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. September 2023
      2. August 2023
      3. Drills & Seeds Supplement
      4. July 2023
      5. July 2023
      6. June 2023
      7. May 2023
      Featured

      September 2023 Issue

      By Matthew TiltSeptember 4, 2023
      Recent

      Operating Costs 2023-24 Supplement

      September 4, 2023

      September 2023 Issue

      September 4, 2023

      Drills & Seeds August 2023 Supplement

      July 25, 2023
    • Events
    • Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Beef

    SucklerClub unlocks breeding knowledge to succeed

    John SwireBy John SwireMarch 31, 20224 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

    Spring calving is in full swing as autumn herds are in the midst of weaning, and the precision livestock network, Breedr, is busy helping farmers to boost their productivity. It has launched a practical program of breeding guides and webinars to complement the free performance recording tools in its mobile and web app.

    Aligned with AHDB Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Breedr’s SucklerClub has published comprehensive calving, weaning, service and pregnancy diagnosis (PD) guides. These show how farmers can easily measure vital metrics like age at first calving, calving ease and percentage of calves weaned, and then take action to improve genetics, productivity and profits.

    “We have drawn on expert advice from across the industry to create practical, impartial guides for producers,” says Ian Wheal, founder of Breedr. “Collecting just a few data points at key times of the year can provide a wealth of information to drive genetics and culling decisions. Any farmer who signs up for the free app will be sent an A3 wall planner to show them exactly what to do at each phase of the cycle.”

    AHDB has supported the project, joining Breedr to produce three free webinars – on calving, weaning and PD, with service to follow in April. Sarah Pick, knowledge exchange manager at AHDB, is sharing theory and best practice with Chris Freeman from Breedr demonstrating how to capture and analyse performance in the Breedr app.

    Key objectives

    Key objectives which Breedr can help farmers to meet include calving heifers at two years – saving £43 per heifer for every month delay – and maximising weaning weights, which in a 100-cow herd would increase output by nearly £2,000 for a 10kg average rise.

    According to Rebecca Small, animal health and welfare scientist at AHDB, weaning should be led by feed supply and cow condition. “At 200 days calves are getting 75% of their nutritional needs from somewhere other than milk.

    “The timing to wean can be led by feed supply and cow condition. If body condition score is starting to drop then farmers might consider weaning a bit earlier. Alternatively, if the cow is looking over fat, keeping the calves on a little bit longer can help pull that back.”

    SucklerClub member Charlie Beaty – who farms in partnership with her father and uncle at the Dairy Farm near Coventry – will be charting her journey in managing their 85-cow suckler herd. They started using Breedr last year in a drive to boost efficiencies and adapt to changing farm support payments. As part of this, Ms Beaty is planning to use the SucklerClub guides and hopes they will help with the overall transition to a digital management system.

    “We’d been looking at going more digital for a couple of years, but most tools we found couldn’t be used across three phones like we needed,” says Ms Beaty. “Most also felt quite clunky. We signed up to Breedr in 2020, but it wasn’t until calving last year when we really started to use it to input information, make notes, and create our own dataset,” she adds.

    “We want everything to be at our fingertips, and the app has already made information more accessible. It makes it easier to spot under-performers, as we have the data to hand 24/7.”

    SucklerClub member Rob Halliday and his wife Louise have 70 predominantly Aberdeen Angus suckler cows at Hepwell Farm, Liskeard, Cornwall, and are breeding for a more even herd and strong growth rates. Weighing regularly, Mr Halliday records everything in the app and selects the strongest performers to breed from.

    “We’ve been using dam measurements to decide which heifers to keep: The offspring from the best are growing at double the rate of the worst,” he says. “The AHDB KPIs are very useful. There’s definitely value in information sharing.”

    •      Farmers can join SucklerClub by downloading the free Breedr app at www.breedr.co. Breedr is also offering a 25% rebate on Tru-Test scales and equipment with its new Get Weighing Grant. For more information visit www.breedr.co/shop or call 03300 436327.

     

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleFarmer-led research disproves red clover fears on sheep fertility
    Next Article New post-mortem PCR test to identify TB rolled out
    John Swire

    Read Similar Stories

    Private sale marks the second highest price paid for Simmental bull

    August 30, 2023

    Keep a close eye on calf nutrition as grass quality varies this year

    August 29, 2023

    New feed management software launched to drive efficiencies

    August 21, 2023
    Most Read Stories

    New head of fundraising at RSABI

    September 19, 2023

    Applied launch latest addition at National Ploughing Championships

    September 19, 2023

    1000 Bobcat employees volunteer to support local communities

    September 19, 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