Beef cattle farming is an economic activity aimed at producing beef cattle that involves rearing cattle of different sexes, ages and body weights by applying intensive or less intensive feeding programmes in order to provide income and also a profit for the farmers. The income of the business activity is the total amount of money obtained from sales activities that can be calculated as the market weight of the cattle produced multiplied by the purchase price and appears in the first line of the profit and loss statement of the company. While profit is the difference between income and all costs incurring during the business activities, and as such is the last line of the profit and loss statement. This is a key index for all businesses as this allows you to see how profitable and sustainable the company is.
For all agricultural activities it is important to know which basic biological factors influence profitability. This is also true for raising beef cattle. Some of these factors are listed below:
- Adult live weight: Beef calves that mature at a later age and have larger adult body weights build protein for a longer period than smaller framed breeds, which means they achieve higher weight gains at the same age and with the same feeding program.
- Sex and breed: When fed the same ration, bull calves achieve higher weight gain than heifers, and generally larger breeds have better weight gain than medium and small size breeds.
- Breed: Within a breed, higher end body weight means that the potential average weight gain is lower. This is true for smaller framed breeds raised for beef.
- Nutrition: In beef cattle growth and body composition are influenced by the quantity and the ratio of forages and grains. Feeding grains will allow for a more intensive weight gain than rearing beef cattle based exclusively on forages.
The MagraL group of companies operates in Hungary since 2014. Their main activities are crop farming and beef cattle rearing. They pursue activities in the Western Transdanubia region, in the counties of Zala, Vas and Veszprém. They produce crops on almost 2,400 hectares, part of which is rented, while beef cattle are raised at two sites: in Zalabér and Csabrendek. They own a breeding herd of Limousins in Zalabér, although this is now a small herd because the owner and the management have decided to focus on fattening. In 2020, two 400-head barns were newly built at the feedlot in Csabrendek, increasing the farm size from 1,000 to 1,800 heads, while the barns at Zalabér were reconstructed, this is where predominantly fattening activities (bulls and heifers) are carried out, with only a negligible number of heifers used for breeding.
MagraL Agrár Ltd. operates its fattening activities under the following circumstances:
- The animals are housed indoors and kept under two different farming technologies (with a total capacity of 1,750-2,000 heads).
- One part of the farm accommodates 4 reconstructed Agrokomplex barns with 8 units for 25 heads each. This accommodates 700-800 beef cattle, depending on their age. Further 3 barns have also been reconstructed, these hold further 350-400 heads of beef cattle of 300-350 kg live weight. Manure is removed and fresh litter is placed every 2-3 days in these production units.
- The two new 400-head barns built in 2020 are located at the other part of the farm with deep litter, sandwich panel structure with vented gable roof, litter spreading robot, automated litter scraping and feed bunks. Litter is spread twice every day in these barns, deep litter technology allows litter to be fully removed between groups.
- The calves are from their own Limousin breeding stock (bull calves and heifers), as well as feeder cattle of different beef breeds (Limousin, Charolais, Angus, Hungarian Simmental and other crossed breeds) sourced form various farms. 75-80% of the calves at the site are bull calves and 20-25% are heifers.
- Available feed: they produce their own corn silage, CCM, barley and straw for feed, and buy by-products such as wet CGF and bran; they also buy complete feed in mash form to supplement these feeds and provide an adequate source of minerals and vitamins.
Figure 1. summarises the fattening process at MagraL Agrár Ltd.
We have been working in close cooperation with the beef cattle business of MagraL group since 2023. This is when the manager of the animal breeding business asked us to recommend a solution to supplement the high energy forage they produce and the by-products they purchase in a way that increases average daily weight gains and profits in a cost-effective way. Laboratory testing was performed to analyse the feed produced and results were used to formulate a mash feed to supplement the protein-based by-products they use in the ration with further protein, as well as to provide adequate mineral and vitamin supplementation for the two production groups (350 kg and 500 kg live weight).
After a series of technical discussions, cooperation was initiated in spring 2023, the following diagrams 1 and 2 show the ratio of the feed ingredients in the rations.
The aim for the year 2023 was to provide cost-efficient feed for the cattle already at the farm until slaughter weight is reached, while reaching target weights at an earlier age for the newly purchased animals by realizing weight gain more efficiently. Farm management also put continuous effort into improving comfort in order to achieve an ideal state, where the animals are provided a clean and calm place to rest after eating. They took two major steps in this regard: first of all, they decided to operate at only 87-90% of maximum capacity in the two new barns. They realised that the larger bulls placed here can’t rest properly if 10 of them are placed in each unit.
This lead to placing only 8 bulls per production unit. A second important step was to provide clean and dry places for resting 24 hours a day. This is planned to be achieved by increasing straw stocks with purchases. The above described changes resulted in a step-by-step increase of average daily weight gains, reaching an increase of 23% from baseline by the beginning of 2024. Once this was achieved, we started thinking about nutritional investments, that will not only bring a return on investment but will also improve results. We recommended a product that we developed and manufacture, that contains a combination of by-pass proteins and fats (Soyzin).
We recommended this product based on its fat content, because the energy value of fat is double compared to that of carbohydrates (fibre, starch) and is generally easily digested; meanwhile this product also contains a significant amount of protein.
The manager of the business unit at the MagraL group asked us to prepare a nutritional recommendation including a cost analysis. Of course, when modelling the rations we accounted for the fact that fat might negatively affect digestion in the rumen when used in excessive amounts. After presenting our cost analysis we decided to start the project and then summarise the results in 2-3 months. At the moment we have reached a further increase of 9% in average weight gains, which means average weight gain has increased by 32% from 2022, while the difference between the first and last lines of the company’s profit and loss statement has increased.
The above demonstrate clearly, that any economic activity can be profitable if you are able to properly map the conditions of operation (technological possibilities, quantity and quality of available feed ingredients, characteristics of the biological organism used, etc.). Apart from this, the most important factor is that we implement our ideas in a framework of mutual cooperation with our Partner. We would like to thank the management and the breeding unit of MagraL Agrár Ltd. for choosing to partner with the cattle division of Bonafarm-Bábolna Takarmány Ltd. and we are looking forward to many more years of partnership.
Róbert Halász
consultant
Bonafarm-Bábolna Takarmány Ltd.
