But the Reid brothers see many other benefits from taking finishing cattle through another year, such as grazing patterns that did not cause metabolic problems, better nutrition, providing a balance to sheep and selling the cattle when companies offered procurement premiums, typically 50c to 70c a kg.
Farm consultant Graham Butcher, of Rural Solutions, told a recent Meat and Wool New Zealand Sheep and Beef Council field day that Traquair's cattle finishing operation earned $602,000 a year and incurred direct costs of $203,200 a year.
The gross margin per kilogram of dry matter grown was 6.62c a kg of dry matter.
He revised those figures for a 20-month finishing operation and found the gross margin would be just $3600 gross higher, or 6.68c kg dry matter.
Charles Reid said the current policy gave them flexibility, was less reliant on winter and early spring pasture growth for finishing, and coincided with meat company premiums.
The Reids farm 830 Angus cows with about 170 smaller sized cows crossed with a Hereford bull and about 200 cows with a white face or off-types going to a Charolais or Simmental terminal sire.
The balance went to an Angus bull.
Bulls went out in the first week of December and the previous crop of calves were marked about the same time and weaned in March.
After scanning and testing for bovine tuberculosis, Mr Reid said cows went to tussock blocks where they were rotated over winter.
Last year, just 5% of cows were dry.
"We try to get any excess weight off the cows in early winter to minimise the chances of metabolic issues with the cows through the spring."
Because of dry condition in the past three years, the cows have lived all-year-round on a 1200ha tussock block.
Traditionally the cows spend most of their lives on the block.
The cows put on condition, it was low cost and the Reids control any metabolic issues with the use of mineral blocks.
Calves had electronic tags inserted at weaning and were put in sire mobs according to weight.
"Hopefully this will prevent terminal sire-types from being selected as replacement heifers and coming in to the herd," Mr Reid said.
Steer and heifer calves had similar winter grazing programmes.
Both went to designated blocks and were rotationally grazed and fed baleage from early June until mid to late July before going on to swedes and baleage for a further two to three months.
After that they were spread out with ewes and lambs.
All calves were drenched at weaning, in May-June. and again after coming off winter crop.
At 14 months of age, 60 to 70 heifers were selected and run with an Angus bull, as were 95 26-month heifers.
They calve in separate blocks and each week the calved 26-month-old heifers were shedded off to a separate block with the calved younger heifers shedded off less regularly.
Mr Reid said 30 to 40 of the heaviest prime heifers were taken out of the herd in April and prepared for sale to a meat company in June or July.
The first prime heifers were sold to local butchers in late September at 230kg to 280kg, and all were gone to various markets by Christmas.
Between 120 and 150 steers were sold at 20-months of age in May-June at 300kg carcass weight, with the rest wintered on older grass paddocks with baleage and silage until excess crop became available, usually from July.
Mr Reid said they had rotationally grazed steers in one large mob over winter, but found they had health problems.
Mr Reid said the steer mobs were rotated every three to five days between six paddocks or more in spring.
Graham Butcher described their wintering programme as efficient and low cost.
The calves and rising 2-year-old cattle ate about 330 bales of baleage and 40ha of crop, which was low for the scale of the property.
The cows were on their designated tussock block.
As well, the cattle policy helped balance the sheep operation.
They ate poorer quality feed and were half the labour input of sheep.
Charles Reid said the cattle varied the work for staff and if he reduced cow numbers, the size of the sheep flock would increase, as would the workload.
Looking ahead, Mr Reid said they wanted to quit more heifers by Christmas but they were also looking at finishing Friesian bulls, something he had previously vowed he would never do.
"I never thought we would finish Friesian bulls, but there is money to be made."
About 90 bulls arrive in February at about 200kg and were sold 12 months later at 300kg, providing an average margin of $558 a head.