Weaned single-suckled calves (male castrates) were offered a finishing diet which included 2·3 kg/day bruised barley (F) or a similar diet with the cereal supplement omitted (R) during the main winter feeding period. Some diet R steers had a subsequent grazing period and were re-housed for a second winter when the diet included a cereal supplement. The treatments caused differences in growth rate, distribution of slaughterings and grazing requirements. Diet R reduced growth rate and the steers took longer to reach slaughter, which was at a higher live weight, than on diet F at the same degree of finish. Steers on diet R produced 4·5% more carcass weight, 8·2% more lean, 4·1 % less fat and 11·2% more bone than those on diet F. They consumed more wet distillers' grains (21·1 %), swedes (25·5%) and grass silage (32·0%) from housing to slaughter but saved 80·0 % of the cereal consumed on diet F.