Standing in the middle of Durrow town square, it’s hard to believe that you’re just yards from one of the most productive and profitable beef farms in the region.

The block of land at Durrow village is the main hub of Tomás Murphy’s farm, which is split in four. His 70-cow suckler herd runs here, while the outfarms are used to carry his yearlings and produce the main silage cuts.

Tomás’s herd is a mixture of continental breeds, with some Limousin-Friesian crosses dotted throughout. Two Limousin bulls, one by Hortensia (HTA) and one by a Ronick Hawk (RKH) son, along with a Simmental bull by Bawny T-Rex (S699) run with the cows. An Aberdeen Angus bull accompanies the replacement heifers. Tomás keeps replacements from the Ronick Hawk and Bawny T-Rex bulls.

The herd’s average maternal index value is €105 – with €98 being the threshold for five-star animals. Genetics-wise, this puts Tomás’s suckler herd in the top 10% nationally. In terms of the Beef Data Genomics Programme, Tomás’s herd is hitting the 2020 targets already.

The perfect cow is only one piece of the puzzle. Like many others, the farm needed changes. Time and time again, BETTER farm participants have shown that carrying more stock is the single-biggest positive influence on farm profitability. Installing paddocks and increasing the number of drinking points have been among Tomás’s most rewarding investments.

“I can carry more stock quite easily now. My grazing system is more flexible. By measuring grass weekly, I can identify surplus grass accurately and early – keeping quality in front of the cattle all year. I feel that I can really push the farm’s output now, particularly on this block in the village,” he said.

The Durrow village farm is an exceedingly dry block of land and a remarkable grass-growing farm. It has produced an average of 85kg DM/ha of grass daily for the past six weeks.

When I visited the block in mid-June, Tomás was running an eye-watering stocking rate of 5.3 LU/ha and had a daily grass demand of 64kg DM/ha. Of 23 paddocks on the Durrow farm, three had been skipped for silage the week previous.

Tomás knows that he’s blessed with a bountiful piece of land, but doesn’t rest on his laurels. He believes in getting the most from what he has.

“It’s a great farm alright. We’re pushing boundaries in terms of numbers, but by measuring what I’m growing I can rest assured,” he said.

“It’s extremely light, gravelly land with only 7in of topsoil. Water washes through it very quickly. I get cows and calves out here in mid-February, which is always handy. Paddocks are closed up from mid-October to enable the early turn out.

“On the flip side, correcting soil indices takes a while and I’m conscious that expensive 18:6:12 fertiliser is probably leaching through the soil. I’ve only gone up one level on the soil index in the same amount of time that other BETTER farm participants have jumped two or three. You can’t have it every way I suppose,” he said.

Autumn-calvers more expensive

Before joining the programme, Tomás operated a split calving system. He didn’t have the housing facilities to calve big numbers in one season. But when he realised that the autumn-calvers were costing him €750 versus the €620 spring-calvers, the decision was made to streamline the business. Tomás installed eight more calving boxes and switched to a complete spring-calving system.

I asked him about the switch and whether there had been negative effects on cashflow given that he was selling stock less often now.

“The move to spring calving has made the farm more labour-efficient. I wouldn’t go back. On cashflow, I don’t get itchy feet to go shopping when the factory cheques come. I’m happy to leave money resting in the bank without doing anything wild,” he replied.

Tomás now takes all of his own animals through to slaughter. He finishes his males as bullocks at or before two years of age. Once weaned in October or November, he stores them for the winter before sending them back to grass for a second grazing season the following spring. They’re then housed in the winter, targeting a finish early the following year. He aims for R+/U- grades with carcase weights of 410kg. Beef heifers run in a similar system and go at 22 months of age, with the aim being an R=/R+ 375kg carcase.

Milky cows drive calf performance

The programme has opened Tomás’s eyes to an important aspect of productive farming. Be it grass or cattle performance, measurement is crucial to the success of his enterprise.

“I like weighing the cattle. You walk out in the field, the sun’s on their backs, they’re thriving – but what are they doing for you?” he said.

“We’re in the business of producing beef, but what successful business doesn’t know what it’s producing? It’s like measuring grass – they’re both resources that cost money to produce. Also, weighing will become more important now as carcase weight specs tighten.”

In terms of pre-weaning performance, Tomás’s faith in the maternal index is paying big dividends.

Of the 61 mature cows currently in the herd, 44 are assigned four or five stars for milk production. This is driving pre-weaning growth rates in Tomás’s calves (Table 1).

Breaking the barriers to AI usage

Tomás recently took part in a fixed-time AI synchronisation research trial and Dr Mervyn Parr from Teagasc Grange will give a talk on the methods and results at Tuesday’s farm walk.

The trial involved 2,200 suckler cows and Dr Alan Kelly from UCD recently published an article outlining the regimes in the Irish Farmers Journal.

The protocol that achieved the highest pregnancy rate (57%) involved handling the cow three times in 11 days and is outlined in Figure 1 below.

Many producers are hesitant to adopt AI-based breeding. Time constraints and lack of facilities are often cited as limiting factors. The farm may be run on a part-time basis and any handling crush might be located on the nether regions of the farm.

This synchronisation regime (Figure 1) requires three interventions and no heat detection.

It costs €25 to €30 (without cost of AI straw/service) and lasts just 11 days, after which over half of cows should be pregnant.

A good stock bull is just as good as or often better than an AI straw. That being said, those interested in AI breeding but concerned about a potential lack of time or facilities should answer the following questions:

  • Is the farm set up to carry cows for 11 days adjacent to handling facilities?
  • Can enough time be freed up to handle all cows three times during this 11-day period (days 1, 8 and 11)?
  • Is there a desire to tighten the breeding and calving seasons on the farm?

    • If your answer is yes three times, this protocol may be something for consideration. The results of the trial are promising. Even though a large proportion of cows don’t successfully conceive to the treatment, the interventions can act to kick-start their oestrus cycles, which are often slow to get going in suckler cows post-calving. After 11 days, the bull can move in and finish the job.