Bryan Olde

At a recent open day hosted by the National Beef Association South West in conjunction with Lely, attendees heard how automation has helped accelerate finishing times. 

Installing an automatic feeding system has helped Devonshire beef finishers more than double throughput.

Andrew and Bryan Olde have also realised labour and fuel savings of almost £22,000 annually since swapping their mixer wagon for the Lely Vector.

The brothers run a mixed enterprise across 600 acres (242ha) at Blegberry Farm on the Hartland Peninsular.

They previously fattened 270 stores annually and sold them to Kevin Pearce, Axminster, Somerset, to be finished.

However, since installing the Vector they have improved weight gains from 1.2kg to 2kg daily, on average, which has allowed them to more than double throughput to 560. They are now finishing everything themselves.

 

Background

The brothers source suckler beef cattle privately and through markets.

“It’s whatever I think is good value. We have a mix of breeds. We like British Blue and Charolais, but we do also have some Aberdeen Anguses,” says Bryan.

Cattle are sourced at a mix of ages. Some will be aged 14 months at purchase and will only be on the farm for 90 days, while other longer-keep stores are sought aged 9-10 months and are grazed from April to August.

 

Installation 

They were convinced to upgrade to the Vector after witnessing the benefits of Lely’s Juno automatic feed pusher.

They first purchased a Juno in September 2021 and calculated that daily intake increased by 6.5kg a head, reducing time on the farm by 30 days and resulting in a £40 a head saving.

“We had to widen some of the feed passageways, remove troughs and make sure feed barriers were the same height so the Vector could easily scan feed fences,” recalls Bryan.

The installation was completed in November 2023.

“Within the first couple of days, intakes went up and we were feeding 1t/freshweight more per week,” says Bryan.

 

Feeding

Vector is unique to other automated feeders because it scans the feed fence and feeds to demand.

“Every time it pushes up feed, it uses ultrasound to scan the fence. This means it can prioritise feed fences based on current levels of feeds,” explains Merryn Cowls, Farm Management Support at Lely Center Holsworthy.

At Blegberry, the MFR is programmed to feed three rations: a 16% grower ration and heifer and steer finishing rations (12% protein).

The Oldes grow fodder beet, wheat, barley, grass and wholecrop peas and barley. These ingredients are utilised in the beef rations to reduce bought-in feed requirements. Only ground maize, soya and minerals are purchased to complete the Total Mixed Ration (TMR).

Currently, grass silage and fodder beet make up the mainstay of the ration (see Table 1: Rations), but after Christmas, wholecrop will be fed and Bryan plans on using homegrown beans to reduce bought-in soya requirements. 

Inside the feed kitchen, different feed ingredients are positioned within squares marked on the floor. An overhead grabber, mounted on a gantry crane, travels to specified locations within the kitchen, picking up pre-set amounts of each ingredient and measuring the weight of the feed before dispensing it into the mixing tub, where it is weighed again via weigh cells.

The tub then travels to a designated feed fence guided by metal strips flush to the concrete.  Its longest route is 500m, and it is programmed to feed 20 pens across seven feed fences, operating hourly.

The finishing ration is high in starch (34-38%) however, as cattle are fed little and often rather than in one slug, they do not have issues with acidosis, remarks Bryan.

He adds: “We have no bullying at the feed fence because feed is constantly available. When you started the diet feeder, you couldn’t hear yourself think. But now you can’t hear a noise, and cattle do not rush to the feed fence.”

At Blegberry, feeding accuracy, measured by the feed requested versus what is loaded, is hitting 95%.

 

Benefits and cost savings

Previously, cattle were fed once a day with a diet feeder which took 2.5 hours. Now, it takes just three hours weekly to fill the feed kitchen.

Bryan calculates that this is saving them 14.5 hours a week. Based on labour costing £14/hour, the Vector is realising savings of nearly £10,000 a year.

On top of this, he says they are saving £12,000 annually in diesel.

“We used to spend £15,000 on diesel running the tractor and feeder wagon and the Vector is costing £3,000 in electricity,” he explains.

Bryan says the Vector has been a positive step towards futureproofing the farm.

“The data I receive through the Horizon app means I know accurate feed costings, which is helping to make the enterprise more profitable.”

Table 1: Rations:

 

 

1 Lely Vector Feeding System 

Farm Facts

• Farming 600 acres (180 acres rented, the rest owned)
• Growing 110 acres of winter wheat, 70 acres of spring barley, 90 acres of winter barley, 20 acres of fodder beet, 45 acres of peas and barley for whole cropping, and the remainder grass
• Finishing 560 cattle annually
• Cattle sold deadweight to Dawn Meats, Hatherleigh. Heifers averaging 330-340kg and steers 410-420kg (killing out at 55-60%).
• Lambing 450 Mule cross Suffolk breeding ewes mated to Abermax and Suffolk rams.
• Lambs sold deadweight to ABP or liveweight through Holsworthy Market. Averaging 42kg liveweight (21-22kg deadweight) at mostly R grades.
• Employ two part time staff.