The finishing bullocks, who are just over 16 months old at this stage, have more than eight acres of second-cut silage grazed at this stage on the Thrive demonstration farm at Cashel, Co Tipperary.

Growth is slowing on the farm, with no moisture again in almost three weeks. It is hoped that the farm will receive at least some rainfall this weekend, but previous rain that was forecast for the area has not materialised, so only time will tell.

On the silage front, the farm is well on its way to meeting winter requirements and, hopefully, throughout August there will be an opportunity to take out some surplus grazing once the entire platform is back available for grazing.

Demand for grass on the farm will also begin to drop from August onwards, as the finishing cattle begin to get meal at grass and the first bullocks and heifers start to be drafted for slaughter.

Weighing

All stock will be weighed at the end of the month and divided into batches - one for meal feeding at grass immediately and the lighter groups will be fed on grass only until early September.

Looking at the finishing stock, the tightness for grass doesn’t seem to have had a negative effect on thrive, with heifers looking particularly well-fleshed for the day of the year.

This can be an issue with the early-maturing heifers, as they tend to go overfat at relatively light carcase weights.

The target for the heifers is a carcase weight of 285kg at 19 months old off grass, while for the bullocks, the aim is for 305kg carcase at just over 20 months old.

Open day

The demonstration farm, located in Carron, Cashel, Co Tipperary, will host an open day on Tuesday 9 August outlining the whole-farm system from calf sourcing to calf rearing and animal health, grassland management and finishing strategies.

We will also outline the system economics being achieved on the farm over the last three years.

The day kicks off at 10.30am and there will be a forum held in the afternoon with key industry stakeholders on the issues facing the industry in the coming years.

The farm’s eircode E25AK44 and for queries, email dmarren@farmersjournal.ie or events@farmersjournal.ie.