Over 400 farmers attended the IGA beef walk at the Breffni herd in Co Cavan on Thursday evening, where herd owner Sebena Moynagh showcased the key performance indicators of the pedigree enterprise which focuses heavily on producing kilos of beef from grass supported by a milky, fertile cow type.

Sebena took over the farm at the age of 23 after her father took the early retirement scheme, with the herd having been slowly and steadily improved in terms of infrastructure (both grazing and housing) and herd genetics. The herd was depopulated in 2013, with Sebena choosing to restock with 32 heifers from the one herd.

Milk, fertility, functionality and soft-fleshing animals that can perform off grass are some of the key traits that Sebena seeks in both breeding cows and selected AI bulls. 100% AI is used in the herd, with a 70:30 split between autumn and spring calving, while an impressive 60% of the autumn herd are calved down in six weeks. 100% AI is used across the herd, with no stock bull retained on farm since depopulation. Sebena carries out the AI herself, with 1.5 straws used on average on the herd (135 straws for 90 cows). Current calving interval for the herd is 370 days, while calves per cow per year stand at 1.02 owing to several sets of twins born.

Farm owner Sebena Moynagh, who runs the 90-cow pedigree herd as a sole labour unit, spread across three different grazing blocks. /A Moore Media

Grass-based system

Grass and grass silage are the main drivers of production on the farm. Stocked at 2.37 lu/ha (167kg N/ha), 10.5t DM/ha is grown annually. Approximately 10% of the farm is reseeded on an annual basis, with clover incorporated into the reseed. Not only does Sebena run the farm on a day-to-day basis, nearly all contract work is carried out by herself, with silage harvested via wagon and slurry spread using LESS equipment.

Autumn-born bulls have begun to be weaned and will move on to 3kg/head/day concentrates in the run-up to being sold at 14-15 months old. These bulls have been on a grass-and-milk-only diet since turnout in spring. Feeding levels do not exceed 3kg/head, with Sebena looking to produce fit bulls that can go straight to work. No animals are sold at pedigree sales, with repeat custom and word of mouth allowing 30 bulls to be sold annually from the yard.

A full report on the IGA walk will be available in next week’s Irish Farmers Journal.