Feature: John Owen

Calving at two years old and using superior genetics has turned the economics of a Welsh beef producer around.

Economics of beef production may previously have been clouded by headage payments, but the decoupling of payments brought fortune for Welsh beef producer, John Owen by forcing him to change his farming strategy.

Previously a conventional farm, Mr Owen who farms near Llanon, Ceredigion took the decision to convert to organic in 2006 as well as joining the Tir Gofal scheme in order to make the farm more self sufficient. “This meant we had to reduce stocking densities in the suckler herd, consisting of two thirds Aberdeen-Angus and one third Salers, from 110 cows to 85 cows in the first two years of organic to give the farm time to adjust,” he explains.

And it was during this change that Mr Owen decided to experiment with a “cost-cutting” exercise to see whether the suckler herd could pay for itself, rather than eating in to subsidies.  This is when he began calving heifers at two years old.

John Owen with some of his Angus crosses

The move to calving at two years old coincided with incorporating better genetics in the herd. This was brought about by the Welsh Beef Quality Improvement Project which offered a 40% grant for purchasing a top EBV bull.

“Having bought better Aberdeen-Angus bulls and as genetics in the herd improved , heifers were getting to a bulling weight of 400kg at 14-15 months old,” says Mr Owen.

Mr Owen openly admits it was uneconomic calving at three years old, but says the benefits of calving a year earlier goes further than improved economic performance.

“One of the biggest benefits is the fact you can rear more calves from less cows and this means stocking numbers were 12% less compared to when we were calving heifers at three years old. This allowed us to increase stocking numbers back up to the original number of 110 cows, which wouldn’t have been possible on an organic system when calving at three years old,” he adds.

The whole process has also increased the speed of the suckler cow cycle resulting in a quicker return on investment and also means an extra calf is gained over the cow’s life cycle. But apart from the obvious financial benefits from gaining an extra calf, Mr Owen says it has also forced him to breed from only the best heifers. “Now I will only bull the best grown heifers and they do seem to milk better,” he says.

And the improved milking ability is something Mr Owen believes is also down to calving earlier. “Heifers that calve at two years old do seem to milk better throughout their lifetime because there is less time for internal fat to accumulate around the udder, compared to the older heifer which may have more internal fat which can lead to calving difficulties and reduced milk yield,” he says.

He believes there is no reason why every suckler herd, irrespective of breed, couldn’t calve at two years old, but says the Aberdeen-Angus breed is particularly well suited with it being an early maturing breed.

But it’s not just about the age of the heifer at calving, as Mr Owen is paying close attention to the genetics and performance of the bull as well. “Out of the two Aberdeen-Angus bulls we have, we use the bull with the easiest calving EBV to put to heifers, as this produces smaller calves.”

And selecting bulls on EBVs is vital to the herd’s success, since the bull makes up 50% of a herd.  “When you buy a bad bull it can take up to eight years to get it out of your herd. Before using EBVs I was essentially buying blind and although it costs more to invest in superior genetics, it pays off because I can now sell heifers ready to bull at 14 months old.”

Before purchasing bulls Mr Owen draws up a shortlist by looking at their figures. “I always try and select bulls in the top 1% for TSI and top 5% for SRI. I then pay attention to ease of calving and particularly the calving ease of progeny of heifers which is the most important.  The 200-day growth rate is also important since it is linked to the milking ability of the cow,” he adds.

“But despite the figures, the bull still has to look good and the scrotal circumference is something that’s very important when viewing a bull as there is a correlation with this and the fertility of heifers. This is why you can’t just buy on figures or looks alone.”