted out the collection of information by AdsWizz service or opted to disable the targeted ads by AdsWizz.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    SAVE & ACCEPT
    Powered by CookieYes Logo