Cost-focused Angus herd targets further £8 a cow savings

A processor-led carbon benchmarking initiative has challenged a Cheshire Angus unit to squeeze more cost out of its already lean system.

Ian Norbury at Mobberley Angus, near Wilmslow, has already made huge profitability gains (see “Banked improvements”).

However, a farm business consultancy visit courtesy of processing giant ABP has challenged him to save up to £807 across the farm through “quick wins” to improve carbon efficiency.

See also: How Cheshire suckler farm adapted to survive drought

Ian is sceptical about carbon footprinting, but sees the value that carbon efficiency (carbon dioxide equivalent divided by beef output) has in helping drive costs down.

He is hoping that participating in ABP’s Programme for Improving the Sustainability of red Meat (Prism) 2030 project improves the farm’s profitability further.. 

Banked improvements

Over the past six years, Ian has halved the winter housing period to three months, cut the bulling period from 22 to 12 weeks, increased calves sold per 100 cows bulled from below 90% to 95.9% and eradicated concentrate feed in the prime cattle.

“I don’t see any big wins now,” explains Ian. “I am probably at the stage now where adding value through marketing beef and genetics is the way to go.”

Farmers Weekly asked what Ian has done to improve his carbon efficiency and how it might be improved in the future.

1. Handling and weighing gear

Good handling gear and weigh scales are essential for Ian and farm labourer Jack Ancell to determine youngstock growth rates, cow weight and bale weights for outwintering. Without this data, Ian says they are in the dark.

Figures are recorded from cattle EID tags via the Tru Test system from the Arrowquip crush weight crate. Data feeds into Excel as well as Farmplan and, more recently, Herdmanager.

• Cost savings Steers and heifers with fat cover can be sold if growth rates are falling in the autumn. This saves on housing and conserved forage costs. This helps claw back the money spent on the crush, which got a 40% grant. Feed and bedding costs are almost half the Agricultural Budgeting and Costing (ABC) Book average at £0.62/kg deadweight.
• Carbon savings Cattle are finished by 22 months at R3+ at about 300kg deadweight off grass and forage. Increasing numbers of cattle are finished off grass at 16-19 months, avoiding a costly second winter.

2. Cut 130kg off mature cow weight

Culling larger, less efficient cows means less dry matter (DM) is being used for maintenance and instead supporting body condition, fertility, and milk. More pure Angus and fewer cross-breds has helped drop mature cow weight from 780kg to 650kg.

• Cost savings Lighter cows can be outwintered longer with less risk of poaching. Because they are easy-fleshing and meet maintenance requirements from forage, they all get in-calf in a compact 12-week period.
• Carbon savings Less slurry to move and spread in the summer as the cows outwintering spread it themselves, haylage to make and cart to the sheds.

3. Deferred grass and bale grazing

Rotational grazing through the summer helps increase production on the platform while tired leys are shut up. This year’s wintering field was picked because it is light, although does have some heavier clay parts.

It was deferred from late May and will be reseeded with a herbal ley.

All mature cows (heifers are housed) are wintered in one mob, rationed at 2.5% of their bodyweight, which is 16.25kg DM, or two bales a day plus deferred grass.  

With close to 300 bales, the field is expected to offer 120-150 days of feed for the cows, so they stay out until at least the second week of February. Bales are placed in five lanes. They are tipped on their end and the netting cut off.

• Costing savings Feeding hay wrapped with a belt baler saves £6 a bale on wrap as well as plastic disposal costs. No ring feeders are used. A thorough costings overhaul showed fixed costs had fallen from £569 to £197 a cow between 2018 and 2021.
• Carbon savings No tractors are needed to spread slurry, make silage, cart silage to sheds or feed the cows in winter. Fuel and oil costs are £85/ha, which is 33% lower than the ABC average.

4. Rotational grazing diverse leys

Reseeding 15-20% of the farm each year with more diverse swards is helpful drought tolerance and fertiliser savings.

Adding mains electric to the farm has helped get paddocks subdivided, so cows are never on a field more than three-to-four days and yearlings can graze and gain more than 1kg a day on daily shifts.

• Costing savings About 40% of the farm is now a herbal ley or mixed sward of some kind, qualifying for £382/ha in Countryside Stewardship, providing it is left for at least five weeks between 1 May and 31 July. Having at least 20% of the sward as legumes (bird’s foot trefoil, clover) means no fertiliser has been used for two years and lime costs are £24/ha.
• Carbon savings Crops are direct-drilled to avoid soil disturbance and save on the pass of a plough.

Ian Norbury is aiming for the following savings after a Carbon Cost Assessment undertaken by Gordon Turner at Andersons as part of the Prism project. Another assessment will be done in 2025 and the findings compared.