'Fat cattle calculator' for producers
From the February 2008 edition of Agriculture Today.
Now predicting how fat cattle will become, so as to know when they will be ready for sale, will be made easier by a new computer modelling "calculator".
"Producers throughout NSW will help to trial the new growth calculator, which is designed to take much of the guesswork out of finishing stock," Department of Primary Industries (DPI) beef livestock officer, Matthew McKiernan said.
"The growth calculator uses information from 14 years of research undertaken by the Beef CRC, which investigated how cattle grow.
"It is aimed at assisting producers to better meet market specifications," he said.
The Beef CRC is developing the calculator in conjunction with NSW DPI.
The growth calculator uses a number of indicators such as the animal’s frame score, live weight, fat score and the quality of feed available to determine how much fat and weight will be put on by the time it is ready for sale.
Mr McKiernan said the calculator would also allow producers to calculate the quality of feed needed and time needed on this feed, before the animal reached a certain weight and fatness.
"This information can be used to make critical management decisions.
"For example, forage crops or supplementary feeding may be used to make animals grow faster, or producers may opt to grow cattle out gradually so they don’t get over fat," he said.
Producers who consistently meet market specifications for weight and fat specifications maximise their returns; producers who do not meet requirements are subjected to significant penalties.
"The beef growth calculator will be of particular benefit to the feedlot sector and will eventually include descriptors such as breed, body dimensions, EBVs and genetic information from DNA markers to improve accuracy," Mr McKiernan said.
"The calculator is now in an extensive trialling phase.
"All producers will be able to learn more about the tool at a number of Meat and Livestock Australia’s More Beef from Pastures field days, to be held throughout NSW in the coming months."
Contact Matthew McKiernan, Glen Innes, (02) 6730 1941.
