Perhaps one of the most frustrating areas for advisers and farmers is the time it takes for changes in management to follow through into more cash in the pocket. Investments made in better breeding or improved nutrient status of soil don’t automatically translate into more profit – it can take three to five years for real benefits to emerge.

It is important therefore that farmers have an open mind to change and accept that what works for others might actually work for their farm as well.

In the case of Gerard Donnan who farms outside Kilkeel in Co Down, he is relatively new to farming, having successfully applied to the young farmers’ scheme. He runs a herd of 40 suckler cows, selling offspring as stores, and a flock of 50 breeding ewes, on 65 acres of owned and conacre land.

In the past, he spent much of his time doing contract work for other farmers, but this has now been scaled back. Up to 80% of his income is from the farm.

In developing the business, Gerard understood the importance of having productive swards, making good-quality silage and investing in handling facilities and livestock accommodation. However, he admits that his strengths were not in animal health or cattle breeding. “I knew that I had taken it so far, but to develop further I needed a bit of guidance and direction.”

He sought advice from his CAFRE beef and sheep development adviser Michael Doherty. In recent years, two main changes have had a significant effect. Firstly, a new stock bull was sourced from Dermot Rowe, a pedigree Limousin breeder in the Republic of Ireland. Secondly, a problem with selenium deficiency on the farm has been identified, with minerals now routinely fed to dry cows and also to young cattle.

Livestock performance has significantly improved, and this is starting to come through in financial results, with output per cow rising from £605 in 2012/13 to £868 in 2014/15 and gross margins per cow up from £323 to £590 over the same period.

Further refinements to the system should help to drive margins further in the years ahead. This includes tightening the calving period. The herd is split into two batches, with 30 cows calving in the spring and nine in the autumn (August/September). Last year, the spring-calving herd started calving at the end of January and the last cow didn’t calve until June. This year, calving started last week and should be complete by the end of May.

The system is kept simple, with all cows and replacements put to the Limousin bull. All replacements are bought in, mostly in private sales from a source with known disease status.

In the longer term, the aim is to bring calving forward to January through to March to maximise weight gains at grass.

Grazed grass

Getting the most from grazed grass has been a major focus for Gerard in recent years. In the past, cattle were turned out too late resulting in poorer utilisation and performance behind target.

With a limited land block and high prices being paid for conacre in the immediate area, his aim is to maximise the potential of the land he owns.

Last year, 30 spring-calving cows and calves grazed across 26 acres of land split into 26 individual paddocks. It was the second year that one-day paddocks were used. At the peak of the growing season, the grazing block was down to only 14 acres with the rest taken out as silage. As shown in Table 1, high-quality silage is also made.

“Since starting on the system, I now have more grass and more silage than ever before. Some people might think it excessive, but the cattle are very easily moved, and I am going over to look at them anyway. The one piece of advice I would give anyone setting up the system is to take out the farm map and plan it out first,” Gerard says.

In general, a group of 30 cows or a batch of 40 stores (450kg) requires one acre of grass per day. Gerard doesn’t measure grass in individual paddocks, instead preferring to use a system of ‘‘grazing days ahead’’.

According to Michael Doherty, it is something easily measured when working with one-day paddocks. His advice is that once growth takes off this spring, the aim should be to have 12 to 15 grazing days ahead up to the end of June. In July and August, there should be 15 to 19 days ahead, and by mid-September there should be a maximum of 25 days ahead.

During the spring and summer, if above target, either more stock should be added or paddocks taken out for silage. If below target, it might be necessary to spread more nitrogen.

During wet weather, it is important to keep stock moving to prevent damage. “If I know there is rain coming, I will shift them on a little earlier, so that they have eaten their fill and are more settled, rather than tramping around on a wet night,” says Gerard.

He generally tops paddocks after every grazing or every other grazing, and later in the season has done some pre-mowing if grass is strong. He said that pre-mowing works best if the cattle are allocated enough grass for 12 hours, so it may be necessary to split a paddock in two.

To ensure that paddocks are productive, they have all been analysed, with lime applied where pH is low. Across most of the farm, pH is now around 6.5.

The soil analysis would also indicate that most of the grazing block is now at Index 2 for phosphorus and potassium, so there is an opportunity this year to save some money on fertiliser costs by using straight nitrogen.

Most of the land has also been reseeded in the last 10 to 15 years.

However, the main issue for Gerard is that predominantly seed mixes suitable for silage production were used in the past. As a result some of the older swards are a little open, with a tendency for strong and erect growth, which can be difficult to graze down.

However, according to Michael Doherty, reseeding remains one of the few investments that will deliver a significant return on a beef and sheep farm.