A farm walk will take place on Wednesday 6 May on the farm of Thomas Carroll, one of the inaugural winners of the CBV Beef Quality Awards that took place in 2025.
Thomas farms between Rathdowney and Borris-on-Ossory.
He farms full-time, with the farm split across two different blocks, with the holding comprising about 200 acres in total.
The farm grows about 45 acres of barley each year, with some of the barley going for malting with the remainder kept for on-farm feeding. The suckler herd consists of 40 suckler cows, with Thomas also buying in about 50 weanlings each year for finishing.
Genetics
All of the progeny from the suckler herd are also finished. Bought-in weanlings are a mix of bulls and heifers, with weanlings predominantly purchased in Roscrea and Ballinakill, with a number also bought privately each year.
Thomas likes to focus on continental genetics when buying weanlings, with Charolais and Limousin genetics preferred at about 300kg to 350kg, with the target being to have these purchased cattle killing out at U+ and E- grades.
Cow type on the farm is Limousin-cross-Parthenaise, with a Piedmontese bull also used on the farm in recent years. The Piedmontese bull is generally run with heifers.
Cows calve in February and March each year. Bulls are generally slaughtered at 20 to 24 months, with heifers slaughtered off grass at the end of the second grazing season.
The average CBV for the 2024 slaughtered heifers on Thomas’s farm in 2024 was €411, while the average CBV of the young bulls was €427.
Thomas was selected by Ashbourne Meats as the winner of the suckler farmer finisher, with the walk being run in collaboration with the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, Teagasc and Ashbourne Meats as part of the 2025 Beef Quality Awards.
Topics that are to be discussed at the walk include:
Herd overview.Breeding and health strategy.Grassland management.Commercial beef value in action.Drafting demonstration – market spec/requirements and animal nutrition.The walk takes place from 2pm to 4pm on Wednesday 6 May. Find the farm at eircode R32 K020.
A farm walk will take place on Wednesday 6 May on the farm of Thomas Carroll, one of the inaugural winners of the CBV Beef Quality Awards that took place in 2025.
Thomas farms between Rathdowney and Borris-on-Ossory.
He farms full-time, with the farm split across two different blocks, with the holding comprising about 200 acres in total.
The farm grows about 45 acres of barley each year, with some of the barley going for malting with the remainder kept for on-farm feeding. The suckler herd consists of 40 suckler cows, with Thomas also buying in about 50 weanlings each year for finishing.
Genetics
All of the progeny from the suckler herd are also finished. Bought-in weanlings are a mix of bulls and heifers, with weanlings predominantly purchased in Roscrea and Ballinakill, with a number also bought privately each year.
Thomas likes to focus on continental genetics when buying weanlings, with Charolais and Limousin genetics preferred at about 300kg to 350kg, with the target being to have these purchased cattle killing out at U+ and E- grades.
Cow type on the farm is Limousin-cross-Parthenaise, with a Piedmontese bull also used on the farm in recent years. The Piedmontese bull is generally run with heifers.
Cows calve in February and March each year. Bulls are generally slaughtered at 20 to 24 months, with heifers slaughtered off grass at the end of the second grazing season.
The average CBV for the 2024 slaughtered heifers on Thomas’s farm in 2024 was €411, while the average CBV of the young bulls was €427.
Thomas was selected by Ashbourne Meats as the winner of the suckler farmer finisher, with the walk being run in collaboration with the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, Teagasc and Ashbourne Meats as part of the 2025 Beef Quality Awards.
Topics that are to be discussed at the walk include:
Herd overview.Breeding and health strategy.Grassland management.Commercial beef value in action.Drafting demonstration – market spec/requirements and animal nutrition.The walk takes place from 2pm to 4pm on Wednesday 6 May. Find the farm at eircode R32 K020.
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