10.30 Welcome & refreshments

10.40 Beef Feed Efficiency Programme update

Mary Vickers & Andy FootAHDB B&L

11.10 Practical cattle nutrition to improve feed efficiency

Kevin DoylePhileo UK & Ireland

11.40 Using breeding tools to drive efficient beef production

Emma SteeleSignet Breeding Services

12.10 Tackling respiratory disease in your cattle

Yoav Alony-GilboaFriars Moor Vets

12.40 Eliminating bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) from your herd

Eleanor KaneBVDFree manager

13.00 Lunch‘Raising the steaks’ beef marketing demonstration

Hugh Judd, AHDB B&L Senior Food Service Manager

Kim Matthews & Mary VickersAHDB Beef & Lamb

Today

1. What is feed efficiency & why select for it?

2. What else is going on around the world?

3. What is happening with the national project?

4. Why we need your help

Feed efficiency genetics

Management &

environment

What is feed efficiency?

2/3 affected by management

& environment

1/3 by genetics

Why feed efficiency?During the growing and finishing phase a 1% improvement in feed efficiency has the same economic impact as a 3% increase in rate of gain.

Selection for feed efficiency is independent of • growth• mature weight

6

Which one is most efficient?

386kg Start LW 398kg

1.5kg/day DLWG 1.5kg/day

1640kg Estimated feed intake 1670kg

1880kg Actual feed intake 1580kg

+240kg Net feed intake -90kg

Alberta & Australia

• efficient growing animals are efficient as adult cattle

• progeny of efficient beef cattle are more efficient than those of less efficient cattle

• Feed efficiency is repeatable across feeding phases eg growing finishing rations

Alberta & Australia results

• maintenance requiremts of cow herd by 9-10%

• feed intake by 10 -12%

• average daily gain or mature size

• FCR by 9 to 15 %

• calf-weight-per-cow feed intake by 15%

• methane emissions by 25 -30%

• manure N, P, K by 15 -17%

• 4 year project• Funded by Defra and AHDB £1.75M• Led by AHDB & SRUC

ObjectivesSelective breeding for improved feed efficiency

1. Establish a consortium of stakeholders

2. Undertake studies to devise, test and validate selection and breeding objectives

3. Develop protocols for use at national scale

4. Establish a network of facilities

5. Undertake genetic analysis

6. Establish business model for on-going national programme

Vision Legacy

• demonstrate the ability to measure and select for feed intake parameters in cattle on commercial farms

• establish a system for recording after the end of the project that can be extended across cattle breeds.

Industry benefits

• Identify individual animals and sires with superior genetics for feed efficiency

• Enable breeders to actively select for feed efficiency

• Development of model(s) for longer term legacy for industry

• GHG emissions

• Begin with Limousin breed

• 1800 records to collect

• Initial 500 records to be collected at SRUC

• Remaining 1300 records to be collected on 2 commercial farms in England

• Completion 2019

Project overview

GrowSafe feed intake recording equipment

Pure Limousin and Limousin crossbred steers

7-8 months of age at trial start

Measurement period 63 days

Measuring feed efficiency

Link to film clip

• Individual intake• Feeding behaviour• Health alerts

June 2017

Batch 2 - Dorset

• 111 steers• 21 Limousin sires• 14 farms of origin

Start age 9.9 months

Start LW 355kg

End LW 459kg

Test DLWG 1.6kg/day

Ration

Feed FW Inclusion %

Grass silage (11.6 MJ ME) 74

Blend 23

Molasses 3

TMR spec (40% DM)

Forage in DM 50%

ME (MJ/kg DM) 12.3

Crude protein (% in DM) 14.5

Ultra-sound

mm Start End

Eye muscle diam. 59 68 (46-80)

Lumbar fat depth 1.1 2.4 (0-6)

Residual feed intake by sire – B1&2

Low RFI = more efficient

High RFI = less efficient

RFIkg DMI/day

sire

Relationship between DM intake and growth rate by sire

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

7 8 9 10 11 12

DLWGkg/day

DMI kg/day

Reduce CoP by 10-15 p/kg LW gain

Commercial significance

Growing/Finishing cattle

• 350-650kg = 300kg gain

• @ F:G of 7:1 12% saving = 441kg per head

• £4410 feed savings per 100 head

Breeding herd - annual feed cost

• 10% reduction = £53/head

• Excluding replacements

• £5300 feed savings per 100 cow herd

Limousin sired cattle needed

• Steers

• Must originate from a farm that is able to supply 8-16 steer calves from the same, currently (or previously) registered Limousin bull/AI sire

• Be aged from 2 weeks up to approximately 8 months old

• We are working with Blade and Buitelaar

Also currently looking for a recording farm

Thank you

Please put sires on calf passports if accurately known