Next week, two Teagasc/Irish Farmers Journal BETTER Farm Beef Challenge national open days will take place in Wicklow and Galway.

The BETTER farm national open days are an excellent chance for people to see, first-hand, the beef systems operated by the BETTER farmers and more importantly the changes made by the participants which have all been geared towards increasing the efficiency and profitability of their farms.

Whether you are a regular follower of the programme or simply just have an interest in beef farming, both of these days are sure to provide some interesting advice and discussion around key performance areas as well as giving an opportunity to hear from the farmers themselves.

Both events are Knowledge Transfer (KT) approved and Department officials will be present on the day for sign-in.

Wonderfully simple in Wicklow

On Tuesday, Wicklow BETTER farm representative Brian Doran will open the gates of his farm to the public to show the progress he has made within the programme over the last 18 months.

Brian is farming on 84ha of top-quality, free-draining land just outside Carnew in Co Wicklow. Forty-one hectares are in tillage while the remaining 43ha are in permanent grassland.

It is on these 43ha that Brian operates an impressive suckler-to-steer beef system. A very strong emphasis is placed on keeping the system as simple as possible, with the plan being to calve 50 cows in the spring, bringing all progeny to steer and heifer beef.

To supplement Brian’s cow-calf enterprise, he also purchases store cattle in the spring, at 400kg to 470kg and these cattle fit in very well with his own stores in their second year at grass. The aim is to buy 25 to 30 of these. Steers are then usually slaughtered at 22 to 24 months of age, while heifers are killed younger, at 18 to 20 months of age.

Grass is key

Since the beginning of the programme, Brian has really bought into the idea that good grassland management is the key to unlocking the full potential of a farm. It is worth the trip to Wicklow alone to see the excellent grazing infrastructure that has been put in place on the farm, with all fields now in paddocks and some reseeding already after being carried out. However, while that has required investment, the return is already proving to outweigh this.

So much greater is the volume of grass grown, that surplus bales are being taken-out on a regular basis. In one particular field, Brian pointed out that “I am carrying extra stock on this piece of ground and they have plenty of grass in front of them. Before, a smaller number of stock would have been running tight. I am even getting to take surplus bales out of it now too.”

With extra grass being grown, Brian has also begun a dairy-calf-to-beef system on the farm. This year, 20 calves were purchased, with the ultimate goal being to rear 25 calves and bring them to slaughter also.

Because Brian only runs one stock bull, keeping replacements isn’t an option. Instead, replacement stock are sourced usually through purchasing in-calf heifers or cows with calves at foot. That system has worked well with 40 cows. However, with the plan being to move to 50, some thought will have to be put into how to breed all of the cows and how to source replacements.

Improvements

In the year prior to the commencement of the programme, the gross margin was €579/ha.

Early last year, the Teagasc/Irish Farmers Journal BETTER farm management team, along with Brian’s local B&T adviser Eoin Woulfe, identified key areas for improvement on the farm.

At next week’s open day, a walk of Brain’s farm will include five stops describing the key changes that have taken place so far, with gross margin climbing €255 year-on-year, and they will outline how Brian hopes to double the kilos of beef produced on the farm and reach a gross margin of €1,200/ha by the end of the programme.

Tapping into potential in Galway

On Thursday, the Teagasc/ Irish Farmers Journal BETTER Farm Beef Challenge will head west to Nigel O’Kane’s farm outside Claregalway in Galway. On 25ha of free-draining land, Nigel is farming a 27-strong continental-type herd of cows all while running a full-time plumbing business.

With this in mind, the farm very much needs to run as one with the business and so simplicity is, just like on Brian Doran’s farm, key.

The farm is very typical of many farms in Galway and it is perhaps one of the most aesthetically pleasing in the programme, with miles of stone walls providing a perfect paddock grazing infrastructure. Nigel is no stranger to good grassland management either after being part of a grassland management discussion group prior to joining the programme and it is interesting to hear how he utilises grass so effectively.

A flair for breeding

One look at Nigel’s cows and it is easy to see that he has a taste for breeding, with a common trend of large-framed, continental cows with lots of milk running through the herd. For the breeding season, six weeks of AI is carried out before a Charolais stock bull is used to breed any remaining cows.

All replacement heifers are sourced from within the herd and the use of AI greatly facilitates this by providing a high number of maternal heifers for selection. The way in which Nigel operates AI while working full-time is sure to be of interest at next week’s open day.

With the assistance of the BETTER farm management team and local B&T advisers Damian Costello and Keith Fahy, Nigel was able to identify areas which could increase the efficiency and profitability of the farm, without having to add a greater workload on himself.

One area that was immediately identified was the manner in which progeny are sold. Previously, a weanling system was in operation on the farm. However, a decision was made to move towards a finishing system.

The farm also operates a dairy-calf-to-beef operation and it has done so for the last number of years. Each year, approximately 30 dairy-bred calves are reared and are subsequently sold live before the end of July in the following year, at 17 months of age. Selling these animals live works well for Nigel given the fact he is reducing the stocking rate at grass as growth rates dip later in the year.

Clever expansion

Without wanting to significantly increase the workload, Nigel set about expanding his operation through the construction of a slatted shed. The shed was built through TAMS where a 60% grant was availed of.

Next Thursday, a stand will be erected inside the shed and attendees will be provided with the opportunity to hear how the shed has reduced Nigel’s workload, as well as being given information on the workings and the advantages of TAMS.

In 2016, Nigel’s gross margin stood at €678/ha. Going forward, Nigel hopes to increase the output on the farm by 400kg/ha and finishing his homebred stock will hopefully contribute largely to this.

Next week’s open day will include a farm walk with six stops which will again go through the changes made on the farm to date and the plans for the future development of the farm.