The second Teagasc/Irish Farmers Journal BETTER Farm beef challenge spring walk is being hosted by Kildare suckler farmer Ricky Milligan. Ricky, alongside his father Henry and family, is operating a suckler-to-steer-beef and dairy-calf-to-beef enterprise on just under 50ha of grassland on the outskirts of Robertstown village in Co Kildare. A remaining 14ha are sown in tillage each year, predominantly barley and wheat crops. The grassland area is split into two similar-sized blocks – the home block where the farm walk will be held and an out block located around three miles away in Newtowndonore. All the land is free-draining and lends itself to a long grazing season.

On 50ha, Ricky is running a herd of 40 suckler cows, all calving in spring. Looking through the herd, there will be no prizes for guessing that Hereford breeding makes up the backbone of the genetics, with Simmental and Limousin crosses also present.

Ricky Milligan measuring grass.

So why Hereford? For Ricky, it is largely down to their suitability for his beef system. All males are slaughtered as steers at 20-24 months. Heifers, excluding replacements, are slaughtered at 20-22 months.

“Because I have limited housing on the farm, I decided a few years ago to bring in a breed that I wouldn’t have to house for the second winter. Herefords mature early and give me the scope to finish more cattle off grass in the back end,” explained Ricky.

To complement the suckler herd, a dairy calf-to-beef enterprise has been present on the farm for the last number of years. Hereford-cross calves were purchased from a local dairy farmer and run and sold alongside the homebred stock.

This spring, however, in light of recent figures released by Teagasc regarding the profitability of calf-to-beef systems and the value of dairy calves, Ricky is still in two minds about whether to purchase dairy calves or not. This key decision will be discussed at the upcoming farm walk.

Ricky’s spring walk will take place from 1pm to 3pm on Thursday 11 April and it is Knowledge Transfer-approved.

The event will showcase a wide variety of stock on the farm and discuss the many changes that have been implemented since the beginning of the programme, with the help of Teagasc BETTER farm adviser Tommy Cox and Teagasc B&T adviser Graham Waters.

Grass and grazing

While good-quality, free-draining soil is a highly desirable farming asset, 2018 was one year in which these soil types suffered. For Ricky, it was no different. When I caught up with him in early July last year, drought conditions were taking their toll.

Cattle were being supplemented with hay and concentrates at grass, growth rates were single-digit figures, less than one-third of fodder requirements were in stock and even water supplies were being threatened. This subsequently led to significantly higher feed costs and the sale of cattle earlier at lighter carcase weights.

But perhaps the most frustrating thing about 2018 was the inability for Ricky to capitalise on the big strides made in terms of grassland management. Since joining the programme, big improvements have been made in the areas of grass quality, infrastructure, measuring and reseeding.

In steer beef systems, grass quality is critical to profitability. Cheap weight gain off grass in the second season is the number one driver of profitability. And grass quality has a big bearing on weight gain.

For Ricky, following the ‘graze in three days, grow in three weeks’ principle has been key to keeping high-quality, lush grass in front of his steers and heifers during their second summer at grass.

Infrastructure played a big part in this too, with most of the farm now laid out in paddocks. The home block would have been relatively well set up, so most of the attention was paid to installing paddocks on the out block. Where permanent fences aren’t needed or when grass covers get strong, temporary reels and stakes are frequently used too. Measuring is carried out on a weekly basis as well.

So far this spring, grazing has been good. Stock were out for a time in February, but came in once again when weather turned at the beginning of March. As it stands, the vast majority of cows and calves are nearing the end of the first rotation on the home block. On the out farm, 2018-born stores are getting through the first rotation too.

The challenge for Ricky at present is to get all of the silage ground grazed off before stock are moved back onto the grazing platform to commence their second rotations. Attendees at next Thursday’s walk will hear all about the effects of 2018 and the grassland management decisions for spring 2019.