BM3000 Series
Finishing cattle at the right time is one of the biggest drivers of profitability, but it’s also one of the hardest things to judge without accurate liveweight data. Many farmers still rely on visual assessment, gut feel or historic performance to decide when an animal is ready. In a world of rising feed prices and tighter abattoir specs, those small misjudgements can quietly drain hundreds or even thousands of pounds from a finishing system every year.
The challenge is simple:
If an animal finishes earlier and lighter than it should, you lose money.
If it finishes later and heavier than target, you waste money.
Both issues come from the same root cause – not knowing precisely how cattle are growing day by day.
Early Finishers: The Cost of Missed Saleable Weight
When animals are under-finished because their growth isn’t being monitored closely enough, they may be sold several kilos lighter than their true potential. A few kilos missed might not sound like much, until you multiply it across a group.
Example calculation:
- 6 kg of missed gain per animal
- £6.50 per kg
- 25 animals
Total missed income: £975
That’s £975 of saleable weight lost simply because the cattle hit their target weight earlier than expected – but no one knew.
Over-Finishers: Penalties and Wasted Feed
On the other side are the over-finishers – the animals that go past the ideal finishing point because their weights aren’t being tracked. This costs money twice: through abattoir penalties and unnecessary extra days on feed.
Example calculation:
- Abattoir penalty: £4 per animal → £100 total
- Extra feed: 10 days × £1.50/day × 25 animals → £375
- Total wasted cost: £475
These are costs that bring no extra value to the animal – they’re simply the price of not having accurate, real-time liveweight information.
Combined Impact: £1,450 in One Batch
Using the examples above, early finishers cost £975 and over-finishers waste another £475. That’s a total impact of £1,450 in a single group of 25 cattle.
Our calculator helps you put real numbers on this using your own herd data.
See the Impact With Our Finishing Calculator
To help make these hidden costs visible, we’ve created a simple calculator showing the financial impact of early finishers and over-finishers. Try it with your own numbers to see how much these issues may be costing your farm.
How the Ritchie Beef Monitor Solves the Problem
The Ritchie Beef Monitor removes the guesswork from finishing cattle by automatically recording individual liveweights every time an animal visits the water trough. No crate weighing – No labour – No missed changes in performance.
With the Beef Monitor you can:
- Track real-time average daily liveweight gain
- Identify slow gainers early
- Spot when animals are approaching target weight
- Avoid over-finishing and weight penalties
- Cut unnecessary feed costs
- Ensure you sell cattle at their financial optimum
By knowing exactly how each animal is growing, you can take the guesswork out of finishing, improve consistency, and protect every possible kg of saleable weight.
Calculator + Monitor = Data-Driven Finishing
The calculator shows what early and over-finishing could be costing you. The Ritchie Beef Monitor gives you the live data you need to stop those losses from happening.
Together, they help you make more confident finishing decisions and safeguard your margins in a way that simply isn’t possible with guesswork or visual assessment.
Ready to see what accurate liveweights could do for your finishing system?
Try the calculator above with your own numbers, then explore the Ritchie Beef Monitor to start capturing that value in your next finishing group.
Want to try the Hidden Cost of Handling Calculator? Click Here