Newford farm held its first open day in Athenry Co Galway last week.
This was not my first time to view the herd or hear about the operation, but it was good to see that so many other suckler farmers were also taking an interest in the herd.
Their interest only increased further when on the first information board of the day, farmers were hit with the financial targets for the herd. A gross margin of €1,170 and a net margin of €519 by 2020. Financial targets for every farm have to be the starting point of any plan.
The first thing to say about the farm is that this it is not a weanling producing farm and all progeny is brought to beef. The second thing is the cow type is different to many suckler herds in the west, in that the cows are first crosses from the dairy herd.
Why dairy farmers should bear in mind the Euro-star index
Interestingly, while sourcing cows for the herd originally, not much emphasis was placed on the background breeding in the cow, that is, apart from being either an Angus or Hereford cross.
Today, heifers are selected on both physical appearance and potential breeding performance using the Euro-star index. This could be something for dairy farmers to bear in mind when using beef sires on their dairy cows with an eye towards the suckler herd. Not any old bull will do.
As the farm is entirely based on finishing all progeny as either steers or heifers, there is a clear emphasis on terminal traits when selecting sires to use on the Angus or Hereford cross cows. A mixture of artificial insemination and natural service is used and there is no breed preference involved. Sires are selected based on carcase traits and must be proven as easy calving bulls, although there is a tolerance for the reliability on stock bulls.
Keeping it simple
There are also many similarities between this farm and other suckler farms in the west. Number one, the farm is fragmented and laid out in three different lots and number two, the farm is run as one labour unit, with some help brought in to carry out certain tasks, along with contractors for the bigger jobs such as silage making and slurry spreading.
So as I head back up through Connacht, I thought of lessons learned on the day. For me the main message of the day was “keep it simple”. A simple system with clear targets and a financial plan. To quote Pat Lam, “That’s the key. You set goals but you work every day to achieve them.”
Read more
Full coverage: Newford Suckler Demonstration
Read more of Trevor Boland's Farmer writes
Newford farm held its first open day in Athenry Co Galway last week.
This was not my first time to view the herd or hear about the operation, but it was good to see that so many other suckler farmers were also taking an interest in the herd.
Their interest only increased further when on the first information board of the day, farmers were hit with the financial targets for the herd. A gross margin of €1,170 and a net margin of €519 by 2020. Financial targets for every farm have to be the starting point of any plan.
The first thing to say about the farm is that this it is not a weanling producing farm and all progeny is brought to beef. The second thing is the cow type is different to many suckler herds in the west, in that the cows are first crosses from the dairy herd.
Why dairy farmers should bear in mind the Euro-star index
Interestingly, while sourcing cows for the herd originally, not much emphasis was placed on the background breeding in the cow, that is, apart from being either an Angus or Hereford cross.
Today, heifers are selected on both physical appearance and potential breeding performance using the Euro-star index. This could be something for dairy farmers to bear in mind when using beef sires on their dairy cows with an eye towards the suckler herd. Not any old bull will do.
As the farm is entirely based on finishing all progeny as either steers or heifers, there is a clear emphasis on terminal traits when selecting sires to use on the Angus or Hereford cross cows. A mixture of artificial insemination and natural service is used and there is no breed preference involved. Sires are selected based on carcase traits and must be proven as easy calving bulls, although there is a tolerance for the reliability on stock bulls.
Keeping it simple
There are also many similarities between this farm and other suckler farms in the west. Number one, the farm is fragmented and laid out in three different lots and number two, the farm is run as one labour unit, with some help brought in to carry out certain tasks, along with contractors for the bigger jobs such as silage making and slurry spreading.
So as I head back up through Connacht, I thought of lessons learned on the day. For me the main message of the day was “keep it simple”. A simple system with clear targets and a financial plan. To quote Pat Lam, “That’s the key. You set goals but you work every day to achieve them.”
Read more
Full coverage: Newford Suckler Demonstration
Read more of Trevor Boland's Farmer writes
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