Jean Devillers and his wife Paulette Merchandise run the Société Agricole Devillers-Merchandise farm in Marchin, Belgium. The farming system is not typical of most Belgian sheep and beef farms, with beef cattle bred from the farm’s 170-head Belgian Blue suckler herd and factory lambs from the 500-head ewe flock remaining indoors from birth to slaughter.

The strong emphasis on operating an intensive high-output system stems from exceptionally strong demand for land, with tillage and horticulture enterprises dominant in the Marchin region. Jean’s father operated a small family farm which he says formed his interest in farming.

He spent the first 20 years of his career working as a vet. At the same time, Jean and Paulette worked on building farm size and livestock numbers. Sheep were the first enterprise run on the farm, with the suckler herd and tillage enterprises gradually growing.

Today the farm totals 320ha in size, with 180ha of this used for livestock and the remainder used for tillage, of which wheat, barley, maize and sugar beet are the most common crops.

Jean and Paulette’s three sons are also now involved in the running of the farm, with a small level of contracting also carried out on the tillage side.

Jean and Paulette look after lambing and calving, while one son focuses on livestock, one on machinery operation and the other switching between the two as necessary.

Sheep system

The sheep flock operates on supplying lambs to a niche market requiring a year-round supply.

To achieve this, the Ile de France flock, which has the ability to breed out of season, is split into groups, with a batch of 120 to 140 ewes lambing every two months. This results in each ewe lambing about every nine months and producing five crops of lambs over a period of four years.

All ewes are lambed indoors irrespective of the time of year, with ewes also retained indoors until lambs are weaned at about seven to eight weeks of age.

At the time of the Offaly Lamb Producer Group’s visit, which was facilitated by ICM and its Belgian plant A Lonhienne, at the start of October, lambing was just commencing in a batch of 120 ewes, with weaning also due to take place in the batch of ewes which lambed in August. This allows maximum use to be made of facilities available, with a continuous flow of animals through the shed.

The average pregnancy scanning rate in the flock is 1.6 lambs per ewe joined. Ewes are housed a few weeks prior to lambing and offered high-quality hay or haylage and a concentrate mix at a rate of 0.3kg to 0.5kg per head daily.

The body condition score of ewes is closely monitored and this also influences concentrate supplementation levels, with ewes falling below target condition receiving a higher allowance.

Post-lambing, the supplementation rate is stepped up to 1kg concentrate daily. There are head-locking barriers on the feed passage, which allows ewes to be restrained during feeding, while, when not in use, it prevents lambs from escaping into the feed passage. Hay is offered ad lib in feeders inside the pen.

Creep is introduced to lambs once they are a couple of weeks old, with feeding levels stepped up in line with intake capacity. At weaning, lambs are segregated and finished on ad-lib concentrates, with straw and hay used as a forage source to prevent digestive issues such as acidosis.

The lamb price remains fairly steady across the year at €6/kg with a target carcase weight of 20kg to 21kg.

Ewes are turned back outdoors post-weaning and again fed according to condition score ahead of the subsequent breeding season.

Jean says that a closed flock policy with the exception of occasional purchases of rams helps to limit the occurrence of disease. A vaccination programme is in place for footrot and, according to Jean, is working well in preventing issues.

Hygiene at lambing and surplus use of straw in lambing and group pens is highlighted as being central to cutting down on health problems indoors.

The quality of cattle on the farm was exceptional, as reflected in this photo of three young bulls.

Extreme Blues

The quality of Belgian Blue cattle on the farm is exceptional, with the breeding programme aiming to breed cattle with good size and capacity to hold weight, along with possessing strong double muscling characteristics.

As mentioned previously, the suckler herd totals 170 purebred Belgian Blue cows, with practically all female progeny drafted into the suckler herd and male progeny finished as bulls.

There is also in the region of 150 head of store cattle purchased for fattening at different stages during the year.

The reason for all heifers being drafted into the suckler herd is a far stronger preference from consumers in Belgium for cow beef over heifer beef.

Therefore, the production system revolves around heifers servicing a high replacement rate in the suckler herd, with females giving birth to two calves on average before being culled at a young age.

Calving is also split to different periods throughout the year with heifers synchronised for breeding. Heifers calve at two years of age with a target breeding weight of 400kg liveweight. Heifers may undergo a period of indoor feeding in advance of breeding to hit this weight target, with continual monitoring of performance central to hitting key performance targets.

Calving management

All cows calve by caesarean section, with cows moved to a dedicated calving area on the point of calving. The temperature of these cows is monitored, with a spike in temperature used to identify the onset of calving, after which a caesarean section can be timed as appropriate.

There is no attempt to calve cows naturally due to the focus on selecting animals with superior conformation and growth characteristics.

The calving interval on the farm is running at 400 days, with cows given time to recover from the caesarean before being put forward again for breeding.

Management post-calving also differs to other farms in Belgium where suckler cows are run in a more extensive system.

Calves are separated from their dams shortly after birth and reared firstly in individual pens before joining similar-aged calves in group pens.

Milk powder is fed until calves reach four months of age, with calves then transferred fully on to a forage and concentrate diet.

Male calves are then transferred to the fattening unit, which is located on an outfarm, with heifers managed in a more conventional system.

Young male progeny are initially fed on a balanced higher-protein forage diet and are transferred then to a total mixed ration comprising maize silage, barley, wheat, sugar beet pulp, molasses, rapeseed and straw, with cows typically receiving silage and beet pulp pre-calving. Again, the feeding programme is precise, with feed measured and mixed in a diet feeder.

The fattening unit is impressive, with cattle penned on straw bedding in groups of eight to 10 when they first arrive and then regrouped depending on the target slaughter date in groups of five to seven. This allows animals to gain weight without affecting the stocking density of pens.

Bulls are drafted to deliver an average carcase weight of 500kg, while the carcase weight of cows ranges from 450kg to 600kg.

Jean said that it is not unusual to have large-framed very heavily muscled cows hitting 900kg to 1,000kg liveweight.

Fat cover is not a significant concern, with beef produced with a much lower fat content than in Ireland.

At the time of the visit, the beef price for bulls was €4.80/kg, while the cow price had reduced from a seasonal high of €5.00/kg to €4.50/kg.

Belgian consumers are very supportive of domestic production when it comes to beef sales, with Belgian product commanding a significant premium over imported product.

Farming support

The level of government support for farming varies depending on the enterprise and size of farm. For example, gaining grant aid for building or farm improvement works is harder to secure once farms are deemed as large enterprises which have employees. There is a beef production subsidy paid on animals at 18 and 24 months of age which works out at about €170 per animal, while there is a ewe support payment of €25 to €30 per ewe which is payable on a maximum of 400 ewes. There is also a potential payment of €250/ha, again depending on the type of land, its location and use.