A combination of selected genetics and better nutrition is enabling Alan Medd to maximise his suckler enterprise’s potential and subsequent gross output at West Whorley Hill, Winston, near Darlington.

That was reflected in an entry of 17, 11 month old Charolais cross bulls averaging 505 kgs, sold through Barnard Castle mart store ring last month to average £621 and feature within the day’s top 5pc, a trend consistent with his previous trade at the centre.

“We pride ourselves in producing quality stock and nowadays we’re finding that our calves are flying. We’ve reintroduced Charolais to use over our 100 cow suckler herd, and more recently started to feed a specific total mixed ration (TMR) mix to weaned seven month old calves through to sale, 12 weeks later.”
During that three month housed period Charolais cross bulls are achieving a daily liveweight gain (DLG) of 1.64kg to average 505kgs liveweight at 11 month old point of sale, and same age heifers an average 387kgs liveweight.

Alan says performance has improved by 15pc since swapping a traditional ration for the TMR diet formulated by Keenan and designed to encourage growth potential while feed conversion efficiency (FCE) is at its greatest. It comprises home grown grass silage, whole crop wheat (WCW) and rolled grains plus a balancer blend.

Source: Stackyard