Alex Rawlings farmed 300 acres in Wiltshire with a herd of 50 spring calving suckler cattle, when he began considering ways to boost farm business income. Then he heard about Gamechanger.
Gamechanger is ABP and Sainsbury’s integrated beef programme, supplying premium, low-carbon beef to Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference range.
Through the programme, Gamechanger dairy farmers use high performance, easy calving Aberdeen Angus sires provided by Genus and Cogent, to supply maximum efficiency beef calves that thrive and go on through Gamechanger to grow and finish on a grass and forage-based diet.
With enough shed space and grass availability for more cattle, Alex was attracted by the idea of regular, steady farm income to complement what he was doing, without the need for capital.
Alex says: “I discovered that Gamechanger offers ways to incorporate more cattle alongside the existing suckler herd. I looked at the options to rear calves, grow youngstock, finish cattle, or a combination of these, and decided on growing and finishing cattle. To me, a big benefit of Gamechanger was the ability to finance cattle purchases through Oxbury. I wanted to invest in enough cattle to improve the farm’s monthly income which Oxbury enabled me to do quickly and without financial capital outlay.”
Gamechanger, which works with 640 farmers across the UK, sourced a batch of 45 Aberdeen Angus sired, high-health calves from a nearby Gamechanger rearer. Arriving at 100kg the calves were housed for one month, weaned onto their new forage-based diet, grazed out for summer, and then housed and fed on a high-forage diet throughout winter.
Alex says: “I really liked the quality, consistency and performance of the first batch of Gamechanger cattle, so I decided to receive a second batch of 45 grower cattle which have been equally as good. They graze GS4 leys abundant with legumes and herbs, offering a good source of protein and general nutrition, so cattle are performing at up to 1.5kg/dlwg on this, and then during housing they are fed on grass silage, whole crop barley and brewers’ grains and their growth rates can reach 2.2kg/dlwg. We weigh cattle at least once a month when housed, and a little less when at grass.”
Gamechanger growers and finishers are given an AgriWebb livestock management software subscription which aids performance monitoring and helps to guide finishing decisions. Alex aims to finish cattle at 600-640kg by 21 months of age and delivers them to his nearest ABP abattoir, in groups of four.
He adds: “It’s a different way of farming cattle to what I’m used to with sucklers. It helps support the farm’s income and it’s rewarding to see cattle performance through AgriWebb, which is proving the best data management system I’ve come across; it’s user-friendly and shapes our decisions about cattle diets and management for the better.”
Alex’s key takeaways:
- You know your future income from the day calves arrive on farm, which is good for budgeting.
- Oxbury financing meant no financial capital outlay required to get going.
- Gamechanger calves are healthy and have a great start, they are well reared so grow efficiently and perform consistently right through to finish.
Gamechanger farmers are supported by dedicated, regional staff who are contactable by phone for advice, and who can guide farmers to specialist support as needed. All calves are sired by one of six industry leading Aberdeen Angus bulls exclusive to Gamechanger and sourced by Genus and Cogent for their exceptional fertility, calving ease, and growth rates. Gamechanger is expanding and needs more dairy calf suppliers to increase throughput, offering regular and reliable income for calves, on farm collections and the option to rear, grow and finish cattle as well, with models to suit the needs of every farming business. To explore the full range of options call 01458 259413 and see our website for testimonials gamechangerfarming.com.