The Knockamany Bends at Malin Head in Co Donegal, which tower over the well-known Five Fingers strand, attracts plenty of tourists throughout the year. It’s not surprising really, with the rugged cliffs and the sandy beach beneath offering a host of stunning scenery, particularly on a clear summer’s day. One wonders, though, how many of these visitors even notice the suckler cows grazing fearlessly across these steep slopes?
James McGonigle and his son Eoin.
James McGonagle is one farmer whose cows will be seen on the Bends this summer. In fact, there are three cows up on them at present and they have been there all winter: “They haven’t got a lick,” James says. “No silage, no meal. The most they got was a lick bucket.” These cows will be coming down to the yard soon though. They’re due to calve in early April but, given their environment for the last four or five months, they are in exceptionally good nick.
These cows will be coming down to the yard soon though. They’re due to calve in early April but, given their environment for the last four or five months, they are in exceptionally good nick.
The cows calving in April are in the minority, though. James currently has a total of 14 suckler cows and 10 of them calved last September and October. These cows would have come down off the Bends just before calving and they’ve been indoors since.
“It’ll be the beginning of May by the time we get them out again,” James explains. “It probably sounds like a seriously long winter but you’re wasting your time if you think it’s going to be any shorter up here.” The calves will be weaned, bulls and heifers split, and let out to the better-quality grazing ground. The dry cows go up to the bends for the summer, and applying some Stockholm Tar is one of the few jobs that has to be done with them after that.
Community
James admits the countryside is more suited to sheep. He has 140 ewes – 100 Cheviots and 40 cross-breds. The crossbreds started lambing in January and Cheviots are getting into the thick of it now.
But most farmers in the area are similar to James – they’ve got sheep, and a small herd of suckler cows. “Twenty would definitely be the maximum,” says James. It might not sound like a lot, and it’s not, but it’s a completely different system up here. The landscape – just like so many other pockets of Ireland – will only ever sustain a very low stocking rate of cows – but they serve a function.
On top of that, it’s a labour-intensive countryside. But it’s the community effort that makes it work, and that starts with family. Rosemary, James’s wife, and their five children, Breda, Roisin, Sinead, Patrick and Eoin, are very actively involved.
It probably sounds like a seriously long winter but you’re wasting your time if you think it’s going to be any shorter up here
“When there’s a cow calving,” he smiled, “they’ll all be out here to help me. It means a lot to have that.” He adds that even during a period of bad health, Rosemary and the children were responsible for “keeping the show on the road”.
The help comes from further afield too. “I’d usually call on one of the neighbours to help me with a calving,” James says. “I’d have someone to come down to me and I’d go up to them then as well.” James has been calving cows for people in the area since he was a teenager.
He’s helped several farmers in plenty of tight squeezes, although he’s not afraid to make the difficult call too: “I’d be the first to say that if a cow isn’t wide enough or if the calf seems very big, a section should be done. People pull calves they shouldn’t, just to save money on a vet. They end up doing harm. It’s senseless and I’d have nothing to do with that.”
Like in many parts of the country, the suckler community in the area is dwindling.
“There’s been a drop in cow numbers alright,” he says. “A lot have got bigger into the sheep. I suppose when they see the work that’s involved in cows up here and then the money that’s coming back out of it, it’s hard to justify it.” But when I ask James if there would be any cows in Malin Head in 10 years’ time, he replies, with a smile: “When it’s in your blood, it’s hard to get it out of it.”
Weanlings
With the option to run large numbers non-existent, one way to make up the ground is to breed to as high of a standard as possible. This is certainly James’s approach. “People ask me if I take any holidays. My idea of a holiday is going into a yard and looking at real good cattle,” James laughed.
His own herd is made up of super-quality R to U grading continental cows. He says the majority of the cows have a trace of Belgian Blue breeding in them – most of which can be traced back to a 17-year-old Belgian Blue cow that is still in the herd.
James uses all AI and, in the pot, he will have a range of sires from a range of breeds including Belgian Blue, Charolais, Simmental and Limousin. It’s very much a case of selecting the right bull for the right cow. A camera in the slatted shed is used to identify the cows in heat throughout January and February.
When they see the work that’s involved in cows up here and then the money that’s coming back out of it, it’s hard to justify it
After being born in September, James will offer the calves 1kg/head/day of an 18% crude protein weanling ration. “I want to grow the frames on them this time of the year. If you overdo the calf and put too much fat on, the frame won’t grow and you’ll never get that back,” he says. “You’ll have lads giving them 3kg and 4kg of a middling ration – I always say 1kg of a high-quality protein ration is far better.” He went on to say that the calves are only let in to the cows twice a day to suckle. Weanlings are taken off the meal when they go to grass and they are strip-grazed for the summer. They will be offered concentrates at the end of July up until they are sold.
The end goal is to produce a high-quality, well-muscled weanling. “If you have a good frame and a nice bit of shape, you will always have a market for them,” says James.
Apart from a handful of heifers kept as replacements, all the weanlings are sold in Carndonagh Mart in late August and early September
Apart from a handful of heifers kept as replacements, all the weanlings are sold in Carndonagh Mart in late August and early September. “Bull beef finishers would be my main customer for the bulls,” James explains.
“I’d also be hoping I’d see a few show men around the ring for my heifer weanlings.” It isn’t uncommon for James’s weanlings to pick up prizes of their own. Last autumn, James won first prize with a group of three bull weanlings at the Carndonagh show and sale. Further back, a weanling that he sold at five months of age went on to win first prize in the junior class at the Carrick Winter Fair.
Name: James
McGonagle.Location: Malin Head, Co Donegal.Farming full-time alongside wife Rosemary and five children.Fourteen, mainly autumn-calving, suckler cows.Selling high-quality, well-muscled weanlings at just under one year old.140 early and mid-season lambing ewes – Cheviots and Cheviot-crosses.Grazing dry cows and sheep on the Knockamany Bends, overlooking the Five Fingers strand.
The Knockamany Bends at Malin Head in Co Donegal, which tower over the well-known Five Fingers strand, attracts plenty of tourists throughout the year. It’s not surprising really, with the rugged cliffs and the sandy beach beneath offering a host of stunning scenery, particularly on a clear summer’s day. One wonders, though, how many of these visitors even notice the suckler cows grazing fearlessly across these steep slopes?
James McGonigle and his son Eoin.
James McGonagle is one farmer whose cows will be seen on the Bends this summer. In fact, there are three cows up on them at present and they have been there all winter: “They haven’t got a lick,” James says. “No silage, no meal. The most they got was a lick bucket.” These cows will be coming down to the yard soon though. They’re due to calve in early April but, given their environment for the last four or five months, they are in exceptionally good nick.
These cows will be coming down to the yard soon though. They’re due to calve in early April but, given their environment for the last four or five months, they are in exceptionally good nick.
The cows calving in April are in the minority, though. James currently has a total of 14 suckler cows and 10 of them calved last September and October. These cows would have come down off the Bends just before calving and they’ve been indoors since.
“It’ll be the beginning of May by the time we get them out again,” James explains. “It probably sounds like a seriously long winter but you’re wasting your time if you think it’s going to be any shorter up here.” The calves will be weaned, bulls and heifers split, and let out to the better-quality grazing ground. The dry cows go up to the bends for the summer, and applying some Stockholm Tar is one of the few jobs that has to be done with them after that.
Community
James admits the countryside is more suited to sheep. He has 140 ewes – 100 Cheviots and 40 cross-breds. The crossbreds started lambing in January and Cheviots are getting into the thick of it now.
But most farmers in the area are similar to James – they’ve got sheep, and a small herd of suckler cows. “Twenty would definitely be the maximum,” says James. It might not sound like a lot, and it’s not, but it’s a completely different system up here. The landscape – just like so many other pockets of Ireland – will only ever sustain a very low stocking rate of cows – but they serve a function.
On top of that, it’s a labour-intensive countryside. But it’s the community effort that makes it work, and that starts with family. Rosemary, James’s wife, and their five children, Breda, Roisin, Sinead, Patrick and Eoin, are very actively involved.
It probably sounds like a seriously long winter but you’re wasting your time if you think it’s going to be any shorter up here
“When there’s a cow calving,” he smiled, “they’ll all be out here to help me. It means a lot to have that.” He adds that even during a period of bad health, Rosemary and the children were responsible for “keeping the show on the road”.
The help comes from further afield too. “I’d usually call on one of the neighbours to help me with a calving,” James says. “I’d have someone to come down to me and I’d go up to them then as well.” James has been calving cows for people in the area since he was a teenager.
He’s helped several farmers in plenty of tight squeezes, although he’s not afraid to make the difficult call too: “I’d be the first to say that if a cow isn’t wide enough or if the calf seems very big, a section should be done. People pull calves they shouldn’t, just to save money on a vet. They end up doing harm. It’s senseless and I’d have nothing to do with that.”
Like in many parts of the country, the suckler community in the area is dwindling.
“There’s been a drop in cow numbers alright,” he says. “A lot have got bigger into the sheep. I suppose when they see the work that’s involved in cows up here and then the money that’s coming back out of it, it’s hard to justify it.” But when I ask James if there would be any cows in Malin Head in 10 years’ time, he replies, with a smile: “When it’s in your blood, it’s hard to get it out of it.”
Weanlings
With the option to run large numbers non-existent, one way to make up the ground is to breed to as high of a standard as possible. This is certainly James’s approach. “People ask me if I take any holidays. My idea of a holiday is going into a yard and looking at real good cattle,” James laughed.
His own herd is made up of super-quality R to U grading continental cows. He says the majority of the cows have a trace of Belgian Blue breeding in them – most of which can be traced back to a 17-year-old Belgian Blue cow that is still in the herd.
James uses all AI and, in the pot, he will have a range of sires from a range of breeds including Belgian Blue, Charolais, Simmental and Limousin. It’s very much a case of selecting the right bull for the right cow. A camera in the slatted shed is used to identify the cows in heat throughout January and February.
When they see the work that’s involved in cows up here and then the money that’s coming back out of it, it’s hard to justify it
After being born in September, James will offer the calves 1kg/head/day of an 18% crude protein weanling ration. “I want to grow the frames on them this time of the year. If you overdo the calf and put too much fat on, the frame won’t grow and you’ll never get that back,” he says. “You’ll have lads giving them 3kg and 4kg of a middling ration – I always say 1kg of a high-quality protein ration is far better.” He went on to say that the calves are only let in to the cows twice a day to suckle. Weanlings are taken off the meal when they go to grass and they are strip-grazed for the summer. They will be offered concentrates at the end of July up until they are sold.
The end goal is to produce a high-quality, well-muscled weanling. “If you have a good frame and a nice bit of shape, you will always have a market for them,” says James.
Apart from a handful of heifers kept as replacements, all the weanlings are sold in Carndonagh Mart in late August and early September
Apart from a handful of heifers kept as replacements, all the weanlings are sold in Carndonagh Mart in late August and early September. “Bull beef finishers would be my main customer for the bulls,” James explains.
“I’d also be hoping I’d see a few show men around the ring for my heifer weanlings.” It isn’t uncommon for James’s weanlings to pick up prizes of their own. Last autumn, James won first prize with a group of three bull weanlings at the Carndonagh show and sale. Further back, a weanling that he sold at five months of age went on to win first prize in the junior class at the Carrick Winter Fair.
Name: James
McGonagle.Location: Malin Head, Co Donegal.Farming full-time alongside wife Rosemary and five children.Fourteen, mainly autumn-calving, suckler cows.Selling high-quality, well-muscled weanlings at just under one year old.140 early and mid-season lambing ewes – Cheviots and Cheviot-crosses.Grazing dry cows and sheep on the Knockamany Bends, overlooking the Five Fingers strand. 
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