Increasing output in Antrim
Peter and Karol McCaughan
Glenshesk, Ballycastle, Antrim.
Farm System: Hill and upland sheep and a suckler-to-store herd.
Land type: Mountain grazing, upland grazing, improved pasture and good-quality grazing.
Brothers Peter and Karol McCaughan run in the region of 600 ewes and a 35-cow suckler-to-store enterprise on a diverse mixture of land types in Co Antrim, along with working off-farm. There is a sizeable area of hill and mountain-type grazing which is split and operated as two distinct divisions.
There is a harder hill dominated by heather vegetation where 200 Scottish Blackface ewes are run in a closed system and never leave this area. The big aim of this flock in the past has been to self-regenerate and maintain vegetation in good environmental condition.
The other hill area is farmed in tandem with some semi-improved upland grazing and about 43ha (106 acres) of better quality in-bye land. This carries the other 400 ewes consisting of about 170 Scottish Blackface ewes, 120 crossbred ewes (mainly Mules) and 100 Lleyn cross ewes. The 35-cow sucker herd is run mainly on a separate block of 18.2ha (45ac).
The main target on the McCaughan farm is to lift output across all flocks. Fertility and ewe mortality is high in the Scottish Blackface flocks. A target has been set to reduce the barren rate from 10% to 5% over the next four years while also reducing ewe mortality to 10% in the hardest grazing areas.
This will be achieved through a combination of improving the quality of vegetation, identification and selection of replacements which are best suited to grazing difficult terrain, and investigating any underlying health issues. The latter has already commenced, with scanning taking place for ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) and blood profiles taken from barren ewes to investigate if any other issues such as mineral deficiencies or abortion causing agents are present.
Progeny are sold mainly as stores at present. There is a target of increasing finished lamb numbers and the value of stores through implementing better grazing management (rotational grazing and splitting large areas) and addressing soil fertility issues and improving grass performance on in-bye land.
CAFRE Agri-environmental advisers are working with the programme to plan out the optimum grazing management for mountain and hill areas. This includes controlling bracken and rush where present and strategies for heater regeneration such as burning or flailing.
Fine-tuning breeding in Tyrone
James McCay
Drumquin, Omagh, Co Tyrone.
Farm system: Mixed Scottish Blackface and crossbred flock.
Land type: Hill grazing, upland grazing and improved pasture.
James McCay runs in the region of 270 ewes on what can be best described as difficult terrain extending to approximately 141.6ha (350ac) in Drumquin, Co Tyrone. A large portion of this is hill grazing with about 60ha (150ac) of the higher section dominated by heather vegetation and described by James as average quality in nature.
The 270 ewes include 140 Scottish Blackface ewes and 130 crossbred ewes which are mainly Texel x Scottish Blackface cross. Breeding in the Scotch ewes was traditionally Perth-type with Lanark genetics incorporated in recent years with the aim of improving hardiness. One hundred ewes are bred pure each year to breed flock replacements, while the remaining 40 are crossed with a Texel sire to breed replacements for the crossbred flock.
James is hoping to improve flock genetics through identification of superior-performing sheep, facilitated by EID and performance recording, and the use of rams with desirable traits. He is also considering introducing some Swaledale genetics as a trial. The greatest challenge in recent years has been a barren rate of 20% in hill ewes. The flock is also scanned for OPA and any other health issues which could be contributing to the higher barren rate.
Making better-quality silage is a target for the farm to reduce the volume of concentrates fed.
A significant amount of land improvement has been undertaken in recent years and drainage and reseeding are ongoing. The lower-lying section of the farm includes about 12ha (30ac) which could be cut for silage, with about 6ha (15ac) of this wet in nature.
Management of this area will focus on putting the farm in the best position to harvest high-feed silage.
Reducing the volume of concentrates fed will also be influenced by the farm targeting a return to a more traditional hill system, and the lambing date is being pushed back from mid-March to 1 April along with the aim of keeping ewes out grazing on the hill for longer.
Another aim set out in the farm plan is to improve sheep-handling facilities. James is also self-employed in steel works and has done an excellent job in kitting out all the sheep sheds with penning.
A handling unit is now being constructed that can combine with existing facilities.
Getting more from grass in Derry
Clement Lynch
Park, Claudy, Co Derry.
Farm system: Mixed lowland and hill flocks.
Land type: Upland pasture and improved hill grazing.
Clement runs a mixture of lowland and hill breeds totalling about 500 ewes. There are in the region of 250 Suffolk and Texel cross ewes, 100 Mule ewes and 150 Scottish Blackface ewes.
A closed flock policy is in place and Mules are bred from the Scottish Blackface flock and then crossed to Texel and Suffolk sires to breed replacement for the main ewe breed type.
Grassland management is the main area highlighted for improvement in Clement Lynch’s farm plan. The farm has a mixture of upland pasture and improved hill grazing which is retained in good condition. It is located at a relatively high altitude and as such grass growth can be slow to commence in spring.
Lowland ewes in Clement Lynch's flock are a mixture of Suffolk cross, Texel cross and Mule ewes.
Defecits
Clement is aiming to give swards every chance to excel and is targeting addressing soil fertility deficits, implementing a paddock or rotational grazing system where applicable and identifying poor-performing paddocks to include in a reseeding programme over the next three to five years.
The improvement in grassland management is seen as central to reducing cost and in particular reducing the reliance on concentrate feeding.
This has been a focal point in recent years, and an improvement in silage quality is already bringing about some improvement in this area.
Concentrates
Clement wants to drive further progress in this area to extend the grazing season for ewes while another big objective is to minimise the use of concentrates in finishing lambs.
This will be carried out with a review of the breeding policy. The main difficulty highlighted by the review is finishing lambs within the desired weight spec and with an adequate fat cover without concentrate supplementation.
Rams will be selected on the basis of physical traits combined with predicted breeding values.
The introduction of Bluefaced Leicester a few years ago has boosted prolificacy levels but consideration is also being given to possibly introducing Belclare genetics in the lowland flock in the coming years.
Likewise, if no reasons are identified for a higher than desired barren rate in the Lanark-based hill flock, Clement is considering introducing some Swaledale genetics.
Increasing output in Antrim
Peter and Karol McCaughan
Glenshesk, Ballycastle, Antrim.
Farm System: Hill and upland sheep and a suckler-to-store herd.
Land type: Mountain grazing, upland grazing, improved pasture and good-quality grazing.
Brothers Peter and Karol McCaughan run in the region of 600 ewes and a 35-cow suckler-to-store enterprise on a diverse mixture of land types in Co Antrim, along with working off-farm. There is a sizeable area of hill and mountain-type grazing which is split and operated as two distinct divisions.
There is a harder hill dominated by heather vegetation where 200 Scottish Blackface ewes are run in a closed system and never leave this area. The big aim of this flock in the past has been to self-regenerate and maintain vegetation in good environmental condition.
The other hill area is farmed in tandem with some semi-improved upland grazing and about 43ha (106 acres) of better quality in-bye land. This carries the other 400 ewes consisting of about 170 Scottish Blackface ewes, 120 crossbred ewes (mainly Mules) and 100 Lleyn cross ewes. The 35-cow sucker herd is run mainly on a separate block of 18.2ha (45ac).
The main target on the McCaughan farm is to lift output across all flocks. Fertility and ewe mortality is high in the Scottish Blackface flocks. A target has been set to reduce the barren rate from 10% to 5% over the next four years while also reducing ewe mortality to 10% in the hardest grazing areas.
This will be achieved through a combination of improving the quality of vegetation, identification and selection of replacements which are best suited to grazing difficult terrain, and investigating any underlying health issues. The latter has already commenced, with scanning taking place for ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) and blood profiles taken from barren ewes to investigate if any other issues such as mineral deficiencies or abortion causing agents are present.
Progeny are sold mainly as stores at present. There is a target of increasing finished lamb numbers and the value of stores through implementing better grazing management (rotational grazing and splitting large areas) and addressing soil fertility issues and improving grass performance on in-bye land.
CAFRE Agri-environmental advisers are working with the programme to plan out the optimum grazing management for mountain and hill areas. This includes controlling bracken and rush where present and strategies for heater regeneration such as burning or flailing.
Fine-tuning breeding in Tyrone
James McCay
Drumquin, Omagh, Co Tyrone.
Farm system: Mixed Scottish Blackface and crossbred flock.
Land type: Hill grazing, upland grazing and improved pasture.
James McCay runs in the region of 270 ewes on what can be best described as difficult terrain extending to approximately 141.6ha (350ac) in Drumquin, Co Tyrone. A large portion of this is hill grazing with about 60ha (150ac) of the higher section dominated by heather vegetation and described by James as average quality in nature.
The 270 ewes include 140 Scottish Blackface ewes and 130 crossbred ewes which are mainly Texel x Scottish Blackface cross. Breeding in the Scotch ewes was traditionally Perth-type with Lanark genetics incorporated in recent years with the aim of improving hardiness. One hundred ewes are bred pure each year to breed flock replacements, while the remaining 40 are crossed with a Texel sire to breed replacements for the crossbred flock.
James is hoping to improve flock genetics through identification of superior-performing sheep, facilitated by EID and performance recording, and the use of rams with desirable traits. He is also considering introducing some Swaledale genetics as a trial. The greatest challenge in recent years has been a barren rate of 20% in hill ewes. The flock is also scanned for OPA and any other health issues which could be contributing to the higher barren rate.
Making better-quality silage is a target for the farm to reduce the volume of concentrates fed.
A significant amount of land improvement has been undertaken in recent years and drainage and reseeding are ongoing. The lower-lying section of the farm includes about 12ha (30ac) which could be cut for silage, with about 6ha (15ac) of this wet in nature.
Management of this area will focus on putting the farm in the best position to harvest high-feed silage.
Reducing the volume of concentrates fed will also be influenced by the farm targeting a return to a more traditional hill system, and the lambing date is being pushed back from mid-March to 1 April along with the aim of keeping ewes out grazing on the hill for longer.
Another aim set out in the farm plan is to improve sheep-handling facilities. James is also self-employed in steel works and has done an excellent job in kitting out all the sheep sheds with penning.
A handling unit is now being constructed that can combine with existing facilities.
Getting more from grass in Derry
Clement Lynch
Park, Claudy, Co Derry.
Farm system: Mixed lowland and hill flocks.
Land type: Upland pasture and improved hill grazing.
Clement runs a mixture of lowland and hill breeds totalling about 500 ewes. There are in the region of 250 Suffolk and Texel cross ewes, 100 Mule ewes and 150 Scottish Blackface ewes.
A closed flock policy is in place and Mules are bred from the Scottish Blackface flock and then crossed to Texel and Suffolk sires to breed replacement for the main ewe breed type.
Grassland management is the main area highlighted for improvement in Clement Lynch’s farm plan. The farm has a mixture of upland pasture and improved hill grazing which is retained in good condition. It is located at a relatively high altitude and as such grass growth can be slow to commence in spring.
Lowland ewes in Clement Lynch's flock are a mixture of Suffolk cross, Texel cross and Mule ewes.
Defecits
Clement is aiming to give swards every chance to excel and is targeting addressing soil fertility deficits, implementing a paddock or rotational grazing system where applicable and identifying poor-performing paddocks to include in a reseeding programme over the next three to five years.
The improvement in grassland management is seen as central to reducing cost and in particular reducing the reliance on concentrate feeding.
This has been a focal point in recent years, and an improvement in silage quality is already bringing about some improvement in this area.
Concentrates
Clement wants to drive further progress in this area to extend the grazing season for ewes while another big objective is to minimise the use of concentrates in finishing lambs.
This will be carried out with a review of the breeding policy. The main difficulty highlighted by the review is finishing lambs within the desired weight spec and with an adequate fat cover without concentrate supplementation.
Rams will be selected on the basis of physical traits combined with predicted breeding values.
The introduction of Bluefaced Leicester a few years ago has boosted prolificacy levels but consideration is also being given to possibly introducing Belclare genetics in the lowland flock in the coming years.
Likewise, if no reasons are identified for a higher than desired barren rate in the Lanark-based hill flock, Clement is considering introducing some Swaledale genetics.
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