KNIGHTON BUYER KEEPS COMING BACK
Ed Weetman is known for his nationwide haulage business together with his love of horse racing. He is also a connoisseur of fine cattle having his own Suckler herd and also purchasing quality Continental x Store cattle out of Knighton Market particularly at the annual Brecon & Radnor Suckled Calf Sale.
Around 300 cattle are annually finished at Grindley House Farm near Stafford. Breed wise his preference is for Limousin x cattle out of Continental cows and these are either purchased as yearlings or as weaned calves in the Autumn. Being a businessman where time is of a premium Ed Weetman enthuses about the Brecon & Radnor Suckled Calf Sale as being an auction where he can in one day put together a large load of cattle which match both in terms of size and type. Weaned calves go straight into self designed purpose built cattle sheds and are fed a complete diet by forage wagon of silage, pressed wet pulp, soda wheat and rape meal. Cattle are bedded well with straw and moved through the various pens eventually being finished on a diet of silage, soda wheat, rape meal and minerals. Some heifers are finished at 14 to 15 months of age achieving a live weight of 500 to 550 kilos. Other heifers are taken to 18 months and achieve a live weight of 575 to 625 kilos. Steers are sold out eventually at weights varying between 600 and 700 kilos with virtually all male cattle staying on the farm until the second premium has been received. Because of the quality a lot of U grades are achieved and the aim is for everything to be better than an R4L. Finished cattle are sold to four local butchers with one customer happy to take the heavier weights.
Grindley House Farm totals some 200 acres with 135 acres being down to sward. In addition 40 acres of barley and 25 acres of wheat are grown. Some 1200 tons of pit silage is made every year by way of two cuts. All cattle when coming onto the holding are worm bolused and all cattle when out at grass receive 1lb of concentrate a day. Over the grazing period this costs very little but it enables the cattle to be handled much easier and keeps them used to dry feed. The cattle come back into the yards in late summer to be finished and the aim is for everything to have gone by 24 months with the majority selected for slaughter at around 22 months of age.
SENNYBRIDGE SALE OFFERS THE RIGHT QUALITY
Anthony and Dennis Radcliffe own a 300 acre lowland farm at Margam, Port Talbot on which they run a fattening enterprise with 60 acres of cereals to support it.
They have bought cattle at the BRSCR autumn sale for many years and have been regular attendees for the previous 3 years. The brothers are attracted to the sale because of the large number of quality cattle present. They aim to buy mainly Charolais crosses for their growth potential and confirmation. Steers are the preferred choice as they finish earlier and attract more subsidy payment. The brothers generally buy the steers at 7 to 12 months, preferably on green cards for the 2 beef premium payments.
Cattle bought at the October sale are housed in a fattening shed and fed a diet of clamp silage and home produced straw. No concentrates are used and all feed is home produced. The brothers have recently introduced crimped barley into the diet with the hope of finishing the cattle at an earlier date. The aim is to have a daily live weight gain of 1kg.
Cattle are sold deadweight at approximately 24 months, achieving a deadweight of 390kgs.
The brothers feel it is important cattle are creep fed prior to sale and preferably weaned to minimise stress. They also like to see large lot sizes as long as conformity is not compromised.
Anthony and Dennis recognise they may need to change their finishing system in the light of future CAP support review. However they see a good future for the sale and will continue to support it as long as the BRSCR members continue to offer for sale the same type of quality cattle.
