The NI Sheep Programme held its first public event last week, with an online farm walk hosted by Paraic McNeill.
Paraic farms 36ha of lowland grassland, in partnership with his father Seamus, at Annaclone, Co Down.
The farm carries 200 breeding ewes, 50 ewe lambs and a small suckler herd of around 20 cows.
Both Paraic and Seamus work off farm, which means prioritising key management tasks so they are completed on time.
“We mostly work with a Suffolk-cross ewe, which is bred to Texel rams. Our ewes are lambed in two batches, as housing space is limited.
We are also buying in replacements with Lleyn and Mule ewes selected to replace the more terminal ewes we have
“The first group of lambs in February, with the second group lambing in March. Our target is to wean around 1.75 lambs per ewe and hit a gross margin of £800/ha by the end of the programme.
“We are weaning closer to 1.52 lambs/ewe at the minute. To hit the kind of weaning rates outlined, we are looking to change the ewe type slightly and have introduced a Belclare ram.
“We are also buying in replacements with Lleyn and Mule ewes selected to replace the more terminal ewes we have. This should speed up the change in ewe type.
“We ran a closed flock for years, and the plan is to go back to a closed flock as soon as possible,” said Paraic.
Lamb performance
Lambs are weighed regularly and data is recorded using an EID reader and software package that links everything back to breeding ewes and flock sires.
“Lambs have performed well this year and we are on track to have 80% finished off grass by October,” Paraic said.
With EID, you get out of it what you put into it
“Lamb performance to weaning was good, with an average daily gain of 0.39kg/day. We record birth weights, eight-week weights, weaning and sale weights.
“Tag numbers are recorded with a wand and we have a handling unit with a weighbridge that links to the computer using Bluetooth.
“With EID, you get out of it what you put into it. We use these records to weed out the worst-performing ewes, change rams that are not doing the job and identify possible replacements.”
The first draft of lambs was sold on 21 May, with the most recent draft of 19 animals slaughtered on 24 June, at carcase weights averaging 20.4kg.
Creep feeding
With the farm being heavily stocked, February-born lambs were offered a small quantity of concentrate.
“It’s only a small amount working at around £3/head. We find that creep feeding increases kill-out, so we can draft lambs at a lighter weight and get more animals away early when price is good. Around 55% of the February-born lambs have now been sold,” Paraic said.
Paddock grazing
The stand-out feature of the farm has been the adoption of paddock grazing. The farm is now set up in 42 paddocks and sheep are rotationally grazed, spending four to five days in each allocation.
“We started off paddock grazing with the cattle and expanded it to suit the sheep. About 80% of our farm is laid out in one block.
Sheep are grazed in rotation with 42 paddocks on farm. Paddock grazing has been a success and plans are to increase ewe numbers to 300 head.
“Fields are typically 4ac to 6ac in size, so we started off splitting fields in two. We use three strands of electric wire and plastic posts every six yards.
“There is a bit of cost in setting them up, but once this is done that’s it. The key is to always have one paddock ready ahead of each group at all times.
“I have started walking the farm weekly to measure grass and already see the benefits. It has given me more confidence to take out surplus grass for silage, which means we keep the best grass in front of stock,” Paraic said.
Group size
“We don’t focus too much on grazing a set number of ewes per acre or paddock. Instead, the aim is to get a paddock grazed in four days. Ideally, I would like to cut this to three days.
“Most of our paddocks are now around 2ac. At the minute, we are running ewes in a group of 80 and a group of 100.
“To get down to three-day grazings, we would need to increase group size. But later in the year, group sizes would have to be reduced as growth slows down.”
Water
Providing water to paddocks has been the big obstacle, but one that can be resolved where there is willpower to do so.
“Water piping is simply rolled out overground and plastic troughs set up to service two or more paddocks.
We are also gearing up to increase ewe numbers
“It is not a big cost spread over a couple of years and it is already paying for itself. Our lambs are doing better moving to fresh grass and we are using less fertiliser.
“We are also gearing up to increase ewe numbers, which means more kilos of lamb sold from the same area. I would advise any farmer to give it a go. Start small and improve it every year,” Paraic said.
Increasing ewe numbers
The long-term aim for the farm is to build ewe numbers to around 300 head over a five-year period. For this to happen, there are a few tasks to be completed first.
“Getting the grazing setup right is the final piece of the jigsaw. All the farm was soil-tested in 2018 and we have invested in lime to get pH back up towards 6.5 to grow more grass.
“We should have 100% of the farm reseeded inside five years, which allows us to increase ewe numbers.
“With limited housing space, the preference would be to look at running an outdoor lambing flock rather than invest in housing, but we will keep our options open,” Paraic said.
Missed the webinar? You can view the full webinar here.
Read more
No agreement in Brexit talks
Beef labelling blocking trade
The NI Sheep Programme held its first public event last week, with an online farm walk hosted by Paraic McNeill.
Paraic farms 36ha of lowland grassland, in partnership with his father Seamus, at Annaclone, Co Down.
The farm carries 200 breeding ewes, 50 ewe lambs and a small suckler herd of around 20 cows.
Both Paraic and Seamus work off farm, which means prioritising key management tasks so they are completed on time.
“We mostly work with a Suffolk-cross ewe, which is bred to Texel rams. Our ewes are lambed in two batches, as housing space is limited.
We are also buying in replacements with Lleyn and Mule ewes selected to replace the more terminal ewes we have
“The first group of lambs in February, with the second group lambing in March. Our target is to wean around 1.75 lambs per ewe and hit a gross margin of £800/ha by the end of the programme.
“We are weaning closer to 1.52 lambs/ewe at the minute. To hit the kind of weaning rates outlined, we are looking to change the ewe type slightly and have introduced a Belclare ram.
“We are also buying in replacements with Lleyn and Mule ewes selected to replace the more terminal ewes we have. This should speed up the change in ewe type.
“We ran a closed flock for years, and the plan is to go back to a closed flock as soon as possible,” said Paraic.
Lamb performance
Lambs are weighed regularly and data is recorded using an EID reader and software package that links everything back to breeding ewes and flock sires.
“Lambs have performed well this year and we are on track to have 80% finished off grass by October,” Paraic said.
With EID, you get out of it what you put into it
“Lamb performance to weaning was good, with an average daily gain of 0.39kg/day. We record birth weights, eight-week weights, weaning and sale weights.
“Tag numbers are recorded with a wand and we have a handling unit with a weighbridge that links to the computer using Bluetooth.
“With EID, you get out of it what you put into it. We use these records to weed out the worst-performing ewes, change rams that are not doing the job and identify possible replacements.”
The first draft of lambs was sold on 21 May, with the most recent draft of 19 animals slaughtered on 24 June, at carcase weights averaging 20.4kg.
Creep feeding
With the farm being heavily stocked, February-born lambs were offered a small quantity of concentrate.
“It’s only a small amount working at around £3/head. We find that creep feeding increases kill-out, so we can draft lambs at a lighter weight and get more animals away early when price is good. Around 55% of the February-born lambs have now been sold,” Paraic said.
Paddock grazing
The stand-out feature of the farm has been the adoption of paddock grazing. The farm is now set up in 42 paddocks and sheep are rotationally grazed, spending four to five days in each allocation.
“We started off paddock grazing with the cattle and expanded it to suit the sheep. About 80% of our farm is laid out in one block.
Sheep are grazed in rotation with 42 paddocks on farm. Paddock grazing has been a success and plans are to increase ewe numbers to 300 head.
“Fields are typically 4ac to 6ac in size, so we started off splitting fields in two. We use three strands of electric wire and plastic posts every six yards.
“There is a bit of cost in setting them up, but once this is done that’s it. The key is to always have one paddock ready ahead of each group at all times.
“I have started walking the farm weekly to measure grass and already see the benefits. It has given me more confidence to take out surplus grass for silage, which means we keep the best grass in front of stock,” Paraic said.
Group size
“We don’t focus too much on grazing a set number of ewes per acre or paddock. Instead, the aim is to get a paddock grazed in four days. Ideally, I would like to cut this to three days.
“Most of our paddocks are now around 2ac. At the minute, we are running ewes in a group of 80 and a group of 100.
“To get down to three-day grazings, we would need to increase group size. But later in the year, group sizes would have to be reduced as growth slows down.”
Water
Providing water to paddocks has been the big obstacle, but one that can be resolved where there is willpower to do so.
“Water piping is simply rolled out overground and plastic troughs set up to service two or more paddocks.
We are also gearing up to increase ewe numbers
“It is not a big cost spread over a couple of years and it is already paying for itself. Our lambs are doing better moving to fresh grass and we are using less fertiliser.
“We are also gearing up to increase ewe numbers, which means more kilos of lamb sold from the same area. I would advise any farmer to give it a go. Start small and improve it every year,” Paraic said.
Increasing ewe numbers
The long-term aim for the farm is to build ewe numbers to around 300 head over a five-year period. For this to happen, there are a few tasks to be completed first.
“Getting the grazing setup right is the final piece of the jigsaw. All the farm was soil-tested in 2018 and we have invested in lime to get pH back up towards 6.5 to grow more grass.
“We should have 100% of the farm reseeded inside five years, which allows us to increase ewe numbers.
“With limited housing space, the preference would be to look at running an outdoor lambing flock rather than invest in housing, but we will keep our options open,” Paraic said.
Missed the webinar? You can view the full webinar here.
Read more
No agreement in Brexit talks
Beef labelling blocking trade
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