Stocking rate (number of ewes per hectare) and the number of lambs produced (per ewe and per hectare) have been continually shown to be two key drivers of profitability in sheep farming systems. John and Patrick O’Shaughnessy, farming in Turloughmore, Co Galway, recently hosted the Teagasc autumn grass walk.

The father and son partnership is ticking both boxes of output per ewe and output per hectare, producing 22 lambs per hectare at a stocking rate of 12.5 ewes/ha and are successfully dovetailing the sheep enterprise with a spring-calving suckler-to-weanling herd. The mix brings the best from the farm, allowing a higher stocking rate in both enterprises and achieving optimum animal performance from mixed grazing.

Prolific flock

A combination of utilising prolific genetics and implementing good management practices has witnessed output from the flock rising significantly in recent years. Belclare genetics have been used to breed replacements for several years resulting in a very prolific flock which scanned an average of 2.1 lambs per ewe to the ram last year.

Having prolific genetics alone however will not drive output with nutrition and husbandry pre and post lambing also critical aspects. These elements are also being addressed successfully with the farm weaning 1.84 lambs from the scanning rate of 2.1 lambs. Ewe lambs are also bred to increase farm output and last season, 50 ewe lambs scanned an average of 1.7 lambs per ewe lamb mated and achieved a weaning rate of 1.5 lambs, higher than the weaning weight in many mature lowland flocks.

Breeding programme

The 42ha farm (53% devoted to beef and 47% to sheep on a stocking rate basis) is laid out in one block and can be described as dry lands although John says the continuous inclement weather in recent months certainly tested it. There is potential for early grazing with normal grass growth generally picking up significantly from March onwards. The lambing date is planned to tie in with grass growth with rams released this year on the 7/10 of October with lambing gaining in intensity in early March.

The 65 best Belclare ewes were selected prior to breeding and these have been mated with a Belclare ram with the aim of producing sufficient flock replacements. Potential replacements are identified at birth and receive a management tag. The remaining 143 ewes available for mating this season are being run in two groups with two Charollais rams and one Texel ram run with a batch of 103 ewes and two Charollais ram lambs which will be used for breeding in subsequent years run with 40 ewes.

The O’Shaughnessys find that having plenty of ram power early in the breeding period greatly aids a tight lambing spread with a high percentage of ewes lambing in recent years within three weeks. The breeding mix brings the best of both worlds with maternal genetics used to breed replacements and terminal genetics utilised to produce fast growing lambs for slaughter.

Ewe lamb flock

Breeding commenced in the ewe lamb flock on 1 November with lambs mated with Charollais sires for lambing ease. The ram effect is used to good success with the ewe lamb flock also achieving a high lambing rate in the first three weeks. The difficult weather in August and September reduced grass growth leaving supplies tighter than the O’Shaughnessys would like in recent weeks.

Ewe lambs have been receiving a low level of meal supplementation (300 grams daily) during this period to ensure they were in optimum condition for breeding. John explains that this is a small cost for the system and can be easily justified given the level of output being produced. This preferential focus remains right up until these sheep join the main flock at next year’s breeding with the emphasis on ensuring lifetime performance is not compromised.

Finishing lambs

One challenge where operating at a high stocking rate and high prolificacy arises is in finishing lambs off grass, particularly in a difficult year like just experienced. At the farm walk on 25 October, the number of lambs sold off the farm was 258 while 55 ewe lambs have been drafted as replacements. This left 125 lambs which have been receiving meals for the last five weeks. A percentage of these have been drafted since the farm walk. With grass supplies tight, the O’Shaughnessys have taken a decision to house ram lambs on an intensive finishing diet. With greater difficulties achieving a flesh cover on lambs later in the season, John says, in the future, a decision is likely to be taken to castrate lambs that are not likely to be finished before the end of September.

Grassland management

There has been a focus in recent years in improving grassland management. The farm is currently split in 26 grazing divisions with good use also made of temporary electric netting and wire to provide further subdivisions. An application has been made under TAMS II to replace some temporary fencing with strategically placed permanent divisions. This will then aid in further subdividing paddocks and improving the volume of grass grown and utilised.

One area of grassland management requiring attention is soil fertility status. The farm is slightly below target for soil pH (target 6.3 to 6.5 for grassland) on about 30% of the farm while there is close to 60% of the farm at index 2 for potassium and about 40% on target (30% at index 3 and 10% index 4). The phosphorus levels require attention with 40% of soils at index 1, 50% at index 2 and 10% at index 3. A fertiliser programme has been put in place to address this with organic fertilisers targeted to low index soils and increased use of compound fertilisers.

Suckler system

The 37-cow suckler herd is also focused on maximising output and last year achieved output of 637kg/ha at a stocking rate of 2.3LU/ha which is very positive for a suckler-to-weanling enterprise. Patrick explains that the breeding policy is balanced between breeding progeny suitable for retaining as replacements and high-value weanlings suitable for domestic and export markets. This is achieved through 100% AI with sires selected to complement breeding characteristics of particular cows.

The foundation breeding in the herd is Limousin crosses from the dairy herd with a high percentage now three quarter bred red Limousins. Many of these are sired by the bull Palmares (PAM) with Castleview Casino ET (CWI) breeding used in recent years. In the last two seasons these animals have been crossed to Elderberry Galahad (EBY) which Patrick says is breeding very balanced progeny with good maternal traits but still possessing good terminal attributes. Sexed semen has been used at certain times with the best quality cows possessing a good milk yield selected to breed potential replacements. Maintaining a good source of milk in the herd is a challenge but is a factor close attention is being placed on. Other cows in the herd are bred to Belgian Blue and Charolais sires with Ballyfin Borat ET (BBQ) and Herbert VD Noord (WBH) two Blue sires delivering good results in recent seasons.

All heifers calve down at two years of age and similar to yearling hoggets, Patrick says the secret in achieving favourable performance and getting animals back in calf is preferential treatment until animals reach mature weight.