Livestock health and production senior lecturer Jim Gibbs told a South Canterbury field day that red meat was not winning in this country. Calf prices had stayed about the same for 15 years, beef cow numbers were dropping, and most calves went through to at least a second winter.
''It's not a steer when it's 36 months, it's a pensioner. It gets a gold card.''
All our OECD competitors killed their prime beef at 14 to 16 months, Dr Gibbs said.
Pasture only had quantity and quality for three to four months of the year, but replacement feed was a cost. Grains were 40 to 60 cents per kilogram of dry matter.
''Grain is never going to be viable in New Zealand. There's no quicker way to go broke than to use grain and silage to fatten cattle.''
There was ''nothing magical'' about fodder beet, but we could grow ''monster crops'' of it, he said.
''We're ahead of the rest of the world in agronomy. New Zealand is the only country that grazes it. If you grow lots of something, it tends to be cheap.''
A North Island crop was grown for three cents per kilogram of dry matter.
Fodder beet kept its metabolisable energy level of 12 until it went to seed. It could be sown in spring and fed from March to December, Dr Gibbs said.
''This is the wheat or the corn that New Zealand hasn't had.''
About 25% of its dry matter was in the leaf, so there were cost and nutrient advantages of grazing it in the paddock, not harvesting it.
Some supplements were needed to get normal rumen function in the grazing animals, Dr Gibbs said. Rising-one-year stock needed 1kg of supplement.
R1 cattle should be put on to high-quality, unlimited feed as soon as possible. With early weaning, calves needed 21 days on ''hot'' grass before transitioning on to ad lib fodder beet with 1kg of supplement. They could stay there for 150 days until the grass reappeared in spring.
''Make the most of the three months of quality grass. Frame them up through winter to eat maximum grass in spring.''
A trial produced a 1.1kg per day weight gain, with the calves in a good position to be finished by the end of November, Dr Gibbs said.
''You can use walk-on, walk-off grass instead of supplement. You can probably use it into June. Leave them on it for half an hour, to take in 1kg of grass.''
Grass silage or something of greater quality could be used once fresh grass ran out in June.
R2 cattle could be fed ad lib fodder beet with 2kg of supplement.
''They just need a fibre source, not good quality.''
He recommended a ''really high stocking rate for a 70- to 80-day period on fodder beet'', building to a carcass weight of 270kg to 320kg.
With meat companies interested in procurement, farmers could take advantage of rising schedules, Dr Gibbs said.
''If you get it right, it can work well.''
Dr Gibbs was less enthusiastic about kale as cattle fodder.
''Kale is the Jenny Craig of cow feed - you pay a lot of money to stay skinny. It doesn't stack up very well at all.''
- by Sally Brooker