Tullamore Farm opens its gates today, Wednesday 24 July, from 11am to 6pm.

The farm, in existence since 1 January 2017, has built up a herd of 100 suckler cows and a flock 170 ewes. It aims to demonstrate how technical efficiency within the farm gate is equally as important as price when it comes to the bottom line.

There will be a number of technical stands on the farm walk route followed by workshops in the yard area. All stands have live demos and practical demonstrations to aid the delivery of technical messages. Teagasc, ICBF, Bord Bia and the full Irish Farmers Journal team will be on hand on the day to answer any questions or queries that you have. Here, we take a look at the format for the day and what there is to be seen.

Stand 1: Farm plan and financial performance

It has been a rollercoaster two and a half years on Tullamore Farm. The farm has met many challenges along the way including an infertile stock bull, tetany issues, storm Emma and drought conditions in summer 2018 to name but a few. We have also seen positives in soil fertility improvements, grass growth and how easy the sheep flock has fitted into the daily management of the farm. On this stand, profitability figures will be discussed including plans and targets for the farm in the next few years. We will also look at some of the threats to the system and how we can safeguard it by making some tweaks to the farm plan.

Stand 2: Breeding and fertility

The cattle system on the farm has been modelled around operating a high replacement index herd, coupled with using the top genetics to achieve maximum genetic gain within the herd.

The herd breeding figures, including calving interval, mortality figures, calves/cow/year and other KPIs will be discussed on the day including the farm’s choice of bulls and how AI works in a large herd. Performance figure and weight gains will also be discussed at this stand, where cows and calves will be on display.

Calving and breeding are two of the most important periods of the year and some of the learnings so far will be discussed.

Stand 3: Sheep system

The sheep system is now fully bedded in on the farm with a 170-ewe flock in place and plans to grow this flock in 2019. Ewe type has been chosen as a Mule-type ewe, which is then crossed with a Texel ram. Ewes lamb in mid-March with lambs drafted from July onwards. Full production and performance data will be on display on the day including analysis of the 2018 lamb crop and what the plans are for the sheep system. Advantages and disadvantages of mixed grazing will also be discussed at this stand. Lambs mixed grazing with cattle will be on view at this stand.

Stand 4: Soil fertility and grassland management

Soil fertility and grassland management are both cornerstones of any profitable beef or sheep enterprise. Andy Doyle will cover all aspects of soil fertility, including how the farm has gone about trying to increase soil phosphorus and potassium levels. A soil profile has also been dug out to explore what lies beneath the grass and what to look for in a healthy living soil. A grazing demo has also been set up to look at the effects of grazing grass at different heights. The latest figures from the Tullamore Farm will be discussed, along with how farm manager Shaun Diver is managing grass and mixed grazing on a daily basis.

Stand 5: Improving grassland – economic and environmental benefits

Teagasc will outline how improved grassland management and silage quality can improve daily liveweight gains, while carcase weight, earlier slaughter dates and reduced winter feed costs can have both economic and environmental benefits. Teagasc cattle specialists and researchers will be on hand to explain how grazing higher-quality grass, improving soil fertility and using both protected urea and trailing shoe slurry spreading can have positive effects on the bottom line as well as reducing greenhouse gas and/or ammonia emissions.

Making higher-quality silage will also be investigated, and how this affects weight gain during the winter. A live demo on trailing shoe slurry spreading using protected urea will also take place at this stand.

Stand 6: Animal health

Tullamore Farm vet Donal Lynch and Irish Farmers Journal vet Tommy Heffernan will man the animal health stand, the last technical stop on the farm walk route.

They will outline the animal health pan on Tullamore Farm and how disease prevention is preferred to fire brigade solutions.

The farm has a strict quarantine protocol for all bought-in stock and a robust vaccination protocol to prevent diseases such as pneumonia, BVD, leptospirosis and others.

The farm has had its fair share of health problems since the start of the project and these will be teased out on the day as to how these issues could be avoided on other farms.

Interactive workshops

Workshops will take place in the yard area from 2pm until 5pm. These will cover a variety of topics and the aim with these workshops is to get a hands-on look at some specific tasks ranging from health and safety to tractor maintenance to footbathing and CAP reform. Table 1 outlines the times that each workshop will take place.

Workshop one: sheep footbathing

Lameness in sheep is a problem on some farms and can have an effect on profitability through delayed days to slaughter and treatment costs. Lame sheep can also take up a lot of time on sheep farms where labour is already at a premium. We will have a live demo taking place at 30-minute intervals during the day on sheep footbathing, looking at how often you should use a footbath, the type of footbath to use, solution mixing and all the tips on getting it right.

Workshop two: breeding checks for sheep

Breeding is just around the corner for many sheep flocks around the country and flock management in the next few weeks could have a big impact on the 2020 lamb crop. In this workshop, we will cover body condition scoring of ewes and how to manage body condition in the next few weeks. We will also take a look at one of the rams on the farm and carry out an MOT in advance of breeding. Sheep Ireland will also be at this workshop to talk about ram selection ahead of the breeding season.

Workshop three: machinery maintenance

Keeping machinery and tractors in good working order on livestock farms is important from a cost point of view and also from a health and safety point of view. Our machinery specialists will give a live demo on tips to keep your tractor in good working order including taking a look at greasing points and filters that need regular cleaning. They will also look at some health and safety points on how you can make your machinery safer and reduce the likelihood of an accident happening on your farm

Workshop four: animal finishing and market outlook

Kieran Mailey, Irish Farmers Journal, and Joe Burke, Bord Bia, will facilitate this workshop on animal finishing and what the market outlook is for beef for the rest of the year. Kieran will concentrate on tips around achieving the correct fat score on finishing animals including when to feed and what level of feeding is required, if any. Joe will outline where the beef trade is likely to go in the next few months including an update on beef exports and live exports this year to date.

Workshop five: FBD health and safety

FBD has partnered with the Irish Farmers Journal at the open day and this workshop will focus on some dangers around machinery on farms. There will be a live demo as to the effects an uncovered PTO shaft can have on a farmer. There will also be some examples of how farmers can make their farms safer.

Workshop six: cattle handling/Thrive

Buildings specialist William Conlon will facilitate this workshop, which will take place in the handling unit on the home farm. He will outline how the handling unit was built and some tips on good handling unit design to facilitate better movement of cattle through the handling unit.

He will go through the cost and grants available for construction of new handling units.

William will also outline Thrive, the Irish Farmers Journal’s new dairy calf-to-beef programme in association with Aurivo, Kerry Group, Munster AI, Progressive Genetics, Dovea Genetics, ICBF and Bord Bia. Dairy calf-to-beef calves and yearlings from the programme will be on display on the day.

Workshop seven: CAP reform, Brexit and Mercosur

Our markets, trade and EU specialist Phelim O’Neill talks about Brexit, CAP reform and the Mercusor trade deal and what effect each might have on Irish farms.

He will be joined by Liam McHale, IFA, to talk about the latest developments in Brussels and what farmers can expect to happen in relation to CAP reform in the coming months, including the likely shape of any future CAP reform.

Sheep handling and dipping

We want to keep the day as practical and interactive as we can and the sheep handling and dipping area is something new, which is being organised at this year’s open day. In association with Bimeda Animal Health, there will be two mobile dipping units working on the day on the farm. These units can move around from farm to farm and plunge-dip sheep, without the hassle of constructing a dipping tank on your farm. Ewes from Tullamore Farm will move through each of the units during the day, so farmers can get to see how the units work and how long it takes to dip the ewes. Over 40 commercial companies from the beef and sheep industry will also have stands on the farm at the open day.

Livestock on display

The full 100-cow suckler herd will be on display with up-to-date weights on cows and calves displayed. Calves have been identified by their AI sire and our BEEP weighing is taking place this week, so up-to-date performance information will be available on all stock. The full flock will be on display along with a selection of lambs. Our in-calf heifers will also be on view ahead of our sale which takes place on Monday 28 October.

Food and refreshments

Admission is free and the car park is located just across the road from the main farm walk route. Food and refreshments will be available at various stops throughout the day with a larger food stop in the yard area at the end of the farm walk route. The event is KT-approved and sign-in for the KT scheme will be available from 2pm to 5pm in the farmyard area. The Irish Farmers Journal team will be on hand to help anybody wishing to download our app or help with access to our website. The Irish Farmers Journal merchandise shop will also have a stand in the yard area.