Members of the NI suckler beef programme visited the Abbey Farm at CAFRE, Greenmount, last week to view the progress made in establishing a new suckler herd.

The current herd at the Abbey Farm is made up of 69 cows, the majority of which were bred to Stabiliser bulls in 2014. Only Stabiliser heifers will be retained in the future. Over time, other breeds will be phased out of the breeding herd. The aim is to assess and demonstrate the importance of technical efficiency in commercial suckler beef production.

It is a significant change in direction for the herd at the Abbey Farm. In 1997, the LIMO herd was established, consisting of 25 purebred and 25 three-quarter bred Limousin cows crossed to Limousin bulls. Over the years, the herd became well-known in the world of pedigree breeding.

However, the farms at Greenmount exist as a teaching resource for students and to demonstrate best-practice to farmers. With commercial lowland suckler herds in NI predominantly based on crossbreeding, it could be argued that a high-input pedigree herd at Greenmount was sending the wrong messages to students and industry alike. In 2009, the decision was taken to disperse the herd. A small number of the three-quarter bred cows still remain.

The new herd based on Stabiliser genetics can hardly be described as a ground-breaking development. The breed has been in NI for a number of years, and a herd of 50 Stabiliser cows is now well-established at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI). The size and shape of the cattle might not be to everyone’s liking, but the principles behind the breed are sound – they are bred specifically to be commercial suckler cows, exhibiting important traits such as milking ability, calving ease and fertility. The breed is also focused on finding bulls and breeding lines with high feed conversion efficiency, a trait yet to be assessed by many other beef breeds.

It is hard to criticise the decision at Greenmount to opt for the Stabiliser breed. However, they had two options that reflect the reality facing commercial suckler producers in NI.

The first was to source a herd of Limousin and Angus cross cows from the dairy herd. The 200-cow herd at the main college site is a potential source of replacements of known disease status.

Initial results from AFBI Hillsborough have shown that Limousin cross Holstein cows will produce heavier calves at weaning than Stabilisers (due to their milking ability). However, the reality facing farmers is that it is difficult to find a suitable source of replacements of known disease status. Also, will the Limousin cross cows last or will they exhibit some of the unwanted Holstein traits, such as poor functionality and fertility? The real benefit of Stabilisers over Limousin cross Holstein cows might only be seen over a longer period.

The alternative was to look to the Hill Farm at Glenwherry for replacements. The suckler herd there is a three-way cross between Limousin, Angus and Shorthorn, a policy put in place back in 2003, and designed to breed specialist heifer replacements. Taking heifers from this herd and crossing them to a terminal sire breed at the Abbey Farm would demonstrate how upland and lowland beef production can integrate together.

“We would have liked to use the three-breed crosses at the Abbey Farm” acknowledges Jim Freeburn, head of the beef and sheep development branch at CAFRE. However, he explained that the cows at the Hill Farm mostly calve in May and June, while the Abbey herd is mostly February and March-calving. To get Hill Farm heifers to calve in February would mean calving them at 33 months, rather than the recommended 24 months. “In principle, we did not want to do that,” said Freeburn.

Instead, the existing Limousin cows at the Abbey Farm are being phased out, with 22 Stabiliser heifers bought in last year, along with 20 AA and Limousin cross Holstein heifers sourced from Greenmount’s dairy herd. Stabiliser bulls have been used on cows and heifers, with a few late calvers in-calf to the Limousin. In total, there are 69 cows, 60 of which will be put to the bull this year. The first home-bred Stabiliser heifers born this spring will be ready to calve in 2017. The aim is eventually to have a 50 cow herd of Stabiliser cows at the Abbey Farm.

Of the 22 Stabiliser and 22 beef cross Holstein heifers bought in last year, 39 turned out in-calf.

The heifers were synchronised using controlled internal drug release (CIDR) last year, with all heifers showing standing heat artificially inseminated two days after CIDR removal, and the remaining heifers artificially inseminated the following day. Any repeat breeders 21 days after the first service were artificially inseminated again, with the group then run with a Limousin stock bull. The AI semen used was from the Stabiliser bull Givendale Norseman.

Typical of most synchronisation and AI programmes, the results were mixed, with 50% in-calf to the first service and 70% in-calf by the second service.

At calving time in 2015, the surprise has been the number of Stabiliser heifers that required assistance. One calf died at calving and one heifer had a caesarean.

Most of the remaining heifers received assistance from farm staff. The average birth weight of the calves was 36kg.

The calves from the AA and Limousin cross heifers were slightly heavier (38kg), but fewer heifers had to be helped at calving time.

So, what were the reasons for the more difficult calvings?

The Stabiliser heifers tended to be slightly younger at calving (22 to 23 months as opposed to 27.5 months), which might have been a factor.

Also, they may have been carrying excess body condition, which is partly a reflection of the high-quality silage generally made on the farm and fed ad lib.

Winter

Looking ahead to the winter, the NISBP farmers emphasised the importance of being able to restrict high-quality silage to dry cows to prevent them from becoming over-fat. It is also a potential saving on overwintering costs.

The current main cow house at the Abbey Farm has cubicle space for 50 cows, but only 25 to 30 cows can feed at any one time. A slight modification to the feeding regime is probably required.

The potential ability of Stabiliser cows to mobilise fat reserves over the winter needs to be demonstrated and quantified for students and farmers alike.

The Abbey Farm is a 96ha unit, traditionally carrying a lowland suckler herd of 50 cows, 200 breeding ewes and finishing around 200 cattle per year. These finishing cattle are sourced from the Abbey suckler herd, as well as cattle from Greenmount’s dairy herd and from the 100-cow suckler herd at the Greenmount Hill Farm at Glenwherry situated between Ballymena and Larne.