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“The bulls are a byproduct,” Ger tells me as we look across two pens of yearling bulls in his yard at Kilnamartyra, Co Cork. I remark that they’re likely the two most maternal pens of beef bulls in the country – Ger uses 100% AI and selects only the top maternal sires available. He’s striving to build a fertile, milky cow herd that will wean heavy calves every time. The heavier the weanling, the less feed input required to hit slaughter weights.
There are no terminal sires used on the farm. The 60-cow herd are bred to maternal sires such as Beguin (SA4059), Ulsan (SA2189), Glebefarm Tyson (GFY), Lanigan Red Deep Canyon (ZLL), Curaheen Tyson (TSO) and Auroch Deuter (AHC). Ger places his trust in the replacement index – all of these sires rank near the very top. He selects the very best heifer progeny for his own herd and sells on his surplus heifers as yearlings to prospective buyers, looking to infuse maternal traits into theirs. His bull progeny are finished under-16 months of age.
His herd’s average replacement index is €131 – almost twice the national average of €73. This places him in the uppermost percentile of herds nationwide. While many view AI breeding regimes as ideal for autumn herds – given that cows are indoors for much of the breeding season -– Ger’s herd calves in the spring, meaning that breeding takes place outdoors.
“I use AI because I’m set up to do so. I can understand why some farms wouldn’t – but I can. On this farm there are some core fundamentals that make it work. First and foremost, my heifers and cows run as one group. It gives me great power when grazing and obviously keeps things simple for me. The bulls are inside – I have one group of stock. There could be as many as 135 animals in one group and they have to come into the yard every day. That leads into the second point that makes AI a success here.”
Research
Research has shown that breaking the cow-calf bond can significantly shorten the post-partum interval (period between calving and first subsequent heat). When Ger began to AI some years back, he found that his average calving date was slipping back each year. He was advised to separate his cows from their calves in the runup to, and during, breeding.
“I begin separating the cows and calves 10 days before the start of AI. There is a road leading into my farmyard that widens near the end [see graphic on facing page]. The wide part is sheep-fenced and big enough to hold the full herd. There are two DIY creep gaps in the sheep wire that lead into a well-sheltered field. We shut them on this part of the road and hunt the calves out through these – after about three days they go out of their own accord. There’s a good creep facility in one of the sheds too – we can use that if cows are in.
“We do this twice daily for 40 days – 10 before and 30 during breeding. By then, 60-70% will be bred and 70% of these will hold to first serve. It might seem laborious, but it is the secret here. Also, it means that the calves have the very best of grass and access to cows twice daily. Their nutrition couldn’t be better. Running them as one group all the time would mean that calves are trying to graze out paddocks alongside the cows. My way means they are never pushed to eat anything but the best grass.
In terms of detecting heats, Ger knows that he’ll never be as good as the bull.
“He’s there round the clock; I’m there twice a day. To help, I use tail paint and after 30 days introduce scratch card patches. For the first 30 days they’re bulling so hard their backs are usually raw coming in. The scratch cards help to boost detection rates beyond this when things quieten. This year I also vasectomised one of my own bulls. He’ll run with the herd and help keep things tight near the end.
“I make sure to have a good supply of grass for cows when they go out in the spring and this coupled with the calf separation gives them every chance during the breeding season. I don’t do a pre-breeding scan – the philosophy is that if they don’t go in calf during breeding under these conditions, they don’t belong in the herd. Though I am a stickler for breeding, I’m a stickler for culling too.
Ger uses cheaper, test-sire straw on cows displaying heat very early post-calving as there’s a lesser chance that these will hold. Toward the end of the season he opts for short-gestation sires and uses two straws per cow. Throughout the season, if a cow displays heat having been served the previous day, she is served again.
Performance
After the breeding season, Ger uses some tall posts along his temporary fencing to allow calves creep forward ahead of cows, continuing his philosophy of getting the very best grass into them. He aims for a 400kg weaning weight at eight to nine months of age.
Given that his average cow weight is 720kg, this represents a cow/weaning weight ratio of 56% – an impressive statistic given that 50% is seen as top-class cow performance.
The farm itself was among the highest performers in phase two of the BETTER farm beef programme financially, recording a gross margin of €57,257 across 31ha (€1,847/ha) in 2015 at the end of the programme.
Impressively, Ger maintains he puts in a working week of just 30-35 hours on the farm throughout the year, enabling him to pursue external interests such as Gaelic football – his son Ciarán is actively involved with club and county teams.
Back to his bulls – the burning question: Does Ger’s focus on materal sires weaken the performance his beef animals? The answer is a firm no. With just 1.2t of meal per head – well below typical requirements in under-16 month bull systems – Ger achieves a 425kg carcase and 100% U-grades.
The graphic above illustrates Ger Dineen’s set up for cow-calf separation – a practice that has underpinned the reproductive success of his suckler enterprise. The farm roadway widens at the yard and this area is sheep fenced. There are two escape gaps for calves in the fence and these lead into adjoining paddocks. Ger can also use a creep gate in a nearby shed for separating calves.
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