Tomas O’Leary farms a mixed sheep and beef enterprise in Headford, Killarney, Co Kerry. His farm and farming system have experienced significant changes since joining the Teagasc BETTER farm Sheep Programme in 2012.

As will be discussed in greater detail below, the introduction of more prolific genetics has increased the weaning rate by about 0.3 lambs per ewe mated, while the suckler herd has recently been dispersed and replaced with a beef enterprise.

With breeding and system changes made, Tomas is focusing on getting more from grass through a combination of introducing more paddocks, addressing soil fertility issues and reseeding underperforming paddocks.

The decision to disperse the suckler herd and move away from the suckler-to-beef system is one that was not taken lightly. The farm is divided into two blocks – a 24ha (60-acre) home block that lies on very heavy soils and is marginal in nature (adjusted to 16.2ha or 40 acres grazing) and a 36.4ha (90 acre) outfarm. When adjusted for forestry, buildings and roadways, this comprises 28.3ha (70 acres) of dry, good-quality land.

Housing for the suckler herd is located at the home farm, which was unsuitable for grazing cows and calves for much of the year. Tomas said the delayed turnout date significantly increased the cost of carrying suckler cows, while grazing on the outfarm and operating 100% AI increased labour and presented grazing challenges in times of inclement weather. Running two groups of cows and calves (heifer and bull calves) and a group of one- to two-year-old bullocks and a group of heifers also complicated grazing and increased labour.

The plan being implemented to replace the suckler herd involves increasing the sheep flock from about 200 ewes and ewe lambs to about 200 mature ewes and 50-60 yearling lambing hoggets, along with a 90-head weanling-to-beef heifer enterprise.

The aim is to purchase continental weanling heifers in August-September at an average weight of 320kg, gain cheap liveweight pre-housing and then keep them thriving at 0.5kg to 0.6kg over the winter and finally, finish off grass at 18 to 20 months of age at 300kg to 350kg carcase weight.

Table 1 details performance of the last crop of progeny from the suckler herd and weanlings purchased in 2014. Physical and financial performance of the beef enterprise will be monitored in the same way as the sheep enterprises, with a comparable target of achieving €1,000/ha gross margin.

Complementary

Tomas previously finished heifers from the suckler herd off grass, and concentrates, at 18 to 20 months of age, so operating this system is a realistic target for the farm. The farm is being set up to allow rotational mixed grazing of heifers and sheep.

A 17-acre field was permanently split into three divisions under the Sheep Fencing and Mobile Handling Equipment Scheme in 2014 with an area of similar size due to be subdivided in 2015. When all fencing works are complete, each grazing group will be in a position to be grazed in rotation over five divisions.

Programme adviser Ciaran Lynch said that having fewer grazing groups and an increase in the number of paddocks should help increase the total volume of grass grown and optimise the quality of grass offered to grazing stock. “We found on many of the farms with a low number of paddocks or grazing large areas for longer periods that grass growth was being limited early in the season [grazing of regrowth] with grass quality harder to manage during the peak growing season. More paddocks will allow Tomas to sustain a higher stocking rate and manage grass quality better by taking surplus grass out of the rotation.”

Grass growth is also being boosted by addressing soil fertility deficits. Soil potassium levels are sufficient at Index 3 and Index 4, but soil phosphorus is lacking at Index 1 and Index 2. The pH is also below optimum. A fertilizer plan is in place with targeted use of cattle slurry and compound fertilizers to soils low in phosphorus while 2t of lime per acre has also been applied to raise pH levels.

Increasing flock output

Vast improvements have been made in recent years in increasing output from the sheep flock. Base breeding was Suffolk ewes with flock replacements purchased in the past. The breeding policy changed with the introduction of Belclare genetics and a change to retaining replacements from within the flock. The introduction of 50% Belclare genetics into most ewes has helped lift the litter size by 0.25 to 0.4 lambs per ewe put to the ram.

Performance in the early lamb flock, the mid-season flock and the ewe lamb flock is detailed in Table 2. The pregnancy rate in the early lamb flock is impressive, with 36 out of the 40 ewes that were joined to the ram found to be in lamb and carrying 2.06 lambs per ewe. Breeding in the mid-season and ewe lamb flock was also excellent in 2014/2015, with a scanning rate of 2.03 and 1.49 lambs respectively.

Flock management before and after lambing is equally impressive, with very low mortality levels. The 36-ewe early lamb flock recently weaned 71 lambs, the mid-season flock has recorded mortality of less than 8% to date, while yearling hoggets that have lambed are currently rearing 1.5 lambs.

A point to note if advancing down a route of high- prolificacy genetics is that high levels of nutritional management and better lambing facilities are required. Tomas is currently rearing about 25 pet lambs on a Volac Ewe 2 Feeder. These lambs will be weaned off milk replacer and on to creep at six weeks of age and joined to the main lamb flock after weaning.

Early lamb performance

The reason for running a small early-lambing flock differs from other farms. While it splits labour and generates cashflow early in the year, the primary reason is that Tomas is a member of the Ring of Kerry Quality Lamb group (www.ringofkerrylambquality.ie). The 20-member group guarantees a year-round supply of lamb to its customers and, as such, Tomas produces a supply of early lambs, with most of main-season lamb also traded through the group.

After lambing in January, ewes and their lambs were retained indoors for three to four weeks. From turnout to weaning, lambs had access to restricted creep feeding, currently at 700g/head a day. The total consumed from birth to 15 weeks of age is about 25kg/head. Performance of lambs, based on their birth type, is listed in Table 3. The focus from weaning to sale is to optimise weight gain, with lambs offered the best- quality grass and grazed ahead of the mid-season flock. Early lambs are being drafted at 40kg to 42kg, with the drafting weight increasing to 45kg as lambs approach the end of season.

Selecting replacements

Suffolk and Belclare rams are mated in a criss-cross manner, with Belclare rams mated with progeny of Suffolk sires and vice-versa. All lambs are tagged at birth, with performance recorded on a regular basis from birth to weaning on a TGM software package. Coloured discs from Cormac Tagging are also used to denote the sire of progeny. Tomas explains that implementing this system allows decisions to be made with optimum accuracy. “I can monitor what lambs are performing best and also cross-reference to make sure lambs are not retained from poor-performing ewes.”

Ewe hoggets lamb after the mid-season flock, with a small number of ewe hoggets left to lamb. Tomas says the secret of his system is to select well-grown ewe lambs and ensure hoggets are kept thriving right through to lambing and offered a supply of top-quality grass from then until mating the following season. Ewe lambs going to the ram in 2014 averaged over 50kg liveweight. Hoggets are being managed as a separate flock and will be prioritised with top-quality grass over the grazing season. Charollais sires are also used with a focus on avoiding difficult lambings.

Making the system pay

The target in Tomas’s farm plan is to get the sheep and beef enterprises working in a system where they complement each other. Each system has to stand on its own merits with a target of achieving €1,000 gross margin per hectare. Reducing costs and maximising performance from grazed grass will be central to driving output cheaply and achieving this goal.

Boosting grass performance

Focus on soil fertility

Michael Gottstein, head of the Teagasc sheep advisory programme, said advisers are placing a strong focus on rectifying and improving soil fertility in 2015. He said soil fertility has suffered badly in recent years and is continuing on a downward trend. “Most soils on sheep farms are performing well below their potential. There is a phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) deficit in many soils and an equally worrying trend is falling pH levels. Our advice is that any day is a good day to put out lime unless the sward is being cut in that season for silage. Up to half of every bag of chemical fertilizer (N and P) can be lost/locked up where soil pH is not optimal. When you consider the cost of fertilizer, the payback in applying 2t of lime per acre is in most cases immediate, not to mention the benefit in releasing P and K locked up in the soil.”

The advice when applying fertilizer is to select compound rather than straight nitrogen. Compounds such as 18-6-12 or 10-10-20 are ideal fertilizers for drystock enterprises with soil fertility issues. Michael also points to regular soil sampling, at least once every five years, as crucial to monitoring soil fertility. Samples should not be taken within a three-month period of applying organic manure or chemical P and K fertilizer.

Adding paddocks

Teagasc B&T adviser Kevin O’Sullivan (pictured) has been working closely with Tomas and is also the co-ordinator of the Ring of Kerry Quality Lamb discussion group. Kevin’s advice with regard to subdividing paddocks is to think further down the line and implement paddocks in a manner that allows temporary subdivision during the peak growing season. In Tomas’s case, fences are being erected along the longest stretch of the field. This means that temporary electric fences required will be shorter. Positioning of water troughs is also important, with water troughs installed in the middle rather than either end of the field capable of servicing more than one paddock.

Measuring

Tomas measures grass on a weekly basis, explaining that the process from measuring to inputting growth rates takes about an hour. Ciaran Lynch explains the greatest benefit to farmers, once accustomed to grass measuring, is making informed decisions in advance of a deficit or surplus of grass. Growth rates have increased significantly in the last two weeks from 26kg DM/ha to 57kg DM/ha. With grass demand of 45kg DM/ha and increasing, the focus is to keep growth improving, with 20 to 25 units of N currently being applied after each grazing. This focus will continue, with Tomas tweaking his system for silage in 2015. “I am reseeding an 11-acre field in May that would normally be closed for silage. My plan is to get as much growth from the other fields and with more paddocks available cut surplus grass that develops rather than close an alternative area. Hopefully, this will also allow me to keep better quality in grass.”