Ricky Milligan farms 64ha of free-draining land in Robertstown, Co Kildare. He has a herd of 40 suckler cows, taking all progeny to steer and heifer beef. Forty dairy calves were also purchased in the spring and reared on the farm. These too are finished as steer and heifer beef and they fit perfectly into the same grazing group as Ricky’s own stock in their second year at grass. He also grows some tillage on the farm.

Unique system

Ricky’s system is unique as Hereford is the main breed used within the suckler herd. This traditional beef breed has, in recent decades, declined in popularity, with suckler farms turning to continental breeds instead.

A few years ago, however, Ricky decided that Herefords were the best breed for his system: “Because I am a little bit tight on housing, I want a breed that I don’t have to put in for finishing for a second winter. Because the Herefords are an early-maturing breed, I can finish the majority of them off grass.”

Ricky also avails of a slaughter price bonus through the Irish Hereford Prime bonus scheme, where price bonuses of €0.10 to €0.25 can be secured, based on the time of the year and the specifications of the cattle.

Drought action

Drought, just like on the majority of farms across the country, severely impacted grass growth on Ricky’s farm. As a result, action had to be taken. Steers and heifers were used to graze second cut silage ground. This had a two-fold benefit because it maintained the performance of his finishing cattle and it also cleaned-off the silage ground which was reducing.

According to Ricky, “the silage ground is as strong again now, as it was almost one month ago”.

Concentrates were also introduced. Steers and heifers were split, with steers on 4kg of nuts per day and heifers on 3kg. Over the coming months, small groups will be drafted from each group as they come fit for slaughter. Due to the lack of fodder conserved, all steers and heifers must be slaughtered before housing. Ricky had originally planned for 20 of the lightest animals to be housed for finishing before Christmas.

Suckler calves were also introduced to concentrates to maintain performance. This also allowed Ricky to restrict his cows and buffer feed them with poorer quality hay. When I visited the farm last week, spirits were much higher thankfully, as rainfall had triggered growth once again. Ricky admitted that the drought posed serious problems for him and he will be extremely glad to see the back of it.

All stock was weighed in mid-July. To see how his stock are performing this year, and to learn more about the use Herefords in Ricky’s system, see this week’s Irish Farmers Journal or view the article online on Thursday, here.

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