Newford Farm, the 100-cow suckler-to-beef herd located in Athenry, Co Galway, is in a good position to realise a target of finishing 100% of heifers off grass.
This is in sharp contrast to 2018, when heifers were sold at this stage of the year as stores. This decision was taken in 2018 due to the farm having insufficient land to graze all animals.
Heifers have performed well to-date and have benefited from an earlier turnout date. The batch of 40 heifers were turned outdoors at the end of February, over two months earlier than last year. This was made possible by heifers grazing grass which had accumulated since last autumn on the Cones block of land which has recently been added to the project.
Heifers are moving from Gort na Habhainn to reseeded ground on the recently acquired Cones block.
Performance was average initially, which could be expected due to the old permanent pasture and low-quality grazing. While this may have been the case, the early turnout allowed cattle to become accustomed to a grass-based diet and outdoor environment and performance quickly lifted once heifers were transferred to better-quality grazing in April.
A high percentage of heifers have developed a good cover of flesh and this should bode well for finishing off grass.
Heifers weighed 480kg at the last weighing in mid-June and are estimated by Michael Fagan of Teagasc to now weigh in the region of 500kg. The target is to gain another 50kg of liveweight before the start of September, when drafting is expected to begin. This should be a realistic target with heifers this week transferred to reseeded ground in Cones. Flesh cover is already good and farm manager Iarlaith Collins is hopeful that good utilisation of reseeded swards and keeping top-quality grass available will mean they won't have to supplement with meal.
The target is to start drafting heifers in September off grass and limit finishing costs.
Steers have regained condition after a below-par winter and are starting to fill out after developing a frame. At this stage of the year it appears that a high percentage will need be finished indoors. Steers will also be transferred to reseeded grass in the coming days so that too should help to underpin weight gain in excess of 1kg liveweight per day.
Read more
Newford Farm: counting on rain to boost grass growth
Action-packed day planned as Tullamore Farm opens its gates to the public
Newford Farm, the 100-cow suckler-to-beef herd located in Athenry, Co Galway, is in a good position to realise a target of finishing 100% of heifers off grass.
This is in sharp contrast to 2018, when heifers were sold at this stage of the year as stores. This decision was taken in 2018 due to the farm having insufficient land to graze all animals.
Heifers have performed well to-date and have benefited from an earlier turnout date. The batch of 40 heifers were turned outdoors at the end of February, over two months earlier than last year. This was made possible by heifers grazing grass which had accumulated since last autumn on the Cones block of land which has recently been added to the project.
Heifers are moving from Gort na Habhainn to reseeded ground on the recently acquired Cones block.
Performance was average initially, which could be expected due to the old permanent pasture and low-quality grazing. While this may have been the case, the early turnout allowed cattle to become accustomed to a grass-based diet and outdoor environment and performance quickly lifted once heifers were transferred to better-quality grazing in April.
A high percentage of heifers have developed a good cover of flesh and this should bode well for finishing off grass.
Heifers weighed 480kg at the last weighing in mid-June and are estimated by Michael Fagan of Teagasc to now weigh in the region of 500kg. The target is to gain another 50kg of liveweight before the start of September, when drafting is expected to begin. This should be a realistic target with heifers this week transferred to reseeded ground in Cones. Flesh cover is already good and farm manager Iarlaith Collins is hopeful that good utilisation of reseeded swards and keeping top-quality grass available will mean they won't have to supplement with meal.
The target is to start drafting heifers in September off grass and limit finishing costs.
Steers have regained condition after a below-par winter and are starting to fill out after developing a frame. At this stage of the year it appears that a high percentage will need be finished indoors. Steers will also be transferred to reseeded grass in the coming days so that too should help to underpin weight gain in excess of 1kg liveweight per day.
Read more
Newford Farm: counting on rain to boost grass growth
Action-packed day planned as Tullamore Farm opens its gates to the public
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: