Watch: Your Farm – integrated farming system with catch crops

Integrated farming systems are becoming less common as farmers focus more on one individual enterprise on their farms. An integrated system usually means using a combination of crop and livestock production in a symbiotic way. This can have many benefits, including better yields and reduced input costs. Other benefits such as improved soil health are a result too, but this can be difficult to quantify.

The ICSA hosted an on-farm sheep demonstration on the farm of Mervyn Sunderland and his brother George in Ballinavalley, Redcross, Co Wicklow. This event was sponsored by Quinns of Baltinglass. It was mainly focused on the grazing of catch crops but for me the Sunderlands’ whole approach to farming was the standout message. They have a mixed farming enterprise comprised of tillage, sheep and beef finishing. All the enterprises are integrated in that 100% of the grain produced on the farm is used for feeding cattle and lambs.

The lambs graze the catch crops sown after harvest during the winter months, which provides a great source of nutrition to the soil in the form of organic manure. All the straw produced on the farm is harvested and used primarily as bedding for the 150 beef cattle housed during the winter. Some straw is also used for feeding. This bedding is then spread back on the tillage ground, providing even more organic matter to the soil.

The Sunderlands lamb down about 950 ewes every March outdoors on a combination of rented and owned outblocks. The ewe flock is comprised of Mule and Texel hill cross sheep and they run with Charollais rams during the breeding season. On average, 1,500 lambs are produced from the breeding ewe enterprise and they are all finished on the farm. The Sunderlands also buy in store lambs during the year for feeding and, according to Mervyn, are on course to finish 6,000 lambs this year.

The scale is impressive but the integration of the systems is striking. The diagram helps show how the different enterprises on the farm are integrated and the resulting symbiotic relationship. Mervyn says the integrated system has helped maintain grain yield to over 3t/acre on average. He says crops are healthy and land is easier tilled in the spring. “We notice we don’t get a big drop in yield in a bad year.” He also says input costs are reduced because he is not buying in animal feed and all the waste (nutrients) coming from livestock is being recycled back on the land, helping to reduce bought in fertiliser costs.

Sheep system

Ewes lamb from March onwards on outfarms. Early born ram lambs are left whole and later-born rams are castrated. The lambs graze grass only during the summer months and are frequently weighed with lambs hitting the 45kg to 48kg weight bracket being drafted for slaughter. Later in the season forward store lambs are introduced to concentrate feeding while on grass to boost liveweight gain and flesh cover before slaughter.

At the same time the Sunderlands buy in hill cross store lambs from a combination of local farmers, local marts and some marts in the west of Ireland.

There are 140 acres of barley, oats and wheat sown every year on the home block to produce the grain for feeding stock throughout the year. On the home block barley is usually sown in early April and harvested in mid-August. Once harvesting is complete the catch crops are sown.

The Sunderlands usually start grazing these catch crops by mid-November. Catch crops that are sown through GLAS cannot be grazed until December, which Mervyn feels is too late. He believes to get the value out of the fertiliser the Department should allow farmers to graze lambs earlier or otherwise extend the chemical fertiliser deadline past the current cut-off date of 15 September.

Store lambs are moved from the grass outfarms to the catch crops from November. They are block-grazed rather than strip-grazed. The Sunderlands feel there is no need to strip graze lambs on the crop. Instead they allocate 200 lambs to over 3ha (8 acres) of a crop, for example. A larger 30 acre field will be grazed with 700 to 800 lambs. The lambs are given access to a grass layback where they also have access to ad-lib concentrates.

Mervyn said lamb performance on the catch crops is greatest when they start grazing the crop and they usually become more dependent on the concentrates (a four-way mix of barley, oats, wheat and a protein source) as time goes on. Lambs also receive a bale of straw when necessary for roughage and a further source of fibre. “A layback is very important because lambs are far more relaxed on grass stubble when resting; they don’t like being locked into the forage crop,” explained Mervyn.

Lambs are continually drafted as they come fit for slaughter. Mervyn said the last hoggets are gone by April and the land is ploughed again and sown with barley or oats.

Catch crops

Dr Mary McEvoy of Germinal says catch crops provide a number of benefits for tillage farmers. On the Sunderlands’ farm they have the following benefits:

McEvoy said lambs need a source of fibre when grazing these crops. She suggested that 70% of the lambs’ diet should come from the crop and 30% should be a fibre source such as hay, silage, straw or concentrates. For grazing cattle especially McEvoy recommends strip grazing, allocating long narrow strips rather than block grazing. She says it is easier to manage the crop and improve utilisation with a strip wire when cattle are grazing.

GLAS

The Sunderlands have been growing catch crops for years. Therefore, choosing the catch crop action was logical when drawing up their GLAS plan along with an area of wild bird cover. The Sunderlands’ successfully applied to GLAS II this time last year and are now in their first year of the scheme. This year, because of difficult weather conditions, harvesting of the main barley and oat crops was a little later than the Sunderlands would have liked due to wet weather. Crops were harvested on 24 August and sowing of the catch crops started a few days later. Sowing is very straightforward, according to Mervyn. They mix the seed with 10:10:20 and spread it on the land using a fertiliser spreader. A light tine harrow is used after sowing to help ensure good soil/seed contact. Mervyn said that in years where there is moisture deficit he would use a disc to cultivate a little deeper. Simon Byrne from Byrne Advisory in Wexford explained the main specifications for establishing a catch crop through GLAS. He said the crop has to be established annually by 15 September, using light cultivation techniques. Ploughing is not allowed. The seed should be either broadcast or drilled.

There must be at least two species from the Department’s list. Grazing of catch crops is not permitted between the date of sowing the catch crop and 1 December. Mervyn used a combination of leafy turnip and fodder rape in his GLAS catch crop mix. The fodder rape was sown at a rate of 3kg/ha and the leafy turnip was sown at a rate of 5kg/ha.

In the table below the typical catch crop establishment costs are set out. On average, establishment costs comes to €90 to €110/acre.

Dirty fleeces

Dermot O’Sullivan from Irish Country Meats in Camolin says farmers slaughtering lambs coming straight off catch crops should take precautions in terms of lamb cleanliness. He says fleeces can be extremely dirty from foraging on catch crops in wet weather. “Dirty fleeces can contaminate meat and we have to do more clipping which slows down production” explained O’Sullivan. He says farmers with dirty lambs should put them indoors overnight to help dry the fleece and reduce the chances of contamination.