This week’s draft of 18 heifers and nine bullocks on 25 November on Newford Farm in Co Galway leaves just 11 bullocks and three heifers remaining from the 2019 crop of progeny.

The 19 heifers averaged 313kg carcase weight from an average kill-out of 53% and liveweight of 590kg.

The heifers, which were 21 months of age, graded R=3+ on average, with one U grade animal cancelled out by one O+ grading heifer. The base price on the quality payment system (QPS) grid was €3.70/kg and with all animals satisfying QPS criteria, the average sale value was recorded at €1,259.

Finishing diet

The heifers had been housed on 27 October on a finishing diet of high-quality 75DMD silage and 5kg of a high-energy ration.

The breakdown of this ration costing €255/t delivered in bulk form is detailed in Table 1.

The heifers consumed 390kg concentrates on average since feeding started at grass 11.5 weeks earlier. The average cost of this supplementation was €101.

Bullock slaughter performance

Farm manager Iarlaith Collins was pleased with the slaughter performance of the nine bullocks.

The bullocks weighed 677kg liveweight prior to loading and with the kill-out remaining unchanged at 54%, they achieved an average carcase weight of 363kg.

The average grade was R=3=, with one bullock grading U-, while the average sale price was €1,453 from a base price of €3.65/kg and all animals killing in-spec.

The bullocks, which were also aged 21 months, were housed on 2 October on a finishing diet of high-quality silage fed ad-lib and 6kg concentrates.

The nine bullocks consumed 435kg concentrate since feeding began 11.5 weeks earlier, giving an average concentrate cost of €113.

Nine of the remaining bullocks are at an advanced stage of finish and the target is to slaughter these around 20 December.

They are currently weighing 659kg liveweight and should hopefully be in the region of 685kg to 695kg when slaughtered.

The other two remaining bullocks are a significant way behind these, with a liveweight of 450kg.

These two bullocks are receiving 3kg concentrates and will be carried over and sold in the new year.

Read more

Newford Farm update: exploring winter finishing budgets