Just three of the 27-strong BETTER farm group flew the store-producer flag in 2016.

Compared to the rest of the group, the store farmers are carrying slightly more stock per-farm-hectare.

Indeed, they are almost on a par with the top store producers in the Teagasc e-Profit Monitor in stocking rate terms.

However, relative to the very top suckler and beef farms in the country, the stocking rate of 1.88 LU/ha is still quite low.

This can be a common theme on store and weanling-producer farms – shed space doesn’t exist to allow farmers to optimally stock the grazing ground. This is currently the case with Clare farmer Sean Hayes, who is considering erecting a shed to allow him to push his numbers further.

Often, store farmers will choose to finish cattle when more accommodation becomes available – adding value to their stock. At present, there is scope for these farmers to add more value to their stock without even considering finishing. They are matching the country’s best store producers in terms of output, but are well behind in terms of output value.

High cow culling rates or disease outbreaks can skew this figure in a given year, but stock type/quality, group uniformity and timing/medium of sales can all affect this figure.

Grassland will be vital for these farmers. Meals bills must be minimized on a successful store farm.

Making top-quality silage will facilitate this and a long grazing season prior to sale will drive down their costs of production, which are at present slightly ahead of the country’s star performers.

Thomas Bolger Borris, Co Carlow

Thomas farms on the boundary of Borris, Co Carlow. There are 44 suckler cows in the herd at present, with a small number of progeny brought to beef and the balance sold live. There are also 120 ewes on the farm. Thomas is very active with beef and sheep discussion groups, and was even prior to BTAP and STAP.

Thomas’s son Ian is actively involved on the farm while completing his educational programme.

Sean Hayes Tulla, Co Clare

Sean Hayes farms full-time in Tulla, Co Clare. Sean’s farm is of a mixed nature, with some heavy ground. His current farming system is suckler to weanling and store cattle. There are 40 spring-calving cows (Jan to April) and 20 autumn calving cows (July to Sept). Cow type is mostly LMX, with some SIX and CHX. Sean runs a Charolais stock bull and uses Limousin, Belgian Blue and Charolais AI sires.

He is married to Marissa and they have one son, Charlie.

Nigel O’Kane Claregalway, Co Galway

Nigel has always had a keen interest in farming. He currently combines farming with running his own heating and plumbing business. The farm is predominantly loam soil type and he runs a suckler to store/beef system alongside a small sheep flock. Nigel is married to Elaine and they have three small children. He sees the programme as an opportunity to increase efficiency, productivity and ultimately profitability on the farm