Abstract:
The availability of calves from the dairy industry and the establishment of a local market, has led to a new bull beef industry in southern Australia (Speck 1998). Friesian bull calves that are usually processed at carcass weights below 35 kg, are instead grown out on pasture based enterprises to meet final liveweight specifications of 500-600 kg, with 3 mm of P8 fat, under 24 months. Meeting these specifications is difficult without the use of supplementation. This paper examines systems that have the potential to produce bulls meeting market specifications in under 24 months.