The main livestock demonstration will take place at the end of the technology villages at BEEF 2018 and is a joint demo between Teagasc, the Irish Farmers Journal and ICBF.

The live demo will focus on choosing replacement heifers and calving at two years of age successfully.

Choosing replacement heifers can be a divisive task on beef farms with the age-old dilemma of pairing good looks with good genetics.

Part of this will be on exactly that and using all the tools available to choose the next generation of suckler cows on your farm. Using the replacement index as a tool in this process is very important and Chris Daly from ICBF will speak about the importance of reliability and looking at sub indices in making a successful selection.

Two-year-old calving has been proven to be a key driver of profitability on beef farms and a number on animals including maiden/in-calf heifers, first-calving cows and mature cows will be on display at the demo.

Teagasc advisers Alan Nolan, Mayo, and Gary Fisher, Donegal, will answer any questions from farmers on two-year-old calving and present some important points to achieve success.

The demo area has seating for 150 people and promises to be an interactive stand with good discussions taking place around animal breeding.

Livestock Demo Details

Speakers

  • Adam Woods, beef editor, Irish Farmers Journal.
  • Chris Daly, ICBF.
  • Gary Fisher, Teagasc, Donegal.
  • Alan Nolan, Teagasc, Mayo.
  • Demo Times

  • 11.30am
  • 12.30pm
  • 1.30pm
  • 2.30pm