Growth Watch By Teagasc’s Seán Cummins and James Fitzgerald

As we enter the latter part of May and continue with growth watch, the priority on many farms swings to the harvesting of first cut silage crops.

It must be noted that the majority of first cut crops are behind on yield compared to what would be expected and hoped for.

Weather conditions over the past week have stalled harvesting in many parts of the country, and this looks likely to continue over the weekend.

While weather conditions are most definitely a valid reason for holding off on harvesting, the bulk (or lack thereof) in the crop is not a reason to delay harvesting.

Beyond the last days in May, the extra bulk that is gained from growth is directly cancelled out by a reduction in silage quality. While you will gain bulk in a bigger pit of silage or more bales, you are not gaining anything of nutritive value.

Don’t miss a trick during growth watch

Once weather and ground conditions allow, first cut crops taken up since early April should be harvested.

Before this occurs, survey your grazing ground and identify whether or not you have grass getting ahead of stock.

While many farms will not have a surplus of grass, harvesting any grass that is gone ahead of stock while the main cut is being taken, is the easiest opportunity you will get to take surplus bales out.

3 key steps to staying on track:

1. Walk your farm every five days and complete wedge using PastureBase Ireland;
2. Keep 12-14 days grass ahead;
3. Keep pre–grazing yields at 1400kg DM/Ha (9-10cm).

Ciaran Bartley, Knockaneagh, Limerick

• Growth: 72kg DM/ha;
• Demand: 50kg DM/ha;
• Average farm cover: 1,168kg DM/ha;
• Stocking rate: 5.28LU/ha.

A lot of the farm is heavy, but we’ve been lucky in that we’ve escaped most of the rain over the last week. The forecast for the weekend ahead looks challenging, so we’ll have to keep a close eye on stock to ensure damage is minimised.

We recorded our highest growth rate of the year to date this week at 72kg DM/ha/day, putting growth ahead of demand by about 22kg.

The average farm cover is running at 1,168kg DM/ha, which is probably a fraction high. However, our wedge is rather flat and our heaviest cover is 1,650kg DM/ha, so I’ll make a call on taking out surplus bales next week when we will be starting on first cut silage.

All of our straight nitrogen fertiliser on the farm is now spread in the form of protected urea, and I plan on following cattle with 23units/ac once paddocks are grazed out.

Ground conditions were excellent up to about two weeks ago. And, when we could travel, I opted to spread lime rather than leaving it until later in the year where the opportunity might pass by.

A total of 120t of lime has been applied since April at this stage, covering 60ac of ground. Just 35% of our land was optimum for pH when we last soil tested.

Hopefully the applications of lime this year, along with an additional 40t spread last year, will help to correct this, while also making more phosphorous available in the soil.

Martin Connolly, Castleplunket, Co. Roscommon

• Growth: 38kg DM/ha;
• Demand: 27kg DM/ha;
• Average farm cover: 720kg DM/ha;
• Stocking rate: 2.19LU/ha.

Grass growth here has been stuck in gear throughout May averaging 35-38kg DM/ha. With the bull beef system I run having a relatively low demand for grass in the first half of the year, I have been able to keep grass in front of all stock despite the slow growth rates.

So far this year, one area of the farm that seems to be far less affected by the poor weather than the rest is the 8ac of ground that was reseeded last autumn and is now on its 4^th grazing.

While it has been a huge help in keeping grass supply up, a bit of care has been needed in its grazing due to the tenderness of the ground after being reseeded.

The silage ground is ready for cutting once conditions allow. 5ac of this was taken for bales earlier in the week. These will be fed to the first of the finishing bulls when they are housed in June, so that the pit does not need to be opened until more stock are housed later in the year.

34 bales was the return from the 5ac which is an okay return considering the poor growth.

The post Growth Watch: Harvesting first cut silage crops appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Calf rearing is all but complete on the farms enrolled in the Teagasc Green Acres Programme. Now is an opportune time to identify and isolate any problems that may have occurred in terms of calf illnesses or mortality.

Too often complicated solutions are entrusted to solve problems; often ignoring the cause and leaving it unresolved going forward.

A lot changes in the world we live in and the past 14 months have been a perfect example of that; but when problems occur, if the required change is not implemented, the problem – more often than not – is likely to reoccur.

Since the commencement of phase two of the Teagasc Green Acres Programme in the spring of 2019, notable changes have been made at farm level in the way in which calves are purchased.

More calves are now being sourced directly off farm, with calf purchases across the 12 farms enrolled moving from an average of 94 calves from 10 herds in 2019 to 110 calves from six herds this year.

One farmer who has implemented a change of tactics when it comes to purchasing calves is Limerick-based farmer Ciaran Bartley.

In the spring of 2019, a total of 148 calves were sourced from 37 herds. This spring, 165 calves have been sourced from five different herds, while 150 calves were sourced from three herds in 2020.

The change in calf buying strategy at farm level is already delivering improvements.

Calf buying: Risk and reward

Although the simplest and labour extensive solution may be to leave purchasing decisions to a third party, the risk and reward of such a strategy must be examined.

Do you know the herd from which these calves have been purchased? Has the calf received adequate quantities of colostrum? Are you aware of the herd health protocol or vaccination strategy being implemented at the herd of origin? Has the calf been in contact with animals from other herds prior to arriving on your farm? How far has the calf travelled before ultimately arriving at your farm?

If the answer to any of these questions is unknown and repeated health problems are occurring, a rethink may be required in the way in which calves are sourced.

Reduced calf mortality

Where issues with calf health occur, there’s not only the cost associated with lost animals or additional veterinary outlays to account for, but the hidden costs of reduced animal performance must also be examined.

Leading into the spring of 2020, Ciaran made the decision to change the way in which calves where being purchased. A focus was placed on buying calves directly off dairy farms, after health issues occurred in the spring of 2019 and springs prior to this.

Although a simple solution, this move is starting to pay dividends in Co. Limerick. Calf mortality up to mid-May for 2021-born calves is resting at 1.2%, with 163 of the 165 calves purchased weaned and currently at grass.

Mortality for the calves purchased in the spring of 2020 was 0.7% up to 462 days, the time of writing, with just one animal lost as a weaning over the winter months and zero lost during the calf rearing stage.

To put this improvement into context, 148 calves were purchased on the farm in the spring of 2019. Of these animals, just 141 were sold or are still available to sell on farm, resulting in a mortality rate for 2019-born animals of 4.7%, with the majority of this occurring before animals reached one year of age.

Although the costs associated with calf losses and additional veterinary intervention are clear to see, the hidden cost of illness or disease in terms of reduced animal thrive must also be accounted for.

Even though Ciaran has been implementing a stringent vaccination protocol for pneumonia, IBR and clostridial diseases for numerous years, the farm suffered a disease breakdown in the spring of 2019 with H. somni pneumonia.

And, along with costs associated with calf losses, the animals which survived and were most severely impacted achieved reduced levels of liveweight gain.

Up to the point of housing in November 2019, the worst-affected animals had achieved a daily live weight gain since birth of just 0.67kg/day, whereas the animals which weren’t as severely affected gained 0.77kg/day since birth.

To put this into context, it meant that these weanlings were 28kg lighter at the time of housing than their counterpart animals, which escaped the worst of the disease outbreak.

By reducing the herds from which calves are purchased, Ciaran is negating the risk of bringing in unwanted pathogens or illnesses into the farm.

This approach is starting to pay dividends in terms of reduced mortality rates, improved animal health and the reduced requirement for veterinary interventions.

2020 profitability

On account of the heavy nature of Ciaran’s farm and the somewhat limited ability to increase stock numbers, a firm focus has been placed on improving efficiency at farm level – most notably animal performance and silage quality.

As the late autumn and early spring period on the farm can be challenging, a top-quality source of feed is always required in the yard to ensure animals continue to perform if conditions deteriorate rapidly and housing is required.

Excluding subsidies, the farm generated a net margin of €349/ha in 2020, up €87/ha on 2019 and €256/ha on 2018.

The large majority of this increase in profitability is coming from improvements in efficiency at farm level, combined with increases in the overall gross output on the farm.

Prior to joining the Teagasc Green Acres Programme, the farm recorded a gross output of €1,482/ha or 955kg liveweight/ha in 2018.

On account of improvements to animal performance and less losses, this climbed to €1,751/ha or 1,033kg/ha in 2020.

On a livestock unit basis, the farm has moved from an output of 516kg/LU in 2018 to 562kg/LU in 2020 – an increase of 46kg/LU, all coming from healthier and better performing animals.

In addition, on account of the farm becoming more efficient and hitting the desired weight gain targets, spending on variable costs as a percentage of gross output has also moved downwards – from 55% in 2018 to 51% in 2020.

The year ahead

Over the coming year, Ciaran’s farm is expected to reach the €500/ha net margin target (excluding subsidies).

Although purchases (€/ha) have increased in the spring of 2020, the additional performance being achieved at farm level will more than compensate in the form of heavier carcasses at sale time.

A climb in gross output on the farm is also expected, rising by an estimated €379/ha. This figure encompasses a net inventory change of +€214/ha.

This is the estimated value of the extra livestock that are being built up on the farm and this calculation is used in all Teagasc eProfit Monitors and all tax accounts.

This figure is arising for two reasons. Firstly, as the calf rearing season in 2020 was successful there will be more 1-2 year old animals available to carry to beef at 24 months this back end.

In addition, an extra 15 calves were purchased in the spring of 2021, increasing the closing stock of 0-1 year animals on the farm this year.

Although a variable cost to gross output target of 50% has been set for many of the farms in the programme, reducing below the 51% achieved in 2020 may be challenging.

Not only is Ciaran farming on one of the most challenging farms in the programme in terms of soil type, an extensive liming programme is underway this year – with 120t spread to date this year.

Additionally, fixed costs are expected to rise marginally on the farm for the year ahead on account of the construction of an additional slurry store and other necessary repairs, maintenance and fencing

The post Green Acres: Change in calf buying tactics delivers in Limerick appeared first on Agriland.ie.

By Teagasc Green Acres programme advisor James Fitzgerald

Farming just outside Claremorris, Co. Mayo, Jarlath and Austin Ruane operate a calf-to-beef system rearing spring-born calves, bringing them through to slaughter at 21-30 months-of-age. This system runs alongside a flock of 55 mid-season lambing ewes.

This is their second year of rearing 60 Angus, Holstein Friesian and Limousine spring born calves on an automatic feeder, a change from the more traditional milk feeding methods used in years previous.

Starting at source

The way in which the Ruane’s source their calves has changed since their enrolment in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme. In past years, Jersey cross calves were sourced directly from dairy farms as well as Angus and Hereford calves sourced from the south of the country, through marts and dealers.

This sourcing method resulted in some health issues in the calf rearing stages, due to calves being sourced from a high number of different herds. Since then, Jarlath and Austin have been focusing on buying calves directly from local dairy farms.

This had the result in reducing the number of herds calves were sourced out of, from 26 herds in 2019 to four herds in 2021 – which has helped to reduce the calf health problems over the rearing period.

While improvements in calf health have been seen since the changes in sourcing strategy, there is still room for improvement. It was noticed during this year’s calf rearing season that the more troublesome calves tended to be ones that were younger at their time of arrival on farm.

Due to this, it is decided that when calves are being sourced next spring, no calves will be purchased that are less than three-weeks-old.

Going direct to farm in order to source calves has given the Ruanes a better opportunity to source calves with the genetics capable of improving their farm profits. Since joining the programme there has been a move away from sourcing Jersey cross calves in favour of Holstein Friesian calves, which will increase the carcass weight at slaughter per bullock and increase the overall output of the farm.

The last of the Jersey cross bullocks will be coming fit for slaughter off-grass in the next two months. They are expected to match the carcass weight returned from previous years Jersey cross cattle, 295kg cold weight at 30 months old.

The Holstein Friesian bull calves that Jarlath and Austin have been rearing over the last two springs have the potential to return an extra 60-70kg carcass weight above that of the Jerseys, without a drastic increase in calf purchase or input costs.

Small tweaks and tight margins

Keeping control of variable costs while operating a high stocking rate is the key to the Ruanes reaching the €500/ha net margin set for Green Acres farms.

In efficiently ran farms that are keeping their cost of production in check, variable costs amount to about 50% of the total output. In 2019, the variable costs for their farm amounted to 64% of the total output.

This was partly due to the lower output per head seen from the lighter carcass weights the Jersey cross cattle left, while incurring the full cost of bringing an animal through to slaughter at 30 months.

In 2020, the variable costs were reduced to 61% of gross output. While this is a step in the right direction it is not yet in line with the 50% targeted, and is a major factor preventing the farm from reaching its €500/ha net margin target – although the €308/ha net margin recorded in 2020 was still impressive in its own right.

Due to the high output of the farm, trimming the variable costs of the system back to 55% will be enough to generate a net margin of €429/ha, with all other factors held equal.

Then ensuring that all cattle reach their target carcass weights (315kg for 21-22 month slaughter and 360kg for under 30 month slaughter) will ensure that the net margin of the farm reaches the €500/ha target.

Beef prices are another critical factor that influence the profitability of calf-to-beef systems, with fluctuations capable of increasing or decreasing the net margin of the farm to a great extent. The above figures are based on a beef base price of €3.75/kg with quality assurance, grading and breed bonuses taken into account thereafter.

The post Green Acres: Honing a farm plan in the heart of the west appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Growth Watch By Teagasc’s Seán Cummins and James Fitzgerald

Although growth rates have been slower than desired this spring, it appears that we are entering a period where the gap between growth and demand will finally stretch in favour of growth.

With moisture more normalised temperatures and the grass plants reproductive phase about to kick in, growth rates are expected to climb over the coming weeks. After the weather we’ve experienced in April and into early May, any increase in growth rate would be welcomed on farms.

Given the position we’re coming from, where many farms had to supplement silage to bridge the gap between supply and demand, walking the farm to assess grass covers should take priority.

When conditions are favourable, the grass situation on the farm can change rapidly and the only way to make the best decision is to have the information at hand from a completed grass walk.

Growth watch: ‘Spring burst’ is on its way

When the ‘spring burst’ of grass does come, corrective action may be required at farm level.

It might be premature to mention surplus bales at this point – particularly after what’s occurred over the previous month – but a focus must be kept on maintaining pre-grazing yields at 8-10cm in the weeks ahead.

Too often in times of a grass surplus, cattle are asked to graze heavier covers on farm. Not only will this have a negative impact on animal performance, the quantity of grass utilised may also be questionable, with grass left flattened behind in the paddocks.

In addition, in periods of strong growth, the problem is only pushed further down the line, resulting in heavier pre-grazing covers in subsequent paddocks due to the long residency period in the now poorly-grazed heavy paddock – potentially hitting animal performance in subsequent grazings.

In short, with growth rates expected to increase in the near future, walk the farm and assess pre-grazing covers. If growth remains slow and average farm cover is dropping, consider supplementing silage until growth does surpass demand.

Finally, when growth arrives, be prepared to act to ensure that pre-grazing yields are kept in check and animal performance can be maximised from grazed grass.

 [grass_growth_map from=”2021/05/06″ to=”2021/05/13″]

Shane Cranny, Myshall, Co. Carlow

• Growth: 36kg DM/ha
• Demand: 52kg DM/ha
• Average farm cover: 425kg DM/ha
• Stocking rate: 3.74LU/ha

Growth has been lower than desired over the last couple of weeks. I’ve had to slow down demand by offering yearling stock silage when finished grazing each paddock.

A growth rate of just 36kg DM/ha/day was recorded this week, which is 28kg DM/ha/day behind the corresponding week in 2020 and less than half of the 75kg DM/ha/day that was grown in the same week in 2019.

After last weekend’s rain and the lack of frost this week, the farm is already looking greener and it should be in a position to achieve a growth rate well above demand over the coming week.

Although growth rates have been lower than desired, I’m happy enough with the silage crops currently. I am targeting a late May harvesting date, with a target of at least 72 DMD silage.

With the weather to have turned slightly more favourable, I’m hoping this ground will do at least 100kg DM/ha/day of growth between now and harvesting, which equates to at least an additional two bales/ac in bulk terms.

On fertiliser, compounds have been spread on all of the lower index ground, while 23 units/ac of urea was applied to the grazing ground in recent days.

Farmer profile – Jarlath Ruane, Claremorris, Co. Mayo

• Farm cover: 954
• Growth: 41
• Demand: 55
• Stocking rate: 4.06

With growth still lagging behind what I would expect for this day of the year, the only focus is keeping the right amount of grass in front of stock.

The demand for grass is ever increasing, with lambs getting stronger and having a better appetite for grass and calves being turned out of the shed after weaning beginning to get in on grass also.

This week’s grass walk turned up a growth rate of 41kgDM/ha. The demand of 55kgDM/ha being higher than the growth rate means that I can expect my average farm cover of 954kgDM/ha to begin to drop throughout this week, unless growth rates improve.

With an average cover of 954kgDM/ha, I can get away with lower growth rates for another while but not indefinitely. In other years I would be baling grass in order to keep up with growth, this year so far has other plans.

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As part of a virtual farm walk Agriland has been publishing videos throughout the day (Thursday, May 13) from the calf-to-beef farm belonging to Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme participants Austin and Jarlath Ruane based in Claremorris in Co. Mayo.

You can catch up with all of the videos from today’s virtual farm walk right here, as we take a look back at all of the topics on calf-to-beef systems that were covered.

Follow Jarlath Ruane on the virtual farm walk

To start the day we followed Jarlath Ruane as he speaks to Agriland about his daily tasks and current farming systems.

Advantages of mixed grazing system on beef farms

In the second video from today’s farm walk, local Teagasc advisor Amy Collins, based in Claremorris, Co. Mayo, speaks about the Ruanes’ mixed beef and sheep grazing system.

She also reviews some of the main advantages which farmers stand to benefit from by operating this system of grazing.

Making quality silage will benefit farm profitability

In the the next section of today’s farm walk, Seán Cummins and Austin Callaghan from Teagasc review the importance of making high-quality silage on calf-to-beef farms.

Seán, who is an advisor in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme, speaks about the benefits and improvements being seen in animal performance during the winter months, due to improved silage quality being made on Green Acres farms.

Local Teagasc advisor, Austin Callaghan goes through the plan to follow to make quality first-cut silage.

Final chapter of virtual farm walk: Review of calf price this spring and calf rearing tips

In the final section of this virtual farm walk, Agriland speaks with Teagasc researcher Nicky Byrne about calf rearing and weight performance targets.

We also speak with Alan Dillion who is the manager of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme, about the production costs and the net margins which can be achieved in calf-to-beef systems.

The post Virtual Farm Walk: Recap of all today’s action on the Ruane farm appeared first on Agriland.ie.

In the fourth section of this calf-to-beef virtual farm walk today (Thursday, May 13) on the farm of Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme participants Austin and Jarlath Ruane, Agriland speaks with Teagasc researcher Nicky Byrne about calf rearing and weight performance targets.

We also speak with Alan Dillion who is the manager of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme, about the production costs and the net margins which can be achieved in calf-to-beef systems.

Calf rearing upon arrival

Nicky Byrne provides a run-through of the calf rearing practices that should be carried out on calf-to-beef farms to ensure that maximum performance of the young calf can be achieved.

Starting with purchasing a healthy calf with high quality genetics, Nicky explains how when a calf arrives onto the farm, they should receive electrolytes along with their first feed.

They should also be given vaccinations against bovine respiratory diseases 24 hours after arrival onto the farm.

The aim is to strike a balance between calf performance and production costs. Over the calf rearing phase, the calves should be gaining 0.7kg/average daily live-weight (ADG).

Calves that are being artificially reared on milk will require concentrates and a high quality roughage source (in many cases this is straw), and fresh water to aid rumen development and assist the transition period to grazing grass.

In an interesting point brought up by Nicky, he explained how the research carried out at Teagasc Grange saw calves being offered lower levels of milk replacer, which consisted of 4L, resulting in the higher consumption of concentrate feed – while also still reaching and ADG of 0.7/kg.

Transition from calf rearing to weaning

A successful transition phase during turnout to grass and weaning will reduce setbacks in the calves’ performance and weight gain.

Nicky explains how calves should be weaned when they meet a range of selection criteria. The first one being that calves should be older than 10 weeks-of-age.

They should be weighing greater than 85-90kg of live weight and they should be consuming in excess of 1kg of concentrates for more than three consecutive days.

Calf purchase price increases in 2021

Moving onto calf purchase price this year, Alan Dillon highlights how calf purchase price has increased on Green Acres farms in 2021.

Last year the Holestein Friesian calf price increased by €11/head as the average price equated to €75/head. Looking at the early maturing calf prices paid this year, these have increased by €50/head in some cases.

Speaking about what farmers need to be looking to buy Alan stated: “There needs to be a balance between calf value and quality.”

Cost of production on calf-to-beef systems

In reviewing the cost of production in a dairy calf-to beef system, Alan points out that this can equate to €1,000/head between fixed and variable costs for a two-year steer production system.

He also explained that beef price this year has averaged out around €3.70/kg for steers between the months of February and March.

Keeping this base price as an example, this would leave a Holstein-Friesian steer in this system killing out at a price of €1,150-1,200/head.

For a Holstein-Friesian steer, taking a calf price of €50/head, for example, and production costs of €1,000 – this will result in a net margin of €100-150/head.

Looking at the early maturing breeds such as Hereford and Angus, they will come into similar carcass weights of 325kg at an O=grade. Keeping breed and quality assurance bonuses in mind – these animals can achieve €1,250/head and potentially higher at slaughter.

Stocking rates

Concluding his points, Alan explained that while high stockig rates of over 2LU/ha alongside efficient management will lead to higher net margin in excess of €400-500/ha on Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme farms, the environmental impact also needs to be considered.

The level of carbon emissions also needs to be monitored while carrying high levels of stocking rates on these farms.

The post Virtual Farm Walk: Review of calf price this spring and calf rearing tips appeared first on Agriland.ie.

In the next section of the virtual farm walk hosted on the farm of Jarlath and Austin Ruane, who are participants of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme, Seán Cummins and Austin Callaghan from Teagasc review the importance of making high-quality silage on calf-to-beef farms.

Seán, who is an advisor in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme, speaks about the benefits and improvements being seen in animal performance during the winter months, due to improved silage quality being made on Green Acres farms.

Local Teagasc advisor, Austin Callaghan goes through the plan to follow to make quality first-cut silage.

Weight gain targets when silage is being fed

During the winter months, when animals in a calf-to-beef system are housed, Seán mentions how steer and heifer weanlings will need to be hitting an average daily liveweight gain (ADG) of 0.6kg.

This figure has come from research conducted at Teagasc Grange which showed weanlings that were achieving this level of kg/day, were better able to benefit from compensatory growth at turnout to grass.

Finishing heifers will need to be hitting an ADG of 0.9kg, with steers aiming to reach 1kg.

The target silage quality to be aiming for should be above 72DMD (dry matter digestibility).

DMD levels improving on Green Acres farms

Seán highlights that one major improvement seen on Green Acres farms over the past two years is the increase in silage DMD from 69.5DMD up to 73DMD between 2019 and 2020.

The main benefit of this improvement in quality is the allowance to reduce the levels of concentrates being fed over the winter period, without having a negative impact on animal performance.

For the weanling groups, there is a reduction of 0.5kg of concentrates required per day – moving from 1.3kg/day back to 1.85kg/day. The finishing animals are also going to see meal levels reduced from 5.5kg/day back to 4.5kg/day.

From a monetary perspective, on the Ruane’s farm this is going to result in approximately 10t less concentrates required. At a costing of €280/t, this will result in the farm saving €2,800 due to less meal having to be purchased.

Quality over quantity for first cut silage

The reduced level of growth has seen some silage crops take a hit in terms of the predicted yields. However the focus at this stage should be making quality first-cut silage with a high DMD figure.

Speaking about achieving the production of high-quality silage on farms, Austin Callaghan listed out main points that should be followed. These include:

• Have the grass swards grazed down well to around 4cm in height either in the back end of the previous year or in late March;
• After grazing, apply slurry as this will provide 5-10 units of nitrogen (N) per 1,000 gallons when spread in mild weather;
• Phosphorus (P) from slurry is around 5 units per 1000 gallons, therefore applying 3,000 gallons of slurry/ac will provide 15 units of P. Potassium (K) is also accounted for at 30 units per 1,000 gallons;
• Top up grass with approximately 100 units/ac of N chemical fertiliser. Then, based on what your soil index indicates, top up your P and K;
• Close off fields for first cut from April 1 and harvest in late May;
• Aim for harvesting in good and dry weather along with wilting grass to 30% dry matter to allow nitrogen to leave the grass.

Concluding his points on silage quality, Austin also points out the importance of completing a fodder budget after the first-cut so that farmers can get an understanding of how much more silage they will require from their second-cut.

The post Virtual Farm Walk: Making quality silage will benefit farm profitability appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As part of the virtual farm walk being hosted on the farm of Jarlath and Austin Ruane, who are participants of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme, local Teagasc advisor Amy Connolly based in Claremorris, Co. Mayo speaks about the Ruanes’ mixed beef and sheep grazing system.

She also reviews some of the main advantages which farmers stand to benefit from by operating this system of grazing.

Aiding cashflow

One of the first advantages which Amy discusses is that by farming both sheep and cattle, it means the Ruanes are selling animals at different times during the year, which can aid cashflow.

The lambs are targeted to be sold between the months of May through to August. Bullocks are planned to be killed in June and July, with more opted to be finished in November and December.

Extending the grazing season

Another benefit of this mixed grazing system is that it aids the extension of the grazing season. After lambing, the ewes will graze the silage ground in the spring time prior to being closed up for the first cut.

In the back-end months of the year, the ewes help clean out paddocks and this helps to have fresh grass grown in the spring for the cattle at turn-out.

Amy highlighted that this also aids the environmental sustainability of the farm by adopting this method of grazing.

Grass is fresh for the next rotation

As the Ruanes are implementing a leader follower system with the cattle and sheep, it means that any grass the calves leave behind during the grazing rotation, the ewes will help to graze down the remaining covers to 4cm in height.

This gives a better chance for paddocks to retain grass quality and reduce any levels of dead or stemmy grass within the swards.

Reducing parasite issues

Amy mentions that another advantage includes a reduced worm burden seen in both the cattle and sheep on the farm due to intermittent grazing.

This also reduces the levels of anthelminthic products being used on the farm and therefore lowers the threat of anthelminthic resistance.

This in turn will also aid the animals performance and weight gains as they will receive no setback in thrive, if unaffected by parasites.

Reduced infrastructure needs

On the Ruanes’ farm, there is very little additional infrastructure needed to accommodate both the cattle and sheep enterprises.

They make good use of temporary fencing to create paddocks, which majorly aids the grazing rotation. They also have dual purpose sheds, which are used to lamb ewes in early spring and are then converted into calf housing in March.

Lower weed infestations

Another advantage is a lower presence of weed infestations seen in the grass swards. This is due to the grass swards being thicker from the sheep grazing tightly.

This will reduce the threat of weeds coming up through the grassland swards.

Concluding her points, Amy mentions how more grass utilistation is achieved through this mixed grazing system. This will increase the farm output and increase the farm profitability.

The post Virtual Farm Walk: Advantages of a mixed grazing system on beef farms appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Beginning our virtual farm walk today (Thursday, May 13) on the farm of  Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme participants Austin and Jarlath Ruane, Jarlath speaks to Agriland about his daily tasks and current farming systems.

Farming in Claremorris in Co. Mayo, the farm is running a calf-to-beef system alongside a lowland flock of sheep in a mixed grazing structure.

This year 60 spring-born bull calves are being reared on an automatic feeder. The plan is to carry these calves right through to slaughter with the majority being bullocks.

In terms of the breeds purchased this year, a mixture of Angus, Holstein and Limousin calves were sourced off local dairy farms.

Morning routine with calves

The day-to-day morning activities on the west of Ireland farm involves the monitoring of the calves’ automatic milk feeder which records the levels of feed that each calf is consuming daily.

The Ruanes’ calves are working off a 55-day feeding curve, which entails each calf being fed 125g of powder per litre of milk mixed. At the start of the 55-day milk feeding period 6L of milk are fed per calf per day and this is reduced gradually to 2L before weaning.

From there, the calves will be checked for any signs of illness, while also casting their eyes over the drinking troughs to ensure that fresh and clean water is available.

To aid rumen development the calves are fed an 18% crude protein pencil nut along with a straw being available in feeders.

Weaned calves

When the calves are weaned they are moved out to fresh grass which also has a sheltered hut provided. The calves are allocated fresh grass every two days and they are fed 2kg of meal/head/day.

This meal feeding will be reduced to 1kg/head/day at once they have been out at grass for a couple of weeks.

The calves are also provided with straw feed to continue with assisting rumen development.

Mixed grazing system

The farm is incorporating a mixed grazed system which involves a 55-head spring-lambing flock of lowland sheep following into the paddocks which calves have grazed to achieve better grass sward cleanouts.

The spring lambs are targeted to be slaughtered from the end of May carrying through to August. All replacement females are purchased in, as Jarlath explains that it keeps their system as simple as possible.

Slaughter targets

Currently there are 61 2020-born bullocks running on the farm – with 33 head of two-year-old cattle.

Within the group of 24-month-old bullocks, there is the presence of Jersey males, which Jarlath plans to kill between July and September this year.

The target carcass weight for these bullocks will be around 300kg, which Jarlath explains is well below the carcass weight target of 350-360kg he has set for the calves (that are not Jersey-bred) he purchased this year.

Following on from this, some of the younger bullocks will be killed at 21-22 months-of-age in the shed at the end of the year – with the target average carcass weight being around the 315kg mark.

First-cut silage

The fields allocated for first cut silage were grazed out fully at the start of the year with ewes and lambs and then closed off in late March.

Jarlath explained that the yield is not at the desired levels which it should be achieving after receiving applications of fertiliser. This is due to the lack of suitable weather for growth, hampering grassland production.

Although Jarlath goes on to mention how even though yield is slightly back, he will progress and cut for baled silage at the end of May to keep quality high silage of between 72-76%DMD.

There will be no major concerns yet if there is a deficit in bales produced from this first cut, as more paddocks can be pulled out from the grazing rotation for baling as the summer progresses, if necessary.

Stay tuned to Agriland for more videos being released throughout the day from Ruanes’ farm and we get the advice from Teagasc advisors about maximising performance on calf-to-beef and mixed grazing systems.

The post Virtual Farm Walk: Follow Jarlath Ruane as he runs through his calf-to-beef farm appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As part of a virtual farm walk Agriland will publish videos throughout the day tomorrow (Thursday, May 13) from the calf-to-beef farm belonging to Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme participants Austin and Jarlath Ruane based in Claremorris in Co. Mayo.

In a preview about the virtual farm walk, Teagasc Green Acres programme advisor James Fitzgerald provides an insight as to what viewers can expect from the virtual event being held tomorrow.

Ruane’s virtual farm walk

The Ruane’s calf-to-beef system involves rearing 60 spring-born bull calves on an automatic feeder and carrying them through to slaughter at 22-30 months of age. A mixture of Angus, Holstein and Limousin calves are purchased off local dairy farms.

They are also operating a mixed grazing system, as they farm a 55 head spring-lambing lowland sheep flock.

Agriland will be speaking with Jarlath Ruane about his current system of production and taking a look at the day-to-day activities both he and his father carry out on his West of Ireland holding.

Other topics being covered

Alongside this we will be covering important points when it comes to calf-to-beef enterprises and mixed grazing systems with Teagasc advisors and researchers.

The topics which will be covered include: Mixed grazing systems; silage quality; calf genetics and rearing.

Tune into Agriland’s website and social media platforms on Thursday (May 13) for all the coverage on this in-depth virtual farm walk.

The post Watch: Virtual farm walk on Green Acres calf-to-beef farm goes live tomorrow appeared first on Agriland.ie.

This week as part of a virtual farm walk hosted by Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme participants Austin and Jarlath Ruane, Agriland will publish videos throughout the day on Thursday May 13 from their calf-to-beef farm based in Claremorris in Co. Mayo.

Jarlath currently operates a calf-to-beef and lowland sheep system alongside his father Austin. Both are farming part-time, as Jarlath and Austin are employed full-time locally.

Ruane’s calf-to-beef system

Their calf-to-beef system involves rearing 60 spring-born bull calves on an automatic feeder and carrying them through to slaughter at 22-30 months of age. A mixture of Angus, Holstein and Limousin calves are purchased off local dairy farms.

Agriland will be speaking with Jarlath Ruane about his current system of production and taking a look at the day-to-day activities both he and his father carry out on his West of Ireland holding.

Discussion with Teagasc advisors

Alongside this we will be covering important points when it comes to calf-to-beef enterprises and mixed grazing systems with Teagasc advisors and researchers.

The topics which will be covered include: Mixed grazing systems; silage quality; calf genetics and rearing.

Tune into Agriland’s website and social media platforms on Thursday (May 13) for all the coverage on this in-depth virtual farm walk.

The post Virtual farm walk on calf-to-beef farm this week appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Over the past few weeks, farmers have seen that reseeded grass swards have performed better under this challenging, slow growth period.

To ensure that grass production on farms is performing to its maximum, farmers are encouraged to regularly soil test and examine the levels of fertility in terms of pH and nutrient availability.

One farmer who is opting to refresh and reseed the grass in paddocks on his farm this year is Shane Cranny, a Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme participant.

This week, Agriland spoke with Shane, who is choosing to reseed approximately 11.5ac this year on his farm in Co. Carlow – with 3.5ac already ploughed in recent days, after being burnt off.

‘Weeds had taken over the pasture’

Speaking with Shane about his reseeding strategy, he explained that the plan was to reseed the full 11.5ac this spring – but due to the delayed growth and recovery of grass in paddocks, he decided to only begin with 3.5ac this month and then plough the remaining acres later in the year.

Commenting on his reasons for reseeding, he explained: “The field was reseeded around 10 years ago, but during the drought the land went dry and we had mowed the field and the grass was just burnt off.

“After this a lot of weeds started emerging such as buttercups, thistles, docks and even ragwort – the grass swards were never right after it.”

Cultivating for reseeding

Shane has chosen to plough his paddock rather than min-till (minimal tillage), as he goes on to explain:

“The field has been ploughed and will receive a few runs of the disc harrow just to create a fine seedbed. Once that’s completed it will be sown with a one pass system.

“I am applying 2t of lime/ac because from looking at the soil test results, the pH was quite low and needs a lift. Once the field has been sowed it will receive three 50kg bags of 10-10-20 chemical fertiliser to the acre.”

The grass seed being sown is called ‘Sweetbite’ and includes varieties such as Abergain, Astonenergy, Aberchoice and Drumbo – along with a white clover blend.

Once the crop has germinated and emerged, Shane said that he will spray the young grass with a clover-friendly, post-emergence spray approximately six weeks after, to eradicate the presence of weeds.

The plan going forward for Shane is to reseed 10% of the farm each year, in order to keep grass swards fresh and productive.

The post Tackling reseeding this year on Green Acres farm appeared first on Agriland.ie.

By Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme advisor Seán Cummins

In an era of beef price volatility, maximising animal performance and keeping a firm handle on costs are key to generating a profit in calf to beef systems.

As profitability is a function of sales, less purchases and costs, maximising the performance of every animal is key to optimising profitability.

Notable improvements in livestock performance have been recorded across the Teagasc Green Acres farms. One farmer who has made a number of tweaks and is now beginning to witness increased performance is Richard Long in Ballymacarbry, Co. Waterford.

At the start of the programme, the underperformance of animals was quickly identified as a contributing factor to lower than desired levels of profitability on the Waterford-based holding.

In April 2019, Richard’s weanling heifers weighed just 268kg at turnout after achieving a lifetime daily gain of 0.54kg/day. The steers on the farm were even further back, after just gaining 0.48kg/day since birth, to stand at 248kg.

Over the intervening period, Richard has made a number of adjustments at farm level to ensure animal performance is maximised, central to this, however, has been the management of weanlings over their first winter on-farm.

As a result of these changes, Richard has seen the lifetime daily gain of his steers improve to 0.76kg/day to put them at 321kg at turnout in March – after gaining 0.73kg/day over the winter.

Heifers on the farm weighed 323kg at turnout, after achieving an average daily gain of 0.74kg/day since birth, or 0.76kg/day over the winter months.

Silage quality

Coming from a position where it appeared animals were stalling and underperforming over their first winter, a focus has been placed on the feeding practices at farm level, especially in terms of silage quality and concentrate feeding levels.

Speaking about his plans, Richard explained: “The big thing has really been the silage quality. I’m now planning on having the silage harvested by May 20, at the latest.

“I am very happy with my yearlings this year and I think they’re the best bunch of cattle I’ve had. It’s really about getting the system right once and repeating it year in, year out.

“Better quality silage is really helping. Last year, we harvested the first cut silage on May 14, to give us 72.1 DMD [Dry Matter Digestibility] silage, and that helped to reduce the quantity of meal we needed to feed over the winter months.”

The improvements in turnout weight being seen at farm level are starting to also pay dividends when it comes to animal performance at slaughter.

Early-maturing steers, born in the spring of 2016, had been slaughtered at an average age of 25.6 months, out of the shed, to produce an average carcass weight of 287kg.

With the improvements outlined above, 2019-born early-maturing steers were slaughtered at 22.6 months to generate an average carcass weight of 295kg – 8kg heavier at three months younger.

In terms of the early-maturing heifers produced on farm, the 2016-born animals produced a 243kg carcass at 24 months in 2018. Whereas comparable early-maturing heifers, born in 2019, produced a 251kg carcass at just 21 months.

2020 profitability

Excluding subsidies of any kind, the farm generated a net margin of €18/ha in 2020.

Looking solely at this picture doesn’t portray the farming enterprise in a favourable light. However, it must be noted that a large degree of reseeding, fencing and soil fertility improvements are on-going on the farm.

This spending is being treated as an investment in the farming business and wouldn’t be a viable option only that Richard works full-time off farm. Once the correct grazing infrastructure is in place and soil fertility has been corrected, the annual spend is expected to decrease significantly.

To put the extent of the spend into context, Richard outlaid an extra €108/ha of a combined spend on fertiliser, lime and reseeding in 2020 when compared to 2018 spending. Fixed costs have also climbed by €48/ha on account of land reclamation and fencing.

Table profitability and targets for Richard Long’s farm:

Looking forward on this Teagasc Green Acres farm

After undergoing a system change where animals were previously slaughtered out of the shed in late spring, Richard’s sales are expected to settle this year as approximately 50 animals will be slaughtered prior to November – with the remainder carried to beef in January and February.

Richard’s sales per ha peaked in 2020 on account of a change in production system, with animals slaughtered at younger ages prior to the turn of the year.

To balance the sales figure with stock at hand at the close of the year, stock inventory is used. With the system settling this year, it is expected that the negative correction in stock inventory change witnessed in 2020 will not be as severe.

Gross output on the farm for the year ahead is projected at €1,991/ha, with variable costs also expected to decrease downwards on account of a lower spend on concentrates and reseeding.

With fixed costs budgeted to remain at similar levels to last year on this Teagasc Green Acres farm, a net margin of €306/ha is projected for the year ahead when budgets where completed at a base beef price of €3.75/kg.

The post Teagasc Green Acres: Maximising animal performance in the Nire Valley appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Growth Watch By Teagasc’s Seán Cummins and James Fitzgerald

Lower than average grass growth rates from early April through to now, has put pressure on some of the programme farms to hold average farm cover and keep grass in front of stock.

Seven out of the 12 Teagasc Green Acres farms have taken corrective action in April/early May to maintain an average farm cover of over 600kgDM/ha.

The two main courses of action taken have been to reintroduce silage to the cattle’s diet in the field in order to slow down the rotation and hold it at 22-25 days or to graze silage ground in order to delay the start of the next rotation.

In other farm specific cases, finishing cattle are being supplemented with meal at grass to slow down their rotation and help to build fat score quickly and some cattle in the programme have been taken home from out-farms and rehoused for a short period.

Should milder weather conditions resume as expected, reacting fast and getting cattle back to a full grass diet in a 22-24 day rotation is the aim for any farmers currently buffer feeding.

The farms across the Teagasc Green Acres Programme who grazed their silage ground in the spring are reporting very low grass covers on ground closed in early April.

The temptation is already creeping in to delay the harvesting date of these crops until into June so that a better yield may be got. This however will impact on silage quality in the first cut, and either silage quality or bulk in the second cut.

Growth Watch – A lot can change in the next few weeks

A lot can change in the next 15-20 days in terms of the bulking up of first cut crops and so if you find yourself in this position, don’t go making plans for later cutting just yet.

Even if first cut yields don’t reach what was expected in later May, the better course of action is to cut harvest as bales and take up a second cut in good time.

Once the grass is wilted up to 30% dry matter, nitrates in the grass should not be an issue and the crop will preserve satisfactorily. Should wilting not be possible consider the use of an appropriate silage additive to help crop preservation.

[[grass_growth_map from=”2021/04/28″ to=”2021/05/05″]

JP Hammersley, Lattin, Tipperary

• Growth: 38kg DM/ha/day;
• Demand: 36kg DM/ha/day;
• Farm cover: 513kg DM/ha/day;
• Stocking rate: 3.72LU/ha.

Growth rates have been slower than desired over the last number of weeks, failing to rise above 40kg DM/ha/day since the last week in March, when our highest growth rate of the year of 43kg DM/ha/day was recorded.

Growth and demand are just about matching, but I’m keen to protect the average farm cover and the situation will be monitored very closely over the coming days.

If this cold spell continues, I will have to re-introduce silage to some of the stock to stretch the tight spell between the end of the second rotation and the beginning of the third rotation.

We have a buffer of excellent quality silage in the yard, so the impact of any supplementation on animal performance will be greatly reduced. Given the time of the year we are in, and with growth rates bound to come naturally, silage feeding will hopefully only be required for two or three days.

Silage ground is looking very variable currently. Any of the ground which was closed in early April is running behind, while ground which was grazed out last November has a good cover of grass.

In terms of fertiliser on the grazing ground, 70 units have been applied to date in the form of protected urea, while an additional 18 units will be applied to each paddock in the form of 18-6-12 after grazing.

Peter Byrne, Castledermot, Co. Kildare.

• Growth: 95kg DM/ha/day;
• Demand: 51kg DM/ha/day;
• Farm cover: 981kg DM/ha/day;
• Stocking rate: 5.17LU/ha.

The high grass growth rate recorded this week caught me a little by surprise.

After a few weeks of growth in the 40-60kgDM/ha/day range I was expecting more of the same. The higher grass growth is welcome as the demand for grass is ever increasing with more calves being weaned and turned out.

A major plan of mine for this year is to make as much silage as I can, both in the form of main cuts and surplus bales so that I can build up a reserve for when it’s needed. There is currently 16ha of grassland taken out of the grazing rotation for silage, the majority of it first cut. A couple of paddocks have also been earmarked for cutting for surplus bales in the shorter term. This gets them back in with the grazing ground ready for if grass growth should dry up in the weeks to come.

The covers the cattle are grazing are a touch strong at c.2000kgDM/ha. Covers of about 1500kgDM/ha would be easier graze and give better thrive, but the high stocking rate I am running currently due to the large area of silage ground closed has me letting covers up a small bit higher so that cattle don’t begin to race around the farm in a short rotation length.

I will be getting the covers the cattle are going into back to 1500kgDM/ha the first opportunity I get.

The post Growth Watch: Keep silage quality in mind when making next grazing decision appeared first on Agriland.ie.

By Teagasc Green Acres programme advisor James Fitzgerald

Farming just outside Moate, Co. Westmeath, Irvine Allen has been a participant in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme since the spring of 2019.

In following the plan drawn up for his farm, he is now rearing 110-120 Holstein Friesian bull calves each spring and will carry these through to slaughter from 21-30 months-of-age.

Prior to enrolling in the Teagasc Green Acres Programme, Irvine was rearing a mixture of autumn and spring-born Holstein Friesian bull calves and early-maturing bull and heifer calves, bringing them through to finish from 24 to 30 months-of-age.

A legacy of that system means that the last of Irvine’s early-maturing heifers and bullocks are being finished at the moment, and later this year he will begin finishing the first of the spring of 2020 born Holstein Friesian steers, as part of his new farm plan.

In this article, we will track the financial performance of the farm to date in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme, and outline where the current plan is set to take us.

Rising output per ha

Central to generating enough income to cover the fixed and variable costs of running a calf-to-beef farm is achieving a high level of beef output per livestock unit and per hectare.

For the majority of the Teagasc Green Acres programme farmers this means an increase in overall farm stocking rate, with Irvine being no different.

Table 1: Stocking rate & gross output for Irvine’s farm from 2019 to 2022

Over the course of the programme the stocking rate of Irvine’s farm is set to increase by almost 1LU/ha. A substantial increase in stock numbers carried on the farm such as this will increase the overall output of the farm from 703kg live weight/ha, to 1,269kg live weight/ha.

This will increase the sales revenue from €1,708/ha to €2,516/ha.

However, as is the case with all beef systems, there is a time lag between when you begin to increase stock numbers, and when you see the sales revenue lift as a result of it.

Currently Irvine is going through that period of increased stock numbers, and the increased costs associated with rearing them, but not yet having the level of sales income to offset these costs.

Because of this, Irvine is keeping a close focus on spending and cash flow this year, spending only where necessary and where he knows he will see a return on his investment, until such time as he begins to kill dairy beef stock in higher numbers later this year.

Controlling costs

The rule of thumb for calf-to-beef systems is for the variable costs to be half that of the gross output. The variable costs of a farming system are all the cash costs associated with production and are for the most part, directly linked to the amount of livestock you are running on your farm.

The main variable costs in grassland beef systems are feed, fertiliser, veterinary charges and contractor charges.

A breakdown of the average variable costs as well as the other major financial parameters for the Teagasc Green Acre farms has previously been outlined.

As the stock numbers that Irvine is carrying on his farm increase, an increased level of variable costs is expected.

In truth, the only way to manage this period of increased costs, before the increased income is seen is to focus on efficiency – both in animal performance and financial spending – and making sure that the funds needed to bridge the gap are available to you before you start to increase stock numbers.

As the increased stock numbers come available for killing the return on investment in increasing stock numbers will be seen.

Measuring how efficient the system was in rearing the extra stock can be gauged from the net margin generated from these cattle when slaughtered.

The farming system will at this stage level out with no changes in stock numbers expected from year-to-year.

When this happens, the net profit of the farm given by the profit monitor report will be aligned with the actual monetary income of the farm, and not a projected monitory income based on the increased value of stock on the farm.

Fixed costs

The fixed costs of Irvine’s farming system in 2020 were €603/ha and have been at similar levels for the previous number of years.

In years to come, should the current winter housing and calf rearing facilities be upgraded, the fixed costs for the farm could rise by €125/ha (to €728/ha).

This is provided that other fixed costs such as machinery running, repairs and maintenance, insurance and land lease costs, remain the same.

Net margin

As is the aim for all of the farms involved with the Green Acres programme, a objective of €500/ha net margin is targeted.

With an projected gross margin of €1,028/ha for this year and fixed costs to remain at €603/ha, Irvine is on course to have a net margin of €425/ha this year – albeit with a significant proportion of the increased profit coming from inventory changes.

In 2022, when Irvine has a full complement of 110 cattle being slaughtered, a gross margin of €1191/ha and elevated fixed costs of €728/ha are expected to leave a net margin of €463/ha – none of which will be in the form of inventory changes.

A very significant variable – which is yet to be mentioned – in the profitability of calf-to-beef systems is the beef price. The above projections are based on a base price of €3.75/kg with all cattle being killed through the QPS grid.

The post Growing profitability on a calf-to-beef farm in Co. Westmeath appeared first on Agriland.ie.

By Teagasc’s Seán Cummins and James Fitzgerald

It’s been a challenging spring in terms of grassland management for many of the farmers enrolled in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme.

Growth is just beginning to surpass demand on many farms, but others – especially those working off high and exposed sites – are struggling to keep grass ahead of stock.

On account of harsh and colder weather conditions, combined with a lack of moisture in some locations, the arrival of magic day is approximately two weeks behind on many of the farms enrolled in the programme.

To balance the shortfall in grass growth, many of the farmers who started grazing early and have lower than desired grass covers for the beginning of the second rotation, had to reintroduce silage back into animals’ diets in a bid to extend the rotation.

Growth Watch – below average

Last week, weather conditions appeared to be turning in favour of grass growth, but below average temperatures – along with a lack of moisture this week – has seen growth remain behind average for the time of year.

Along with a reduction in grazing yields, silage crops are also behind in many locations; an upturn in the weather conditions is badly required to ensure first-cut crops targeted for harvesting in mid to late May bulk up.

Although conditions are challenging at present, there are a number of positives to take. Excellent graze outs are being achieved at farm level and when a burst of growth does come, quality grass will be available for the next rotation.

Elodie Ruelle’s MoSt grass growth model is also pointing to growth rates of 46-71 kg DM/ha/day for farms dotted across the country for the week ahead – sufficient levels of growth to put farmers enrolled in the programme in a position of surplus grass – albeit only a small surplus.

Growth will come, it’s just a matter of making the correct decision at farm level to get you through this tight spot.

In terms of management advice, maintaining the average farm cover is important at this stage, with >550kg DM/ha targeted.

Remember, it takes grass to grow grass and if the farm is floored at this time of the year and cover drops too low, the response when conditions once again become favourable will be reduced.

It’s also important to maintain the rotation length at 20-22 days to allow grass the opportunity to come ahead of stock.

When growth does come in the near future, removing surplus grass in the form of bales will correct any excess grass ahead of stock and allow for pre-grazing yields to be maintained at the targeted levels of 8-10 cm.

Furthermore, it’s critical that the farm is walked regularly as part of a farmer’s growth watch.

Things change very quickly this time of year and by having an up-to-date walk completed will allow the decision to continue or discontinue silage supplementation on farms where it is required to be made with confidence.

[grass_growth_map from=”2021/04/21″ to=”2021/04/28″]

Richard Long, Ballymacarbry, Co. Waterford

• Growth: 16kg DM/ha;
• Demand: 2kg DM/ha;
• Average farm cover: 220kg DM/ha;
• Stocking rate: 0.23 LU/ha.

Growth is badly wanted in the Nire Valley and conditions have been more than difficult over the last number of weeks.

The farm is running about two weeks behind where it normally would be, with grass frosts and cold days not helping the situation.

A growth rate of just 16kg DM/ha/day was recorded over the last week and the farm cover has dropped to 220kg DM/ha.

To avoid farm cover falling excessively low, we had been offering the weanlings half of their demand in the form of grass silage, with the expectation that growth rates would rise above 40kg DM/ha/day.

On account of the weather we’re experiencing, this didn’t occur and now the yearlings have been moved to an all-silage diet.

We had silage in the yard and with ground conditions being exceptional, the decision was made to supplement with silage rather than graze any of the silage ground. Where we are located, we tend to experience long winters, so ensuring there is enough silage in the yard next October, is a high priority.

50 calves have also been turned out to date and they account for the demand being seen on the farm. These animals are being offered 1kg/head/day of concentrate.

Silage crops are still looking poor, with covers hovering around 2,000kg DM/ha. Initially, we’d hoped to have it harvested by mid-May like last year, but with the weather we are after having, this will definitely be pushed back to May 20 unless a serious burst of growth comes over the coming weeks.

We are expecting first-cut silage crops to come in slightly lighter this year, but I don’t want to delay harvesting it any further past May 20, on account of the deterioration in quality.

Michael Culhane, Killaloe, Co. Clare

• Growth: 44kg DM/ha;
• Demand: 44kg DM/ha;
• Average farm cover: 740kg DM/ha;
• Stocking rate: 5.36 LU/ha.

With silage ground closed up and the demand for grass ever building from the grazing stock, April was always likely to be a pinch point.

In the last days of April, I would have thought that grass growth rates would have kicked on well ahead of demand and that the pinch point would be left in the past. This year seems to be different however, with grass growth rates lower than what you’d expect for this time of year.

According to this week’s grass walk results, grass growth and demand on my farm are exactly equal, which is an unusual occurrence.

The average farm cover of 740kg DM/ha is healthy, but needs to be, so as I have a high stocking rate of 5.36Lu/ha on my grazing ground since the silage ground is closed up. The grass cover/Lu is 138kg DM and I would like to build this up to 160-180kg DM as quickly as possible.

In order to ensure that demand doesn’t exceed growth I have started feeding meal to the finishing heifers at grass. They are getting 4.5kg/head in order to help put a better fat score on them quickly and to stretch out the grass that’s in front of them a little better.

A change of plan has also been put in place for the younger heifers, with 6ac of silage ground with the lowest cover of grass being offered to them to delay the start of the next rotation.

All of last year’s silage has been used up, so to slow down their rotation by offering some silage in the field is not an option.

The tight grazing that is going on at the moment is going to stand to us in the long-run as what grows back in its place will be good and leafy, but there are conundrums around keeping grass in front of stock that need to be solved first.

The post Growth Watch: ‘Borrowed days of March’ continue into late April appeared first on Agriland.ie.

By Teagasc’s Seán Cummins and James Fitzgerald

During the month of April, focus on having a rotation length of 22-24 days. Graze down to 4cm consistently in order to maximise grass growth and quality in subsequent grazings.

The grass you are letting your stock into should be about 10cm in height (1500kg/DM/ha) on a well-stocked farm.

Ensure that you are providing the grass with the nutrients it needs to grow. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potash (K) and sulphur (S) are all needed by the grass plant to grow efficiently throughout the summer and enhance grass quality.

Spread a compound fertiliser containing these and in line with the soil fertility of your farm.

Have enough grazing divisions on your farm. Aim to have eight divisions per grazing group. This will allow you to rotationally graze your stock – growing in three weeks and grazing in three days – which will benefit the stock, the grass and your pocket.

[grass_growth_map from=”2021/04/07″ to=”2021/04/20″]

Grass growth on Teagasc Green Acres farms

Peter O’Hanrahan, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny:

• Growth: 37kg DM/ha;
• Demand: 46kg DM/ha;
• Average farm cover: 893kg DM/ha;
• Stocking rate: 5.1LU/ha.

As a result of the heavy frosts at night, growth has been slower than desired over the past number of weeks.

Up until this week, it looked like we were going to have to supplement with silage to stretch the start of the second rotation and to avoid crashing the average farm cover.

All going well, growth and demand will have matched by the end of this week and it will save us the task of having to go in with silage. Growth rates have been very poor on some of the older paddocks on the farm and we’re having to juggle where we’re grazing next.

Thankfully, some of the reseeded paddocks are performing well despite the colder temperatures and it has given us an option of reducing stock on an out block and keeping grass ahead of yearlings.

In terms of fertiliser, we are following cattle with a bag of 18:6:12 per acre. This brings our artificial nitrogen to just over 64 units/ac to date on grazing ground.

Aidan Maguire, Navan, Co. Meath

• Growth: 28kg DM/ha;
• Demand: 30kg DM/ha;
• Average farm cover: 619kg DM/ha;
• Stocking rate: 2.34kg LU/ha.

I always find that April can be the most difficult month of the year when it comes to keeping grass in front of stock.

Earlier in the spring there is a nice flush of grass that was grown over the autumn and winter there to be grazed, but now comes the time when I am coming back over the ground for the second grazing of the year.

For me, having enough of grass grown on the fields for grazing in April is dependent on being able to stick well to the first rotation plan and not falling behind on that.

Starting grazing in a controlled way as early as possible allows for each field grazed to have up to two months of rest to recover for the second grazing, which for me is the key to getting things right in April.

The cold/dry spell has held grass growth at 25-50kgDM/ha/day over the last couple of weeks. With a change in the weather expected very soon, higher temperatures should boost grass quality and growth over the coming weeks which would be more than welcome.

To date I have about 70 units/ac of N spread across the grazing ground, the first 46 units/ac of which was urea early in the year and the rest was 18-6-12 + S during early April.

That should keep grass topped up with the P, K and S it needs for the grazing season and allow me to spread protected urea on grazing ground from here on out.

At the moment I have 5ac of the farm sprayed off and am reseeding it with a mix of grass and red clover. The plan is to continuously cut this for silage without needing to spread the levels of nitrogen on it that it would need if the red clover wasn’t there.

Hopefully, it will provide good quality silage that is very high in protein for feeding to young stock during the winter.

The post Growth Watch: Maximising graze-outs for April to enhance grass quality appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Farmers rearing dairy-beef calves this spring are getting to a stage where calves, which were purchased in the early months of this year, are getting ready for weaning.

One such farmer who has been weaning his 72 bull calves, consisting of Friesian and Angus crosses, is JP Hammersley – a Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme participant from Co. Tipperary.

Agriland caught up with JP this week, to get an insight into his weaning process which began back in early March. The calves on his farm were weaned and then subsequently turned out to grass.

This is following a successful monitoring period of the calves to ensure they were healthy and capable of surviving on concentrates and forage in their diet alone.

Process of rearing dairy-beef calves

The calves on JP’s farm are sourced off one dairy farm and arrived in batches of 12 at ages of three-weeks-old or stronger.

Speaking about his strategy of rearing JP stated:

“At the end of January the calves come onto the farm and are fed on a teat feeder and they are watched carefully when they are coming to feed.

“The feeder is set up so that all of the calves have to travel the length of the pen to come to drink at the feeder. This allows me to see more clearly any calves that are slow to get up or that look to be off-form.

“As the calves are in different batches, I have white boards set up in the sheds so that if I see a calf that is loose in their dung, scouring or slow to drink – I take a note of their tags and they are monitored closely then for the next few days.

“The calves were covered with a dose to prevent coccidiosis being an issue during rearing.”

Weaning and turn-out

Along with ensuring calves are adequately grown, JP places emphasis on the levels of concentrates they are consuming each day.

Once the calves reach a stage where they are eating 1-1.5kg of meal/day the levels of milk can be gradually reduced and then they are finally weaned – which is generally at seven-weeks-old.

“Once they hit their concentrate intake requirement, I will reduce the milk by offering half of the milk feeds twice a day and then moving to once-a-day feeds. Then the calves are finally weaned,” he said.

“Before I let them out to grass I keep them inside for a week just to monitor them closely to see that they are coping okay with the weaning process.

“Once weather conditions become suitable then, I let them out to grass and strip graze them in paddocks.

“I will normally offer them the distance between two fencing pole stakes of grass each day. This means that we are constantly giving them fresh grass each day – which is important.”

The target for these calves will be to hit a weight of 0.7-0.8/kg of daily live weight gains at grass.

To achieve this target and to further aid rumen development, calves are supplemented with concentrates at a rate of 1kg/day.

In June, the calves will be regrouped on the basis of their visual performance. Any young or underperforming calves will then be retained on meal feeding until an adequate level of performance is achieved, while their comrades will be on a grass-only diet.

In terms of shelter for the calves that have been turned out, they have access to a shed that they can return to on their own initiative, if weather conditions turn poor and protection is needed from wind or rain.

The addition of calf shelters last spring further eased this process, as young animals have a sheltered area to gather if weather conditions worsen. This infrastructure is particularly important for JP, who has off-farm work commitments.

JP noted however that once the last drop of rain has fallen, the calves are quick to return out to the paddocks to start grazing again.

The post Getting dairy-beef calves ready for weaning appeared first on Agriland.ie.

By Alan Dillon, Teagasc Drystock Specialist/Green Acres Programme Manager

The Teagasc Green Acres Dairy Calf to Beef programme finished its second year on December 31, 2020.

Profitability has improved across most of the programme farms for 2020 with an average net profit of €455/ha recorded. No subsidies of any description are included in the figures quoted.

There is big variation in the level of profit between these 12 farms with the highest level of profit being €1,140/ha and the lowest being €18/ha.

The average grassland stocking rate across all the farms was 2.31 LU/ha while a gross output of 1,284 kg of live weight per hectare was achieved.

This translates to 556kg of live weight being achieved on each livestock unit across programme farms which includes a mix of heifers, steers and young bulls.

Typically, dairy-beef systems have much higher levels of output than suckler beef systems, due to the lack of a suckler cows utilising grass and shed space. This allows for more beef to be produced from the hectares available on the farm.

Output is key to achieving profit in any system, and the lower stocked farms on the programme struggled to achieve above break-even.

Our lowest stocked farm at 1.56 LU/ha achieved €225/ha net profit, while our highest stocked farm at 3.34 LU/ha achieved €1,140 per hectare net profit. Total sales were €2,356/ha while purchases were €366/ha.

Inventory changes

It should be noted that there was a significant inventory increase on some of the programme farms.

This is the estimated value of the extra livestock that are being built up on the programme farms and this calculation is used in all Teagasc eProfit Monitors and all tax accounts.

While this valuation is an average estimation of what the stock are worth, it is hoped that it will translate into cash once the stock are slaughtered or sold live in 12-15 months’ time.

The average net inventory change recorded was an increase of €392/ha across all farms, but the variation of inventory change between farms was much higher, with some farmers having less stock at the end of the year than the previous one, and others having increased stock numbers significantly.

Taking the inventory as it stands, the farms achieved a gross output per hectare of €2,383 or €1,036/LU.

Variable costs

Variable costs across the farms came in at €1,284/ha or €556/LU. The target for the programme farms is that variable costs would be 50% of gross output. The farms in this scenario achieved 53% which leaves some room for improvement, but isn’t far off the target.

The biggest variable cost on farms was feed and milk replacer which cost €678/ha.

Again, a big variation is seen here, with an autumn calf system finishing Friesian steers off grass at 24 months having feed and milk replacer costs as low as €185/ha -compared to a highly-stocked bull finisher having a feed and milk replacer cost of €1,844/ha.

Fertilizer costs averaged €184/ha across farms. The highest was €394/ha which was a highly stocked farmer which had to invest in soil fertility compared to the lowest of €115/ha which was a more moderately stocked farm which already had good soil fertility.

Vet costs averaged €125/ha with the highest being €250/ha on a farm which experienced health issues with calves. Vet costs would have generally remained higher than previous years on these farms due to the onset of vaccination programmes.

While there is a cost to implementing these vaccines, there is much less antibiotics being used on the farms and less set backs in calves.

While contractor costs averaged €157/ha, there was a wide spread across farms with some exceeding €300/ha. Some of the programme farmers would have their own machinery for slurry and silage operations, while some have little more than a fertilizer spreader and a topper.

Incidentally, the farm with the highest level of contractor charges was the most profitable in the programme.

Other variable costs averaged €143/ha which include straw, polythene for silage, levies and haulage of cattle etc.

Taking gross output at €2,383/ha and variable costs at €1,284/ha gives us a healthy gross margin of €1,098/ha.

Fixed costs

Fixed costs have been the subject of much debate in media over the years with some arguing they are not high enough, and some saying they are not low enough, in quoted articles.

The fixed costs for the 12 Green Acres farms was €644/ha, similar to the figure of €616/ha quoted for the top third of non-breeding farms in the Teagasc 2018 eProfit Monitor booklet.

The three biggest fixed costs were machinery running costs, depreciation and land lease.

Machinery running cost an average of €101/ha, with a high of €252/ha on a farm with a lot of its own machinery to run and repair.

Depreciation cost €135/ha with a high of €342/ha on a farm with a large amount of new buildings completed in recent years.

Land lease costs were €107/ha with a number of the farms having some proportion of land leased. The highest cost for land lease was €461/ha on a farm with close to 100% of grassland leased.

The total fixed costs hit a high of €1,270/ha on a moderate sized farm with leased land and high depreciation, compared to a low of €315/ha on a large farm with all owned land and lower levels of depreciation.

The number of hectares being farmed can affect fixed costs dramatically, with the larger farms typically having their fixed costs diluted down to a greater degree than smaller operations.

Net profit

The overall result was a net profit of €455/ha excluding subsides.

While a lower calf price on some breeds such as Friesian bulls in 2020 helped to some degree to lower costs, beef prices of as low as €3.45/kg base price in spring 2020 did challenge our farmers to find ways of increasing efficiency and cutting costs without hitting performance.

It should be noted that the Beef Finisher Payment was not included in our profitability results for any of the programme farmers who qualified for the payment.

Table 1. Outputs achieved on Green Acres farms €/ha

Table 2. Variable costs on Green Acres farms €/ha

Table 3. Fixed costs on Green Acres farms €/ha

Prospects for 2021

The biggest issue facing farmers currently is that calf prices rose slightly on the spring purchases so far, with Friesians coming in at similar prices to last year, but early maturing breeds increasing.

With beef prices currently only marginally ahead of last year overall, this could erode some of the prospects to increase profitability in excess of €500/ha.

Calf quality has improved on farms and any health issues that were experienced in the first year of the programme have largely abated due to proactive herd health planning.

Grassland management skills are being improved each year and silage quality was on target last winter.

Overall, the Teagasc Green Acres farmers are in a better place financially than where they were two years ago, but farmers do need to watch calf purchase price carefully. Overpaying for the calf on day one means potential profit can be gone before you start.

The post Teagasc Green Acres farm profit improves in 2020 appeared first on Agriland.ie.

It is clear how the weather impacted on the start of the grazing season for many beef farmers and one such farmer included Green Acres farmer, Michael Culhane from Co. Clare.

A participant in the Teagasc Green Acres progamme, calf-to-beef farmer Michael noted how the weather this spring was quite variable for trying to get paddocks fully grazed off.

On February 28, he let his 110 yearling cattle out but following a change in weather and paddocks getting wet, a week later he was forced to rehouse half of the group.

Speaking about the latest situation with grazing on the farm, Michael stated:

“I have the yearlings back out at grass. Overall, about 55% of the farm has been grazed, with all of the silage ground now being fully grazed off.

“This ground has received an application of slurry approximately 10 days ago and I will apply CAN [Calcium Ammonium Nitrate] on this ground as well. Hopefully, the first cut of silage can be taken up around the end of May.”

“The farm also got a cover of 35 units to the acre of urea back in January.”

Sourcing calves for this Green Acres farm

Like most Green Acres farmers this spring, Michael has been buying his new calves directly off farms, with two particular farms being the main source.

The breeds consist of both Belgian Blue and Hereford crosses at a 50:50 ratio split between males and females. In total, there have been 82 calves mainly sired by AI bulls purchased this spring. Commenting on the rearing of calves this spring, Michael stated:

“We have had no issues so far really; the calves were vaccinated on arrival against RSV / Pi3 / pasturella pneumonia.

“The calves are currently being fed on an automatic feeder and eating meal – there seems to be no issue so far.

“In terms of scour, we had no serious incidences really. You could see that some calves were a bit looser in the dung around four or five days after arriving onto the farm as they were acclimatising to the change in diet. Their intakes went slightly down but they were never really sick from this.”

One new feature on Michael’s farm is the conversion of a cubicle shed, which was previously used for the suckler herd on the farm, into a new calf-rearing shed.

Finishing heifers in the coming weeks

At the moment there are 33 two-year-old bullocks which are a mixture of Belgian Blue and Friesians shortly going out to grass.

There are also 23 Belgian Blue heifers just coming up to two-years of age, which are planned to be killed within the next six weeks.

“The heifers are currently getting 2kg of meal in the shed at the minute. They will be heading out to grass along with getting the same levels of 2-3kg of concentrates and will aimed to be killed by the end of May,” Michael concluded.

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However, through a process of strategic grassland management, Aidan Maguire – a participant of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme – is on the right road to shortly get through his first rotation.

Speaking to Agriland this week, Aidan explained:

“Currently there are 30 autumn 2019-born cattle and last year’s group of 110 yearlings [weighing around 300-320kg] out at grass and we are flying with the grazing season so far this spring.

My target was to have 78% of the platform grazed by this week and I am currently hitting 80%, so I am bang on the button.

This target has taken planning, with Aidan having to rehouse his weanlings every evening for the months of January and February, and then letting them out again in the mornings provided ground conditions were suitable.

For the month of March, Aidan stated that he was able to keep his animals out for the majority of the month. Although with the forecast for this weekend not showing strong signs of dry weather, Aidan rehoused one of the three grazing groups of weanlings due to the next paddock being too wet for them move to.

Fertiliser plan for grazing

Every paddock has received on application of urea at a rate 35 units/ac. In terms of the slurry spread on the farm, Aidan stated:

“Close to 75% of the farm has received an application of slurry, with some fields getting slurry in early January and now coming up for grazing. As fields were grazed, I went out with slurry on them because the ground was too bare to spread urea on it.

“In the early few weeks of April I will target heading out with a second application of urea for the second rotation – but it all depends on what the weather brings.”

Hitting weight targets

The farm is currently on track when it comes to the weight gain performance of the 110 weanlings. A recent weighing completed on February 26 showed the weanlings hitting their targets, with some even exceeding it. He said:

“The average weight for the group was 309kg, which I am delighted with really, because it shows that they haven’t received any setback in performance.”

‘It has been the easiest calf rearing season so far’

On another positive note for Aidan, he has had a successful time in rearing of calves over the past few months.

In total, there have been 91 calves purchased off farms this spring which consisted of Friesian bulls and Hereford bulls and heifers. The ratio would see a 60:40 split, in terms of the percentage of Friesian and Hereford calves purchased.

Speaking about the rearing season this spring, he stated:

“At the minute I am starting to wean some of the calves off milk replacer, with 21 calves going to be weaned this weekend.

It has been the easiest calf rearing season so far, we had no issues at all really. I kept their pneumonia vaccines up-to-date and they have been treated to prevent coccidiosis.

“I had no issues with scour but the main reasoning behind this is that the calves are coming to me in good condition.

“I’d love to get them out to grass as soon as possible but there is no consistency at the minute with the weather and sheltered paddocks are hard to come by on this farm. They will be in the shed for the next three weeks,” Aidan concluded.

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With the development of antimicrobial resistance, there’s an increased focus on the way in which antibiotics are being used in both human and animal health.

Peter and Thomas O’Hanrahan, participants in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf-to-Beef Programme, have recorded a significant reduction in the quantity of antibiotics being used on their farm on the outskirts of Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny.

Expressed on a milligram per kilogram of liveweight output basis, the O’Hanrahans used 6.4mg/kg of liveweight output in 2020, down from 57.5mg/kg of liveweight output in 2018 – a reduction of 89%.

Thomas and Peter O’Hanrahan

How has this reduction been achieved?

This reduction has been achieved through careful planning and alterations in management approaches on-farm.

There are a number of key factors and practices which have led to the O’Hanrahans reducing their antibiotic usage, including: the implementation of a vaccination programme; the development of suitable calf-rearing facilities; and an increased focus on purchasing calves off-farm.

Vaccination programme

The O’Hanrahans have taken a ‘prevention is always better and cheaper than the cure’ approach when it comes pneumonia on their farm. Vaccinating calves is the best policy to ensure this happens and a regimental plan is being implemented on the Thomastown-based holding.

There are several pneumonia vaccines on the market today. Some are for the common bacteria that cause pneumonia, such as mannheimia (formerly known as pasteurella) and others are for respiratory viruses that cause pneumonia (IBR, Pi3, BRSV).

The O’Hanrahans’ vaccination programme is outlined in the table below. It focuses on the prevention of mannheimia (pasteurella), IBR, Pi3 and RSV.

* The timing of the late summer booster vaccine may vary and is targeted for administration before the next period of risk. This varies depending on the year / weather conditions / health of calves etc.

Peter and Thomas also pay great attention to the correct administration and storage of vaccines on their farm; this is important to improve the success of the vaccination programme.

Approach to sourcing calves

Although an important step, no vaccination programme is going to overcome the purchase of an unsuitable calf and the O’Hanrahans have placed an increased focus on buying calves directly off dairy farms.

There are a number of benefits to this strategy; not only can beef farmers assess the cow type and the genetics at play, but the herd health and vaccination protocol can be discussed prior to purchase, along with ensuring the calves have received an adequate quantity of colostrum at birth.

The proximity from which most of the O’Hanrahans’ calves travel from their source herd, also means that stress is minimised during travel and calves can start on their milk replacer feeding programme once adequately settled in their new surrounds.

Calf housing

Along with the implementation of a vaccination programme and an increased focus on calf sourcing, Peter and Thomas have also developed excellent calf-rearing facilities on their farm.

Natural ventilation is the most efficient and least expensive method of providing an optimum environment within a calf shed.

It serves a number of purposes including: the elimination of noxious gases, draughts and stagnant air; maintenance of optimum ambient temperature and environmental humidity levels; and to decrease airborne dust contamination, endotoxin levels and pathogen concentration.

As calves perform best at 15-20°C, the ventilation system must serve to maintain temperatures within this range.

Preference is for at least five or six air changes per hour within a calf shed and at least 7m³/calf of total air capacity should be provided to young calves. This rises to 10m³/calf by two months.

To achieve this, Peter and Thomas installed Yorkshire boarding (two rows of 6-inch boards with a 2-inch gap between each board) on two of the four external walls of the shed – while a 27m-long ridge cap is located in the roof to provide a suitable outlet.

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In calf-to-beef systems, the margins for ensuring any levels of profitability are based on maximising animal performance efficiency and minimising unnecessary financial costs.

An analysis of the slaughter performance of animals produced on the Teagasc Green Acres farms was compiled earlier this year, which examined the physical (carcass weight, grade and fat scores) and financial performance (€/kg) of animals slaughtered over the course of 2020.

Calf purchase price vs carcass value

To delve further into this data and to understand the relationship between the calf purchase price and carcass value, the 2018 calf purchase values have been compiled and presented as a percentage of the total carcass value in table 1 (below).

Annually, early-maturing (Angus and Hereford) males achieve a premium on the market when compared to Holstein Friesian males.

The three-year price difference witnessed on the Teagasc Green Acres farms over the spring of 2018 through to 2020 is €81/head.

On account of this higher purchase price, a larger proportion of the animals’ final value has been consumed on day one of the production cycle. This is displayed when the average performance of animals slaughtered over 2020 is compared to the average price paid for these calves in 2018.

Calf price accounted for 17%, 20% and 11% respectively of Angus, Hereford and Holstein Friesian steers’ final value.

Looking at the data for the 2020-slaughtered heifers, Angus heifer calf value accounted for 20% (€0.75/kg) and Hereford heifer calf price accounted for 22% (€0.82/kg) of the animal’s final value.

Purchasing and rearing costs

As displayed above, the calf cost accounts for a large proportion of the animal’s overall value upon slaughter when 2018 calf purchase price and 2020 animal values on the Teagasc Green Acres farms are compared.

When budgeted calf rearing costs (€124/head) are included alongside the 2018 calf purchase price and then compared to the final average animal value recorded over 2020 – as outlined in table 2 (below) – it’s evident that a large proportion of the animal’s final value is accounted for before the animal is turned out to grass for its first season.

Across the production systems examined, calf purchase and rearing costs account for between 22% (Holstein Friesian steers) and 34% (Hereford heifers).

Importance of budgeting

Keeping this in mind, careful consideration is therefore required in terms of the price payable for calves at the beginning of the production cycle.

Table 3 (below) provides a cost breakdown of the various steer and heifer systems from acquiring the calf at three weeks of age through to slaughter at a relatively high level of efficiency.

The fixed costs were based on previous findings from phase one of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme. The slaughter performance and carcass weight data were obtained from the national database and previous Teagasc research.

For farmers entering the market for calves, it’s advisable to complete careful budgets before purchasing to have an understanding of the associated costs and the potential returns achievable.

Farmers can study the example, which is explained in table 3 (below), and assess their own profit/head achieved based on their system.

*-15c/kg = -24c/kg (O-) + 7c/kg (35% QPS payment) + 2c/kg (15% x 12c/kg on O-). **+12c/kg = -12c/kg (O+) + 16.8c/kg (84% QPS payment) + 6.6c/kg (66% breed bonus) +0.6c/kg (5% x 12 c/kg on O-). ***-1c/kg = -18c/kg (O=) + 10c/kg (50% QPS payment) + 5c/kg (50% breed bonus) + 2c/kg (15% x 12c/kg on O-).

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All of the programmes can still be accessed on the AgriLand Media YouTube channel.

Episode 1

In episode one, Michael Carey hosted a discussion about preparing your farm for the arrival of calves and the factors to consider when choosing calves.

Panellists for the programme included Doreen Corridan from Munster Bovine, Seán Cummins from Teagasc and Peter O’Hanrahan – a farmer in the Teagasc Green Acres programme.

The first episode (above) looked at what changes farmers can make to existing buildings in order to provide calves with the best environment.

AgriLand Media also discussed what farmers need to think about when it comes to the price of calves this spring.

Episode 2

The second episode in ‘The Calf Show’ series focused on calf feeding and hygiene.

During the discussion, the panellists spoke about the levels of milk replacer that calves need to be getting this spring. Alongside this, Michael Carey took a look at the issue of maintaining good hygiene and biosecurity levels on farms.

The panellists for episode two (above) included Rebecca O’Sullivan from Volac, James Fitzgerald from Teagasc and Irvine Allen, a Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef participant.

Allen gave a detailed run-through about feeding milk replacer to calves on his farm along with some of the practices he follows when it comes to the upkeep of hygiene on his farm.

Episode 3

In the third installment of ‘The Calf Show’, Michael Carey and the AgriLand Media team focused the discussion on calf health and implementing a vaccination programme this spring on calf-to-beef farms.

The panel for the third episode included Suzanne Naughton from MSD, James Fitzgerald from Teagasc and Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef participant, Martin Connolly.

In the episode (which can be viewed above), Suzanne Naughton outlined best practice when it comes to administering vaccines this spring.

She also gave some advice to farmers buying calves off dairy farms this spring – as she suggested some questions they need to ask dairy farmers based around the management of the calf.

Martin Connolly spoke about his experience of implementing a herd health programme on his farm and some of the benefits he is reaping by following this plan.

Episode 4

The fourth and final episode of ‘The Calf Show’ featured an in-depth discussion on preparing calves for weaning off milk replacer and getting them ready for turnout to grass this spring on calf-to-beef farms.

The panel for this episode included Alan Dillon and Seán Cummins from Teagasc, Dermot Meehan from Drummonds and Pat Collins – a Teagasc Green Acres Calf To Beef participant.

In the final episode (above), Seán Cummins spoke about the weighing of calves, while also advising some farmers on the most suitable paddock locations that young calves should be turned out to this spring.

Dermot Meehan gave his insight into providing the best nutrition for the calf prior to weaning while also promoting healthy rumen development.

Alan Dillion discussed the weight gains farmers should be seeing from their calves once they are out at grass.

All episodes of ‘The Calf Show’ are available on the AgriLand Media YouTube channel.

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Speaking from a health point of view, Suzanne Naughton from MSD provided some great information and questions that farmers should be asking dairy farmers when sourcing calves off-farm this spring.

Health management of the calf

One of the first questions that Suzanne stated farmers should ask is if vaccines are used on the farm, and if so how are they managed? She explained:

“The first question would be to ask about the vaccination protocols and what diseases that they are vaccinating against – like IBR, BVD, etc.

“The better the vaccination protocol on a particular farm, the lower the disease prevalence will be on that farm. As a result, the calves born on that farm will have a lower exposure to any diseases that could potentially be there.

Also, ask if they are vaccinating the cows against scour; because if they are coming from vaccinated dams, there is less of a risk that there has been an outbreak of scour on the farm.

“Hopefully as a result you should be receiving a healthier calf.

“I’d query them on their colostrum management protocols as well. It’s very important that the calves you are getting are getting adequate colostrum within the first few hours and subsequently with transition milk.

“Good colostrum is the foundation for good growth and survival – if that is not done right from day one, you are going to be at a loss and you will be getting problematic calves that will be causing you headaches throughout the rearing stage.

“It’s also helpful to have an idea of the disease status on that farm – if they have had previous outbreaks of coccidiosis or cryptosporidiosis.”

Breeding on the farm

Another useful advantage that farmers buying calves directly off dairy farms have is that they can view the cows that the calves are coming off.

You will be able to view the breeding of the cows and also potentially view the stock bull used.

If a stock bull is not used, you should query what AI sire was used during the breeding season, especially in the case of a beef sired calf. This will also allow you to view his traits on the Dairy-Beef Index.

Also speaking this week about the carcass traits farmers should be looking for in the sires used on in episode 1 of ‘The Calf Show’ series, Seán Cummins from Teagasc stated:

“There is huge variation in the bulls that are being used on dairy cows across the country. For the majority of Green Acres farms we are dealing with Holstein-Friesian sired calves.

“In terms of the carcass traits for the sires of these calves we would be looking at a carcass weight of zero. We don’t want animals coming in with negative carcass weights if we can avoid them.

For the early-maturing animals, we want to have a figure of +10kg of carcass weight [for their sires].

“The more genetic potential that we have in these animals, and if we can get them to reach their targets – we have a chance of making money.

“Unless we have the genetics right, and the correct potential in the animal – no matter what we do on farm – we are going to be at a stumbling block in terms of the ability of the animal to put on carcass weight and actually achieve a profit for farmers in the programme.”

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In the final episode of AgriLand’s  ‘The Calf Show’ series, Alan Dillon from Teagasc outlined the weight targets that farmers should be seeing from their calves once they are weaned and grazing grass this spring.

Target throughout the grazing season

Speaking about weaning performance and average daily live weight gains (ADG) at grass, Alan explained:

“We are targeting around 0.7-0.8kg/day over the first grazing season at grass. If we look at the results that we have seen from the vast majority of the Green Acres farms, they have hit that target or higher.

It’s the cheapest time to put on that type of weight gain.

“If you take your typical calf – you are dealing with a small stomach and the intakes of grass or meal that they will have over the first grazing season will be small relative to the level of weight gain that they are going to achieve.

“Comparing this with older animals during the final finishing stage at 24-months-old, you have a much bigger stomach to fill and you have a much more mature animal that is trying to put on similar levels of weight gain and it is more expensive to achieve.

“You should try and get as much of this weight gain done in the first year.”

He added:

We are noticing that some of the later calves [born from late March onwards] are not hitting the target, they are only reaching 0.5-0.6kg/day of a weight gain in the first grazing season.

“This may be down to a number of factors, but one we pinpoint it to is that when they hit grass their rumens are not fully developed.”

Should concentrates be eased back at grass?

When questioned about potential easing back of concentrates at grass, Alan stated that it depends on the stage of life that the animal is at when it’s turned out.

He said:

“If your buying the early calves [January-born] they will be weaned after 10 weeks, so if they are born in the middle of January, they will be weaned off milk around early April.

“By the month of June they should be well developed, in terms of their rumen, to actually harness and work off grass solely for the vast majority of the grazing season – until you hit into September time when grass dry matter drops; then they would need some return to some levels of concentrates.

“For the late-born calves, I would say to keep going with the meal all the way through [the grazing season].

If you are talking about a late March and onwards-born calf, you should be looking at keeping about 1kg of meal to them for the full grazing season.

“If you are buying a small bunch of calves [20-30 calves] – with half born before St. Patrick’s day and the other half of them born after it – I would be saying to keep the meal to them all rather than splitting them up for meal feeding.

“If you split small bunches of calves, they are not going to eat much grass and it makes grassland management much more difficult,” he concluded.

The post How much weight should your weanlings be putting on at grass? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As part of the final episode of ‘The Calf Show’ series, Pat Collins – a Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme participant – spoke about the procedure when it comes to weaning calves on his farm.

Pat explained:

“Once we get the calves to about six-weeks-of-age, we put them onto once-a-day feeding and then, from about eight weeks on, we start gradually reducing the milk.

Once the calves are starting to eat 1kg of ration, we start to reduce the milk and then hope to move them up to about 2kg/day of ration before we wean them fully.

“When they are weaned off the milk, we feed them on a ration that includes chopped straw, at about 12%. The calves will get that ad-lib until they are eating about 3kg of the ration at grass.”

Why include the chopped straw into the diet?

With the inclusion of chopped straw into the ration being fed to calves, Pat went through what the reasoning is behind feeding this to his calves. He continued:

“It will add a bit of fibre into the calves’ diet and still feeding them that ration when they are on milk.

Then, when the calves are going out to grass, the ration will fill them up – they won’t go out and gorge on a load of grass when they are let out first.

“It allows their rumen to develop before they go onto a more grass-based diet.

“When we let them out to grass we let them out to stronger and stemy covers, just to have an extra bit of fibre and that the grass isn’t too lush for them.

“Once the 3kg/day intake of ration is hit, we start to wean them off it and improve the quality of grass that they are grazing.”

Developing the rumen

Dermot Meehan from Drummonds also spoke about some of the best ways to enhance rumen development prior to weaning. He explained:

“In the first few weeks, you need to kick-start the rumen and this will encourage the calves and the amount of concentrates that they are eating.

Giving calves the availability of long forage will help this rumen development – along with access to clean water at all times.

“They should be eating at least 1-1.5kg/day of meal over a period of four or five days before weaning,” he concluded.

You can watch the full discussion by clicking on the link below.

The post Weaning calves off milk replacer this spring appeared first on Agriland.ie.

This evenings panel will include Alan Dillon and Sean Cummins from Teagasc, Dermot Meehan from Drummonds and Pat Collins – a Teagasc Green Acres Calf To Beef participant.

‘The Calf Show Series’ is being run as part of the Green Acres Calf To Beef Programme with Teagasc and AgriLand – and hosts a series of programmes presented by AgriLand beef specialist Michael Carey.

Weaning and getting ready for turnout

Our panel will be focusing on key aspects of the weaning and turnout stages for calves.

Sean Cummins will be speaking about the weighing of calves, while also advising some farmers on the most suitable paddock locations that these young calves should be turned out to this spring.

Dermot Meehan gives his insight into providing the best nutrition for the calf prior to weaning while also promoting a healthy rumen development.

Pat Collins talks about his procedure when it comes to weaning calves and getting them turned out to grass.

Alan Dillion discusses the weight gains farmers should be seeing from their calves once they are out at grass and throughout the grazing season.

The post Episode 4 of ‘The Calf Show’ is now live – Preparing for weaning and turnout appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The panel will include Alan Dillon and Sean Cummins from Teagasc, Dermot Meehan from Drummonds and Pat Collins – a Teagasc Green Acres Calf To Beef participant.

All of ‘The Calf Show’ episodes will be broadcast on AgriLand’s YouTube channel and across social media.

Catch up on previous episodes

If you have missed any of the three previously aired episodes of ‘The Calf Show’ series, they are still available to view on AgriLand’s YouTube channel and across social media.

The first episode focused on providing the best housing environment for calves and and what farmers need to think of when it comes to the price of calves.

In the second episode, the panellists discussed the levels of milk replacer that calves need to be getting this spring. Alongside this, maintaining good hygiene and biosecurity levels on farms was also reviewed.

For the third and most recent episode, the important issue of calf health and how vaccination programmes can be implemented on farms this spring was the main focus.

The post The Calf Show – episode 4: Preparing for weaning and turnout appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Speaking on the third episode of the ‘The Calf Show’ series hosted by AgriLand last night – Martin Connolly, a participant in the Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme, spoke about his experience of implementing a herd health plan and the benefits he is seeing because of it.

Reoccuring health issues

When discussing how he began putting a plan in place for vaccinating his calves, Martin refelected back to the year before he started in the Green Acres programme and how his approach to herd health was slightly different.

He explained:

“I wasn’t vaccinating the calves before I joined [the Green Acres programme], but it wasn’t for the want of trying. We never had gotten any real positive direction in terms of what way to go with it.

“Even the first year that I was in the [Green Acres] programme, we hadn’t any plan in place.

When I look back at my first year in the programme and the year before that, I would have been treating 30-40% of the calves that had come in during the early stages with an antibiotic – maybe once or twice.

“There would always be little bits of outbreaks of pneumonia. As far as I was concerned I thought that I had everything in place with good housing, bedding, feeding and nutrition and I was still having those levels of breakdowns.”

Making the change

Martin went on to speak about how the approach to preventing health issues and pneumonia on the farm has now changed. He stated:

“Last year we drew up a vaccination programme and put it into place. I followed it through last spring and I have seen an enormous change.

I think zero antibiotics were used on my calves for pneumonia.

“This has followed through from the weaning stage to the present day as weanlings – I had no outbreak of pneumonia whatsoever.

“Now, maybe I have been lucky and I am looking forward to this year to see if it will follow through – but I am fairly confident that we have the problem nailed and I am grateful for that.”

‘The small things make up the whole package’

Further on in the discussion, Martin highlighted that it is “all the small things in calf-rearing that makes up the whole package.”

Adding to this, he said:

“From a healthy calf coming in, to providing good housing, bedding and nutrition along with getting your vaccine programme in place – if you slip up on any one of them, that can be your downfall.

“It’s not easy to do; I had attempted it for a few years and I am a good while rearing calves. I would have been going in with antibiotics and thinking that it was just part of the course, but I have seen in the last 12 months the difference vaccinating has made.

“It’s lovely to feed calves and walk away from them for a few hours, without having to go back and start watching and treating the odd calf in a pen.”

The post Reducing antibiotic usage by following a herd health plan appeared first on Agriland.ie.

On the third episode of ‘The Calf Show’ series – Susanne Naughton from MSD spoke about the importance of having a vaccination programme this spring and the best practice that farmers can follow when it comes to administering these vaccines.

Obviously, farmers should note that administering vaccines does not override the need to maintain good hygiene practices within housing.

What should you be vaccinating against?

In a brief video before the discussion began, Suzanne mentioned some of the main diseases and infections that calves should be vaccinated against. She explained:

Vaccination is so important, as it will boost a calf’s immune system against the various bacteria or viruses that can cause respiratory diseases within the environment.

“One vaccine in particular, Bovipast RSP, is specifically licensed to reduce infection associated with Mannheimia haemolytica or pasturellosis, the PI3 [Parainfluenza3] and the BRSV [Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus] viruses as well.

“IBR is another extremely common virus in herds and can effect young stock as well and they can be vaccinated for.

“Another important one is coverage against the clostridial diseases which can be a very common cause of sudden death.

“Of course treatment and prevention of these nasty diseases would be best advised by your local veterinary practitioner.”

Administering the vaccine

Making a plan for these vaccines is one step in the process, but carrying the administration is the next challenge. Suzanne goes through some of the tips that she provides to farmers when it comes to this stage.

She stated:

“Ideally we would recommend about 24 hours after the animals arrive, let them settle and then go in with your vaccine.

With regard to administering, start as you mean to go on. Start off with a clean needle and have your vaccine store in a fridge as that is very important prior to use.

“When you open the vaccine, use it within a few hours – most vaccines only last a couple of hours once they are opened.

“Follow the directions on the data sheet that will come with the vaccine, so you will know how much you need to give in each dose and where it has to be administered.

“I’d recommend doing it on a dry day, when the animals’ coats are dry. If you do it when their coats are wet, you are increasing the likelihood of dirt getting into the infection site and potential lumps or bumps developing which you don’t want.”

Vaccinating calf by calf as they arrive or as a group?

Speaking about whether to vaccinate calves on a calf-by-calf basis or as part of a group, Suzanne added:

“I will always recommend vaccinating calves as a group, usually the vaccines such as Bovipast comes with 10 doses per bottle. So it’s better when you open a vaccine that you can use it on a batch of calves that is there and ready to go.

Also, by vaccinating in batches you are getting a level playing field of immunity. They are all starting from the same page and they are getting a uniform level of immunity.

“It can be just easier for a farmer to manage, especially when it comes to applying a booster vaccine if necessary within a group.”

To view episode three of ‘The Calf Show’ series, click on the link below.

The post Best practice for administering vaccines to calves appeared first on Agriland.ie.

This evening’s panel will include Suzanne Naughton from MSD, James Fitzgerald from Teagasc and Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef participant Martin Connolly.

‘The Calf Show Series’ is being run as part of the Green Acres Calf To Beef Programme with Teagasc and AgriLand – and hosts a series of programmes presented by AgriLand beef specialist Michael Carey.

Calf health and best practice for administering vaccinations

In this episode, Suzanne Naughton will be speaking about the best practice that farmers can follow when it comes to administering vaccines this spring.

She will also be providing some advice for farmers buying calves off dairy farms this spring – as she suggests some questions they need to ask dairy farmers based around the management of the calf.

Martin Connolly will be talking about his experience of implementing a herd health programme on his farm and some of the benefits he is reaping by following this plan.

Finally, James Fitzgerald will be presenting some of the lessons learned about calf health on Green Acres farms over recent years and how the some of the changes that were required in order to see improvements.

The post Episode 3 of ‘The Calf Show’ series is now live – Calf health and vaccinations appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Wednesday’s panel will include Suzanne Naughton from MSD, James Fitzgerald from Teagasc and Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef participant Martin Connolly.

All of ‘The Calf Show’ episodes will be broadcast on AgriLand’s YouTube channel and across social media.

‘The Calf Show’ series

The final episode in ‘The Calf Show’ series will take place on Thursday (February 25) at 7:30pm, where the discussion will focus on preparing calves for weaning and turnout.

The idea of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf To Beef Programme is to share information from participating farms with beef producers across the country to help farmers improve the performance of their business.

If you missed last night’s episode, you can view it by clicking on the link below.

The post The Calf Show – episode 3: Calf health and vaccinations appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As a number of calves will be finding new homes over the coming weeks – ensuring that they get off to a good start, in terms of feeding, is an important aspect in the rearing stage.

Calves arriving on farm

To start off with, Irvine spoke about the general treatment of calves during the first day on his farm. He said:

“The calves come onto my farm as close to three-weeks-of-age as possible. In general, I will try to have it that the farmers that I am buying my calves from will have them started on milk replacer before I get them – because it is less of a change.

“Once they arrive, they are fed a mix of milk replacer and electrolytes for the first one or two feedings just to rehydrate them and keep they healthy.

It can depend on the calf, but generally I start them off with 4L at a rate of 125g/L and then move them up to 6L/day.

“If the calf is strong and was already on milk replacer and was already being fed the milk replacer that I am using I could start them on with 6L.”

Method of feeding calves

There is a mixture of feeding equipment on Irvine’s farm, as he uses both a teat feeder and an automatic milk feeder. He explained:

“The reason for using both feeders is because I don’t have enough space to rear all of the calves on the automatic feeder.

“The calves that are coming in and being put onto the automatic feeder are weighed first of all. If they don’t have an electronic tag, I will put an electronic tag into their ear.

“The biggest challenge I would have is getting calves onto the automatic milk feeder. It will take a few days to get them sucking and going on it properly.

The calves on the automatic feeder are on the 69 day feeding curve – which I would try to shorten back by four or five days if I can. It’s just to try and get them eating meal that bit quicker.

“The quicker I can get them onto ration and eating 1-2kg of meal, the quicker I can get them weaned and get them out,” Irvine concluded.

The post Feeding calves upon arrival to the farm appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Reviewing the topic of milk replacer – Rebecca O’Sullivan, from Volac, highlighted some of the key ingredients that farmers need to be looking and how this may determine value for money in the products they are buying this spring.

Ingredients

When discussing the ingredients that farmers should be looking for, Rebecca stated:

“You want your top ingredient in a milk replacer to be either a whey protein or a skim. This will be the most digestible for your calves and they would be 35% of protein sources. So they will obviously be the main ones to look for.

“We would be pushing for whey protein-based milk replacer over whey powder. Whey protein would be used in muscle development in human nutrition as well and that’s where we see better performance.

“After that, if farmers look at the label of the products, the ingredients are in descending order. The top ingredient is your main one, and everything underneath that follows suit.

The number of ingredients is also another important factor – if there are a lot of ingredients, then the main one won’t be as high as you would like it to be.

“So as little as possible when it comes to ingredients, with your main dairy sources coming from your whey protein or your skim – as this will be the highest quality for them.”

‘You get what you pay for’

When it comes to the cost around milk replacer this spring, “you will get what you pay for”, according to Rebecca. She explained:

“Prices can range from €35/bag up to €45/bag or so – again it comes back to the main ingredients within that product such as your whey protein or your skim-based product. You want between 20-23% protein and 18-20% of oil [this will be the source of fat].

You will want a higher protein and lower fat – as it is all about developing skeletal and muscular growth in our calves.

“Then you will want to make sure that your ash is less than 8% and your fibre is less than 0.15%. They are the real important factors in the overall quality of the product – this will determine the price.”

Watch the second episode of ‘The Calf Show’ series below

The post Key points to look for in a milk replacer this spring appeared first on Agriland.ie.

This evening’s panel will include Rebecca O’Sullivan from Volac, James Fitzgerald from Teagasc and Irvine Allen, a Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef participant.

‘The Calf Show Series’ is being run as part of the Green Acres Calf To Beef Programme with Teagasc and AgriLand – and hosts a series of programmes presented by AgriLand beef specialist Michael Carey.

Feeding milk replacer and maintaining hygiene

Throughout the discussion, Rebecca O’Sullivan will speak about the ingredients that farmers need to be keeping an eye out for in their milk replacers this spring – while also giving some guidance on the values of milk replacer products.

Irvine Allen gives a detailed run through feeding milk replacer to calves on his farm along with some of the practices he follows when it comes to the upkeeping of hygiene on his farm.

James Fitzgerald provides us with his experience of advising farmers to maintain good hygiene and health standards during calf rearing on Teagasc Green Acres farms.

The post Episode 2 of ‘The Calf Show’ series is now live – Calf feeding and maintaining hygiene appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Tuesday’s panel will include Rebecca O’Sullivan from Volac, James Fitzgerald from Teagasc and Irvine Allen, a Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef participant.

All of ‘The Calf Show’ episodes will be broadcast on AgriLand’s YouTube channel and across social media.

‘The Calf Show’ Series

In the third programme, which will air tomorrow, Wednesday (February 24), at 7:30pm, AgriLand will focus the discussion on the health of your herd and the vaccination plan for calves this spring.

The idea of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf To Beef Programme is to share information from participating farms with beef producers across the country to help farmers improve the performance of their business.

The post The Calf Show – episode 2: Calf feeding and maintaining hygiene appeared first on Agriland.ie.

One of the panellists, Seán Cummins – who is a Teagasc advisor on the Green Acres programme – gave a run through of the factors that farmers need think of when it comes to the price paid for calves this spring.

What are the farmer’s plans?

With the calf sales over recent weeks recording some high prices being paid, Seán explained that farmers need to take a look at what their plans are with the calves they buy this spring.

We have seen the calf trade take off on a very firm footing. In reality you have to question what’s the farmers’ plans that are buying these calves that are being quoted at mad prices?

“When you look at dairy calf-to-beef production systems and exactly what it costs to bring an animal to slaughter from a 24-months steer system, you are generally hovering around €1,000-1,050 [including variable and fixed costs] to bring that animal to beef.

“Farmers need to go back and look at how much it is costing them to produce that animal on farm.

“If we take our Holstein-Friesian bulls, generally on farms we have seen they have come in at €65/head last year and €120-150/head being the average price for early-maturing animals.

“We would be saying to our farmers to try and maintain calf price at where it was last year.

“We are in a period now where beef price is hovering around the €3.70/kg mark; it’s after coming back down in the past few weeks unfortunately.

Rise of input costs

Alongside a drop in beef price, farmers are also battling against a rise in the levels of input costs this spring, as Seán explained:

“We are in a period where input prices are starting to increase, so we are seeing that meal prices have increased over the past couple of weeks by €30-40/t. In terms of fertiliser price, this is all increasing aswell.

“Farmers really need to sit down and look at the budgets in these systems before they buy the calf.

Even if you take a Holstein-Friesian steer system, the cheapest outlay that you are going to have in that system is the day you buy the calf. The cost of rearing that calf is coming in at a region of €124.

“That’s from a calf arriving on your farm from three weeks-of-age up to 12 weeks-of-age. It’s another €99 or roughly €100 to get that calf back into the shed in November after turnout and another €110 for the first winter.

“By the time you get that animal to a year-old stage, you after spending the bones of €330. If you pay mad prices for your calf on day one starting off it’s going to be very hard to make money out of this system.

“There is money to be made – but there’s not mad money to be made, with some of the prices we are seeing being quoted for calves at the minute.

Forecasting prices in the weeks ahead

With dairy births registrations rising rapidly, we are soon going to see a flood of calves coming on the scene over the next few weeks. Speaking about calf prices over the next few weeks, Seán said:

“Over the next couple of weeks, we are expecting calf prices to settle and it’s starting to come through in the mart trade if you look at it very closely.

“Generally, around the middle of March or the first two weeks in March we see calf supplies starting to really hit the ground and calf price starting to correct. The early calf price, if you go back year in and year out, tends to be seasonally high and that is solely down to the availability of calves.”

Advice for farmers

Providing some final piece of advice for farmers buying caves this spring, Seán stated:

“What I would be saying to farmers is to sit down and budget exactly what it’s going to cost you to bring that animal to slaughter.

We are looking at the figures in the region of €1,000/head in a really efficient system carrying a stocking rate of 2.5 animals per Ha.

“As your levels of efficiency drop, the money that you can actually pay for that calf decreases substantially. So it is worth going back and thinking about what those animals are actually worth to you.

“In these calf-to-beef systems, it’s very simple, it all depends on what you pay for the calf. If you pay too much for the calf and beef price is poor you are going to be in trouble starting off.

“These are a two-year animal at minimum in a lot of cases; too expensive of an investment starting off is going to put you into a seriously challenging position going forward.”

The post Buying calves this spring – what price should you be paying? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Speaking on the topic, Dr. Doreen Corridan from Munster Bovine and Peter O’Hanrahan, who is a participant of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme, highlighted the key lessons they have learned when it comes to giving calves the best environment.

‘The calf’s needs are very simple’

First of all, Dr. Doreen Corridan mentioned how the calf’s needs within housing are very simple things that need to be got right.

She stated:

“What calves need is a shed with a dry and warm lying area, fresh air, no draughts and moisture needs to be gotten out of the house [as this can create humidity in the shed].

“From the herd owners point of view, make sure that there is plenty of light within the housing and that the shed are easy to clean out.”

If farmers do not have a purpose built calf shed, Doreen gave some advice that may aid farmers in making the the necessary changes this spring.

Any old house can be modified; in the case of a dry lying area, it’s a case of keeping the straw changed and keeping plenty of straw in the housing.

“It’s not too late for farmers to put a skim of concrete along the floor to get drainage right and get the moisture out of the house.

“If we leave the moisture in the house, it can take a calf three hours of heat to get rid of it.

“Then when it comes to draughts, they usually occur in straight lines – they don’t come around corners. If it is coming in through gates, you can screw stock boarding onto gates and put a bit of conveyer belting onto the end of it so they can move in and out. These are very easy to clean and permanent.

“Inside of the house, square or round bales will block draughts. Then you can have an opening where the calves can go in and lie down with comfort.”

‘Temperature for the first few weeks is crucial’

Getting the temperature correct for calves in housing is crucial, according to Doreen.

“It’s important for the pen that the calves are kept in – that they are warm. Provide plenty of straw, and a good indication of this is when it is lying down that you can’t see its legs.

A wet bedding will take heat away, draughts will take heat away. You can create a nice micro-environment within housing, with a canopy cover, calf jackets and by using square bales instead of round bales.

If an old building is having changes being made, getting ventilation within this housing is the next challenge.

“In these old houses we wont have the inlets and outlets correct, but farmers can purchase fans with a duct which are are a long cylindrical tube that will blow fresh air into the sheds. These should be bought with a regulator on them.

“This fresh air will make a difference for calves.”

Signs of draughts

There are a few tell-tale signs that farmers can keep an eye out for when it comes to checking for draughts in sheds, as Doreen advised:

“If you go into a calf pen and the calves are lying down and evenly spread out across the pen, then you have no draughts.

If you see calves lying up together against the wall, then you have draughts; if you see see the straw blowing, you definitely have an issue with draughts.

“If you are still unsure, you should go in and lie in the pen yourself. That will tell you whether the draughts are there or not.”

Lessons learnt over the years

In the discussion, we take a look at Peter O’Hanrahan’s purpose built calf shed and see the positive features within the housing conditions for calves arriving onto his farm.

Although, Peter states that he has learnt valuable lessons when it comes to providing the best environment.

He explained:

“When I first started rearing calves, I had them in small stables – so ventilation was an issue for me.

“When I transferred them into the new shed with the Yorkshire boarding, there is plenty of ventilation provided and with the 7ft walls – there are no draughts coming in.

“One of the main things I have learned from being in the new shed is that I think I was probably bringing in too much moisture into the shed.

I was power washing and hosing them down the shed in-between putting in new bedding which I have stopped doing towards the end of last year.

“Another thing is when the first batch of calves comes – the fact that it is such a big shed and a lot of cold coming from the concrete walls – I have put heat lamps underneath the canopy when there are only 10 or 15 calves in the pen just to try and raise the temperature.

“If the temperature goes below a certain degree I will feed an extra 200g/day of milk replacer to the calf, so they can produce more energy and heat,” Peter concluded.

The post Perfecting conditions within calf housing this spring appeared first on Agriland.ie.

In the first episode, the topics up for discussion includes calf housing and what changes farmers can make to existing buildings in order to provide calves with the best environment. We also discuss what farmer’s need to think about when it comes to the price of calves this spring.

The panel for the first episode includes Dr. Doreen Corridan from Munster Bovine, Seán Cummins from Teagasc and Peter O’Hanrahan – a farmer in the Teagasc Green Acres programme.

Calf housing and purchases

Doreen and Peter discuss the factors that can have a positive impact on your calf housing this spring, while also trying to minimise stress within the environment. Peter provides us with some of the lessons which he has learned when it comes to the housing of calves on his farm.

Sean Cummins then gives a run through of the influencing cost factors farmers need to think about when buying calves, along with considering the levels of profitability that a farm is aiming to achieve.

Click on the link below to view episode one of ‘The Calf Show’ series.

The post Episode 1 of ‘The Calf Show’ goes live – Housing and purchasing calves this spring appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Over the course of four evenings this week, Michael will discuss a range of topics with stakeholder representatives such as Teagasc, Volac, Munster Bovine and farmers who are participating in the Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme.

AgriLand beef specialist Michael Carey

This evening’s episode will get underway at 7:30pm with a discussion about preparing your farm for the arrival of calves and the factors to consider when choosing calves.

Panellists for the programme include Doreen Corridan from Munster Bovine, Seán Cummins from Teagasc and Peter O’Hanrahan – a farmer in the Teagasc Green Acres programme.

All of ‘The Calf Show’ episodes will be broadcast on AgriLand’s YouTube channel and across social media.

‘The Calf Show’ series

The second programme in the series will be broadcast tomorrow (Tuesday, February 23) at 7:30pm, and will focus on calf feeding and hygiene.

In programme three, on Wednesday (February 24) at 7:30pm, AgriLand will focus the discussion on the health of your herd and the vaccination plan.

The idea of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf To Beef Programme is to share information from participating farms with beef producers across the country to help farmers improve the performance of their business.

The post The Calf Show – episode 1: Preparing your farm for the arrival of calves appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Over the course of four evenings next week, starting on Monday, February 22, Michael will discuss a range of topics with stakeholder representatives such as Teagasc, Volac, Munster Bovine and farmers.

AgriLand beef specialist Michael Carey

The first episode will get underway at 7:30pm next Monday, with a discussion about preparing your farm for the arrival of calves and the factors to consider when choosing calves.

Panellists for the programme include Doreen Corridan from Munster Bovine, Seán Cummins from Teagasc and Peter O’Hanrahan – a farmer in the Teagasc Green Acres programme.

Calf feeding

The second programme in the series will be broadcast on Tuesday, February 23, at 7:30pm, and will focus on calf feeding and hygiene.

Tuesday’s panel will include Rebecca O’Sullivan from Volac, James Fitzgerald from Teagasc and Irvine Allen, a Teagasc Green Acres participant.

Herd Health and vaccination

In programme three, next Wednesday (February 24) at 7:30pm, AgriLand will focus the discussion on the health of your herd and the vaccination plan.

There will be a panel discussion with Suzanne Naughton from MSD and James Fitzgerald from Teagasc on how vaccination programmes can be implemented on farms this spring, along with the experience of implementing a herd health plan with Teagasc Green Acres participant Martin Connolly.

Weaning calves

The final in ‘The Calf Show’ series will take place next Thursday, February 25, at 7:30pm, where the discussion will focus on preparing calves for weaning and turnout.

Michael Carey will be joined in the discussion about preparing to wean calves off milk and getting them ready for turnout to grass by Alan Dillon and Sean Cummins from Teagasc, Dermot Meehan from Drummonds and Pat Collins – a Teagasc Green Acres Calf To Beef participant.

The idea of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf To Beef Programme is to share information from participating farms with beef producers across the country to help farmers improve the performance of their business.

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The year brought some challenges when it comes to market price. However, it proved to be slightly less severe than 2019.

In terms of production, the Green Acres farms are mixed as there is a selection of heifer, steer and bull-beef finishing systems. The breeds on the farms are also split between Holstein Friesian males and early maturing males and females.

In this review, AgriLand takes a look at the slaughter data for 2020 in a breed-by-breed basis which was gathered by the programme’s advisors James Fitzgerald and Seán Cummins.

Holstein Friesian steers

Holstein Friesian steers accounted for the largest percentage of animals slaughtered on the programme farms in 2020. There were a total of 444 head of steers with this breeding, accounting to 45% of the total animal throughput.

There was no set finishing age of steers as systems varied from farm to farm. These males were slaughtered at 21, 24 and 28-30-months-old – with a small minority finished over 30-months-of-age.

When the data was compiled for these steers, the average carcass weight of 325kg was achieved at an age of 27 months. The average carcass conformation was just shy of an O- grade. Looking at the fat scores for these animals, this averaged 3=.

Holstein Friesian bulls

The majority of bulls slaughtered on Green Acres farms were Holstein Friesians that were killed over three farms. The performance data for these males accounts for 154 bulls, at an average age of 22-months-old.

The carcass weight amounted to 320kg, with a conformation score reaching slightly above an O=. In terms of price, the average secured for these animals was €3.45/kg in 2020 – which had seen a slight improvement of 5c/kg compared to 2019.

Early maturing steers

There was a total of 53 Angus steers slaughtered on farm last year, with finishing ages ranging from 22 months-old up to 27-months-old.

At an average age of 25-months-old, these animals graded into an O=/O+ conformation score – alongside a carcass weight of 320kg and fat score of 3=/3+.

Looking at the Hereford steers finished in 2020, these amounted to 42 head on farms. The average carcass weight this time was 315.1kg at an age of 24.8-months-old.

The carcass grades achieved saw 31% fetching an O+ grade, while 38% reached an O=.

Early maturing heifers

Moving onto the female slaughter performance, early maturing breeds claim the majority percentage of heifers finished on Green Acres farms in 2020.

Angus heifers finished on farms reached 85 head and again the slaughter ages varied from 25 months back to 20-months-old. The average carcass weight was 265kg at 24-months-old.

These heifers achieved a grade of O= and a fat score of 3+. The price secured for Angus heifers averaged at €3.74/kg.

From the 63 Hereford heifers finished across four farms, these recorded an average age of 23 months. A carcass weight of 261kg was produced, along with a carcass grade of O+/O=.

Overall, on Green Acres farms a total of 979 animals were slaughtered over the 12-month-period.

With the current beef prices taking a slight set back in performance, it is hoped that the year of 2021 will see improved returns for participating farmers in the programme and beef farmers in general.

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Pat Collins from Castlemartyr in Co. Cork is one such farmer who is preparing to purchase over 180 calves in the coming weeks.

Being a participant of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf-to-Beef Programme, he carries the majority of his calves to beef in a system which sees his bulls slaughtered under 20-months-old. Meanwhile, he finishes his heifers before they reach 19-months-old.

His plan for this spring is to remain sourcing calves off farms, as this reduces the calves’ exposure to potentially harmful respiratory diseases – which can occur from large animal gatherings such as marts.

AgriLand spoke with Pat recently to get an insight into his preparation for sourcing calves in the coming weeks.

What to look for in a calf?

Purchasing a healthy calf is one of the main priorities for Pat when it comes to sourcing. In terms of performance, if the calf is not healthy arriving onto the farm it means they can be starting on the backfoot straight away.

Pat explained:

“The calves I will be buying this spring will be consisting predominantly of Friesian bulls, Hereford and Angus bulls and heifers and also a few continental calves.

“The first thing I will look for is a good bright and healthy calf. I will be buying them in when they are over three-weeks-old, so they have that bit of strength.

In terms of physical traits, I want a good square calf that has the ability to carry a good carcass weight and conformation.

“The benefit of buying calves off farms is that I can see what type of cows the calves are coming from. I like to see calves coming from big, scopey cows and avoid buying calves from cows with smaller frames.”

Calves arriving onto farm

Taking care of calves during their first few days of arrival onto the farm is crucial during the rearing period. This can be a stressful time for the calves; therefore, minimising this stress should be a key target.

Pat will have his calf sheds cleaned out and disinfected, and bedded before they arrive. Looking at feeding milk replacer, he stated:

“The calves will be fed 500g of milk replacer (solids) for their first few days on the farm. Following on from this, they will be fed 650g a day as part of a twice-a-day-feeding [325g in the morning and evening].

“Once they are over one month on the farm, we will ease them back to a once-a-day feeding.”

There is a vaccination programme in place on the farm, with new calves on the farm receiving their shots within the first week of arrival.

“A few days after arrival, all of the calves will get their intranasal RSV and Pi3 live vaccine to reduce the threat of respiratory diseases.

“They will also be covered with vaccination against clostridial diseases,” Pat concluded.

If farmers are planning to implement a vaccination programme for newly-purchased calves this spring, the best option is to seek advice from their local vet.

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AgriLand spoke with one of the earlier turnout farmers in the form of Aidan Maguire from Co. Meath, to get an insight into how he manages to achieve an early turnout date consistently.

The breeds range from Hereford and Angus males and females to dairy-bred male calves.

Aidan is targeting an early turnout for the 110 autumn-born 2019 and spring-born 2020 cattle which consist of steers and heifers. There will be two-year-old steers drafted for slaughter this spring, with Aidan also having the task of rearing purchased calves.

The plan for these spring-born heifers is to slaughter them off grass at 19-months-old, alongside the autumn-born steers which will be aged 24-months-old.

The spring-born steers will be slaughtered out of the shed the following December/January.

Managing grass this spring

In order to achieve better grazing efficiency from his grassland, Aidan has divided his 47ha fields into a total of 45 paddocks, with a permanent single-strand fencing.

Each paddock has an allocated water trough and there is the potential to divide his paddocks up even further using temporary strip wire.

As a way of monitoring growth, grass measuring and budgeting is completed every week of the grazing season. This allows for grass quality to be held to a high standard which will in turn improve animal nutrition and performance.

Roadways on the farm also aid the effective management throughout the grazing season. Last year the farm was able to begin its grazing season on January 24, as the young cattle were allowed to graze the paddocks during the day and then housed at night.

To avoid severe poaching, a fresh area was offered to the cattle each morning and they would have achieved a graze out down to 4cm by the time it came to housing that evening.

This practice enabled Aidan to lengthen his grazing season and maximise his grass utilisation. Commenting on his practices, he stated:

The type of stock being grazed does not matter. Good grassland management is basically the same for all farm types.

Having his cattle housed on November 13, the total grazing season reached a length of 294 days.

By lengthening the grazing season, the farm is able to achieve better weight gains at grass – while also being a cheaper source of feeding compared to housing.

Aidan is hoping to achieve a similar length in the grazing season for 2021, as he has began letting out his 110 cattle this week on January 21 for on and off grazing.

Fertiliser usage

The farm has been successful in having 56% of its soils at an adequate pH alongside having correct levels of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).

There has been great progress made improving the efficiency of fertiliser used on the farm.

Taking a look at his progression, back in 2018 the source of chemical nitrogen fertiliser came from 100% usage CAN. The decision was made back in 2019 to reduce this spread of CAN in order to lower costs. This saw an introduction of 72% of urea being spread.

Last year, further changes were made as the farm’s chemical fertiliser usage was split between 25% protected urea, 27% CAN and 48% urea. The protected urea was used during the summer applications to replace the use of CAN which had been previously spread.

Commenting on his change, Aidan stated:

“I will probably always spread a certain amount of CAN-based fertiliser, since almost all of the compound fertilisers have CAN in them.

“Still, replacing the majority of nitrogen spread with a form that does the exact same thing is cheaper and better for the environment – it is an easy decision to make.”

Planning fertiliser this spring

The plan this spring is cover any grazed paddocks with a blanket spread of slurry – mainly through the use of splash plate spreading, while the use of low emission slurry spreading (LESS) will be applied from late April onwards.

It will be more or less the same as 2020 in terms of chemical fertiliser applications of urea and protected urea spread for this year.

As the spring progresses and soil temperatures rise, any paddocks that have not received a coat of slurry will receive an application of urea at a rate 25kg/ac.

By the end of March the plan is to spread more compound fertilisers such as 18-6-12 to maintain his P and K levels, no straight CAN will be spread.

Farmers should remember, the key to knowing what fertiliser to spread is by knowing what soil fertility levels your farm is at.

The first step of the grazing and fertiliser plan for most farms should be to take soil samples now before fertiliser and slurry spreading begins.

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From a total of 15 finalists, Pat Collins from Castlemartyr in Co. Cork took first placing in the ‘Beef Production (non-suckling)’ category.

Pat operates a tillage enterprise in the south of the country, alongside his dairy calf-to-beef enterprise. During 2020, he purchased close to 180 head of calves.

These calves were rotated every 24-36 hours during the grazing season on a well laid out paddock system and central roadway. Pat’s whole farm has been reseeded over the past three to four years and during 2020 he grew an impressive 15t DM/ha.

In the grassland merit awards, JP Hammersley from Lattin in Co. Tipperary was awarded top ranking in the ‘Sustainable Grassland’ category.

JP’s farm, consisting of 37ha, has been divided up into 45 paddocks which has been managed effectively by having an excellent grazing infrastructure and a reseeding plan in place.

The farm has been incorporating more clover into swards and will continue to do so through over-sowing and full reseeding. Sustainable beef production is the main focus on the Tipperary-based farm.

Commenting on the achievements by the two Green Acres farmers, Alan Dillon, manager of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf-to-Beef programme, stated:

I would like to congratulate Pat and JP on their achievements in the Grassland Farmer of the Year awards.

“They both have embraced all the technologies of grassland management and have paid serious attention to detail on growing and utilising grass in a sustainable manner for the last number of years.

“Credit must go to their Green Acres programme advisor Seán Cummins and their local Teagasc B&T advisors Ruth Fennell and Joe Hand for working with these farmers to help them develop their grassland management skills.”

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As part of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf-to-Beef Programme, all of the participating farmers are encouraged to regularly weigh their animals, when practically possible. The purpose being to record their average daily live weight gains (ADG).

As part of a review for 2020, AgriLand has been taking a look at how calves purchased in autumn 2019 and spring of 2020 performed on the farms within the programme over the past year.

The following weight data was gathered by the programme’s advisors, James Fitzgerald and Seán Cummins.

Early-maturing breeds

On the farms that purchase calves with Angus and Hereford breeding, the majority of these were born in the spring of 2020.

From the group of 172 early-maturing males, the average weight recorded at 243 days was 227kg, which results in an ADG of 0.77kg/day (accounting for a 40kg birth weight).

The highest ADG of 0.89/kg was noted on the farm of JP Hammersley as his calves weighed approximately 263kg at 251 days old.

*Assumed birth weight of 40kg. Data source: Teagasc

As a whole, the females are on target with their weight gains as they achieved an ADG of 0.69kg (accounting for a birth weight of 35kg) over a 255-day period.

Ciaran Bartley’s calves recorded the highest ADG from this group of females, recording 0.83kg/day or 267kg at 279 days old, albeit his calves were approximately 20 days older than the rest of the farms at weighing.

*Assumed birth weight of 35kg. Data source: Teagasc

Continental breeds

The number of farms with continental-bred calves was limited to only three farmers within the programme. Belgian Blue was the most prevalent continental sire, followed by Limousin, Aubrac, Charolais and Simmental.

The male continental calves were averaging 221kg at 253 days old, which meant they reached an ADG of 0.72kg/day.

*Assumed birth weight of 40kg. Data source: Teagasc

Continental-bred heifer calves amounted to 69 head in total and were weighed at an average age of 263 days old. They recorded an average weight of 213kg or 0.68kg/day.

*Assumed birth weight of 35kg. Data source: Teagasc

Holstein Friesian males

Holstein Friesian bred males dominated the programme as there was a total of 105 with 739 autumn-born and spring-born calves, respectively.

2020 witnessed a rise in the number of Holstein-Friesian calves purchased by farmers within the programme. This was due to the relative value for money in calf price.

The autumn-born weanlings were weighed at a later age compared to the spring-born calves and reached an average of 360kg at 374 days old or an ADG of 0.86kg/day.

The large group of spring-born calves weighed an average of 254kg at 271 days old. This resulted in them having an ADG of 0.79kg/day.

From the list of farms, JP Hammersley and Jarlath Ruane recorded outlying ADGs of 0.90kg/day and 0.88kg/day, respectively.

Overall calf performance

Comparing the overall calf performance this year to the calves weighed in 2019, there have been gains made across all breeds. It should be noted that there are variables that can influence these yearly comparisons in weight gains such as the calves’ ages at recording.

The second highest additional yearly weight gain of 24kg was noted in the group of Holstein Friesian bull spring-born calves.

Early-maturing males born in spring 2020 and Holstein Friesian bulls born in the autumn of 2019 both had an additional weight gain of 20kg, compared to the group of weanlings weighed during 2019.

The post How did calves perform on Green Acres farms in 2020? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Following a recent interview with Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme participant Irvine Allen – AgriLand decided to take another trip out to his Westmeath-based farm.

We reviewed his management of out-wintering weanlings and aimed to see how ground conditions are coping during the damp conditions.

This year, Irvine reared 109 spring-born Holstein Friesian bull calves on his farm in Moate.

High-energy forage crop

Housing was completed back in November with the exception of 75 of the heaviest spring-born calves, which are currently grazing Redstart – a hybrid of forage rape and kale.

The weanlings will remain on this crop for the winter, before being turned onto grass in late February 2021.

Irvine has been growing this crop for the past four years. He has been utilising the benefits of out-wintering young stock on this forage crop – as it aids both rapid growth ability and all-year-round performance.

Grazing management

Some 75 weanlings were split up into three groups and are currently grazing the forage crop.

Each group of calves have been provided with a sheltered 1.5ac grass lie-back, which protects the calves from harsh weather conditions during the winter months.

For the moment, ground conditions are holding up very well, as Irvine states:

We would be very lucky here, the land would have very sandy and free-draining soil. Even if the ground gets mucky or wet, two days of drying and the ground will be in perfect condition again.

At the beginning of the grazing, Irvine had to be strategic in his management of these young animals on the Redstart crop. If he allowed these weanlings to graze into the forage crop straight away, it may result in some digestive upsets.

Therefore, a gradual introduction was commenced over the space of a few weeks to avoid this issue. He explains:

I would restrict the amount of crop that they are eating for the first two to three weeks to allow them to adjust to the diet and keep plenty of high-quality silage in front of them.

In order to meet recommendations on providing sufficient balance to these weanlings’ diet, high-quality baled silage (73 dry matter digestibility (DMD)) is fed alongside the forage crop. These each account for 50% of the animal’s diet.

The baled silage is being fed at a dry matter content of 36%. Assuming each bale weighs 600kg, it can be estimated that there is approximately 216kg of dry matter in each bale provided.

These young animals will have a dry matter appetite which is 2% of its own bodyweight. Therefore, taking into account the average weight of each weanling is 248kg, there is a requirement of 5kg DM/day/animal.

A re-calculation of these animals’ dry matter requirements will have to be reviewed regularly as their liveweight increases.

Dosing and Vaccination

As this forage crop contains goitrogens, it can disrupt the production of thyroid hormones by interfering with iodine uptake in the thyroid gland and, in turn, lead to goiter.

To avoid this, all of the calves were supplied with a mineral dose which is high in iodine before they entered the forage crop. Irvine said:

The fact the animals are on clay for a lot of the time during the day, it is important that I have them covered with the 10-in-1 vaccination for clostridial diseases.

They will continue to receive this mineral dose every four-to-six weeks to avoid an imbalance of iodine and ensure they continue to thrive. A seaweed lick is also made available to each group.

Additionally, all calves were treated with an Ivermectin pour-on and provided with an IBR vaccination.

Target weights

As previously stated, the average weight of the calves being out-wintered is 248kg – this result was taken from housing weighing conducted on November 4. Irvine stated:

The target is to get the weanlings having 0.6/kg of an average daily liveweight gain on the crop. If we can achieve this, we are hopefully going to see these animals reaching close to 310kg by the end of February.

From the remainder of the 109 spring-born calves, 34 of the lighter weanlings were housed – they recorded an average weight of 205kg.

These animals are currently receiving 2kg of 14% crude protein concentrate – along with high-quality (76 DMD) baled silage.

The concentrate feeding to these calves is being front loaded until the early stages of the winter. From then on, they will be reduced to average 1kg/day over the course of the winter period.

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It is important that either the dairy farmer or the beef farmer who purchases the calves reviews their housing systems prior to purchasing their calves.

Providing the correct housing environment is critical for enhancing performance during the rearing period in order to avoid health issues.

Ventilation and the stack effect

Farmers should aim to have natural ventilation from wind and the stack effect in housing, where possible, as this is the least expensive method of providing optimum housing conditions.

This will remove any noxious odours and stagnant air within a shed – while also targeting to avoid draughts.

For farmers who are considering building a calf house – it should ideally be a standalone building located up-wind of other cattle housing facilities and positioned at right angles to the prevailing winds.

To achieve the stack effect, air inlets and outlets are required. As the air in the shed is heated by the livestock, it is able to escape through the outlet area (highest point of the shed). This will allow for fresh air to then re-enter the housing through the inlet area.

The Yorkshire boarding has been identified by Teagasc as the preferred inlet, as it prevents rain from gaining access – while also providing good airflow when compared to space boarding or vented sheeting.

Effective drainage

Considering that calves can spend up to 80% of their time lying down, it is important their bedding is sufficient in depth and that it remains dry.

Waste channels with a storage point should also be installed and cleared regularly to ensure any run-off from bedding can be collected.

Keeping in mind the number of times that the calves’ bedding is going to be cleaned out, farmers should have an ease of access to the pens. To check if bedding is in need of changing, completing the ‘knee test’ is recommended.

Maintaining Hygiene

Hygiene within housing is a very important factor in order to maintain a high-health status with your calves. During the calf-rearing phase, calves are at their most vulnerable to pathogens and disease.

Pens should be regularly cleaned out and also disinfected between different batches of calves. A clean water supply should be provided to the calves at all times and the feed should be free of contamination from any vermin or flies that have gotten access to the shed.

For further information and advice on calf housing management view the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef fact sheet by clicking here.

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Significantly, heifers of this breed type can be finished at between 19 months and 21 months with steers brought through for slaughter at either 21 months or 23 months-of-age.

All these timeframes confirm the opportunity to maximise grazed grass intakes with early spring-born calves.

Management of systems

Where the management of Hereford and Aberdeen Angus crossbred heifer calves is concerned, finishing off grass at 19 months to 21 months in October/November of the second grazing season is the target to meet.

Achieving this target will require a lifetime daily gain of 0.8kg. Overall concentrate usage will average 450kg per animal.

Grazed grass, silage and concentrates will account for 73%, 9% and 18% respectively of the animals’ overall diet. Yearling heifers should be turned out in spring, achieving a minimum of 200kg over a 220-day grazing season.

February-born male calves are best suited to a 21-month production period. A lifetime daily gain of 0.8kg is required to ensure that the calves are finished off grass.

Steers are stored during the first winter on grass and silage ad-lib. This can be supplemented with 1.5-2.0kg of concentrate daily, depending on silage quality.

Grazed grass, silage and concentrates account for 63%, 19% and 18% respectively of the animals’ overall diet.

Where 23-month steer beef is concerned, animals will be finished indoors during the period December through to February. Carcass weights in the region of 300kg should be targeted with an O+3= classification.

Again, a lifetime daily gain of 0.8kg will be required. Grazed grass, silage and concentrates will account for: 52%; 26%; and 22% respectively of the animals’ overall diet.

For more information on early-maturing beef systems, click here.

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This is especially important on calf-to-beef systems, where a farm is dealing with spring-born animals being housed during their first winter.

Their weight gain at this stage can determine their performance over the second grazing season and ultimately have an effect on their finishing weight.

Why complete a silage analysis?

Often heard on farms is the statement claiming, ‘that looks like great silage, it can’t be that bad of feeding value’ – however unfortunately, visual assessment alone is not sufficient to determine true silage quality.

In order to find out the true nutritional value, laboratory testing is required.

The results will provide an analysis of dry matter (DM), dry matter digestibility (DMD), metabolisable energy (ME), UFV, UFL, pH, crude protein alongside other relevant information.

According to Teagasc, it is important that the correct method is applied to avoid inaccurate results when taking silage samples for analysis.

Matching silage quality and concentrate feeding

From these results, the decisions can then be made on the requirement of concentrates. Calf-to-beef farms in particular require high quality silage (above 72 DMD).

If silage quality is below optimal levels, these animals may require further meal supplementation to improve energy and protein density in their diets. This is especially important for growing and finishing animals where there will be varying requirements for energy and protein.

The table below highlights how the DMD of silage will influence the level of concentrates necessary in order to achieve daily liveweight gain (ADG) targets.

Data source: Teagasc

It is important to note that both energy and protein can be limiting factors within a beef animal’s diet.

In terms of rations, weanlings have an energy requirement of >0.94UFL, while >0.92UFV is necessary for finishing animals’ rations.

A crude protein content of 14-16% is desirable in weanling rations, meanwhile 11-14% of crude protein is needed for finishing rations, according to Teagasc.

For further information and advice on balancing silage and concentrate requirements, please click here

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Drafting fit cattle for slaughter is a key management component of successful calf-to-beef systems. At a fat score of 3+, the carcass weight potential of Holstein Friesian steers is maximised.

Once cattle reach the desired fat score, their efficiency in terms of average daily gain diminishes significantly.

Any decision on holding cattle for longer must be made on the basis of the animal’s performance, the costs associated with keeping the animal and the potential increased return achievable from the market.

Another area that warrants consideration is the age of the animals.

Where animals are fit and there’s the potential of surpassing the 30-month mark at slaughter, any increase in price or carcass weight may be wiped out through a reduced quality assurance payment and/or additional feed costs.

Finishing cattle off grass

Peter and Thomas O’Hanrahan – participants in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme – began slaughtering their 28-30 month steers off grass in mid-June.

A total of 51 Holstein Friesian steers were slaughtered during the summer months without any concentrate supplementation.

An average carcass weight of 326kg was achieved, alongside a fat score of just under 3+ was recorded. Meanwhile, the conformation was intermediate with grades of P+ and O- achieved across the group.

The table below highlights the performance of four steers slaughtered off the farm during the summer months.

Individual slaughter performance

In order to illustrate the story of this slaughter performance, images and weights were taken immediately before animals were transported for slaughter – with carcass images being taken in the slaughter plant also.

Born on February 1, 2018, one steer (with tag no. ending 10072) weighed 611.5kg prior to slaughter and produced a 293kg carcass.

Typical of some plainer-type Holstein Friesian steers, this animal was a little light for fat on the rib and loin, while the steer’s tail head was sufficiently covered, which resulted in a fat score of 3-.

This steer produced a P+ grading carcass, as a result of being very narrow along the shoulder and being concave in his hind quarter.

Standing at 700kg prior to transport, another steer (with tag no. ending 41106) produced a 362kg carcass weight (51.7% kill out) and was above target in terms of the Teagasc beef production guidelines for a 28-30-month-old Holstein Friesian steer.

This steer produced a carcass of 3+ for fat – which is the optimum level for carcass weight performance.

A good handful of fat was present over the tail head, while the loin, rib and shoulder were all soft to the touch – an excellent indication that the animal was sufficiently covered for slaughter.

Although still narrow on the shoulder, this had sufficient carcass depth to produce an O-grade carcass at slaughter.

Focusing on carcass conformation first, a different steer (with tag no. ending 60798) was one of the worst animals produced on farm this summer. The steer below produced a P= grading carcass of 326kg (50.5% kill out).

The relative width of the carcass (both across the shoulder and hips) was a major contributing factor to his poor carcass grade. Unlike some other Holstein-influenced animals, the steer was also lacking height, which resulted in a narrow and shallow carcass upon slaughter.

In terms of fat score, this steer was well finished at 4-. The steer’s rib, loin, shoulder and tail were all ‘warm’ and a good ‘soft’ layer of fat could be felt along these key points prior to slaughter.

Although weighing 700kg prior to slaughter, the steer with tag no. ending 70078 was another animal which produced a P+ grading carcass.

Again, like the previous steer (with tag no. ending 60798), this bullock was lacking carcass width and was narrow across both the hips and the shoulder. The width between both the front and hind legs is a good indicator of an animal’s ability to carry meat and, as can be seen from the images below, this steer was very narrow set.

Despite being of P-grade, this steer still produced a heavy carcass weight of 356kg – at a fat score of 3+. A good degree of fatness was evident along the loin and ribs, while the tail head was sufficiently covered.

Bridging the gap on lost performance

Although the O’Hanrahans’ steers graded sufficiently for fat, the group average – in terms of carcass weight – is running approximately 20-30kg/head behind target.

To correct this, we first must understand where the kilograms of liveweight are being lost from the system.

The O’Hanrahan’s farm is very dry, and in most years, it facilitates the early turnout of cattle. As yearlings, these animals were turned out on February 11, 2019; they did not see a shed again until November 6, 2019.

Over this period, the Holstein Friesian steers gained 207kg or 0.77kg/day – an underperformance of 0.13kg/day (34.84kg) over the grazing season. This reduced level of gain represents a potential carcass weight loss of 17.42kg at slaughter.

Utilising grassland

To resolve this issue, a more aggressive approach to grassland management has been taken this grazing season. Previously, there was a tendency to force cattle to graze too heavy of covers and this had a knock-on effect on animal performance.

Now, instead of being asked to graze heavier covers, surplus bales are being taken from the grazing platform in order to maintain pre-grazing yields at optimal levels.

All-in-all, given the length of time in which these animals were housed, approximately 48kg of liveweight gain was lost over the winter months. In carcass terms, this equates to a loss in performance of 24kg.

By making simple changes to the system, there’s potential to improve the quantity of beef sold at farm level.

If grassland performance can be maximised and animals can gain these desired weight gains over the final winter – the O’Hanrahans will be in a strong position to maximise the carcass weights achieved from a 28-30 month-old Holstein Friesian steer system going forward.

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Developing a successful control strategy for these parasites early into the housing period will reduce the threat of a setback in animal performance.

Teagasc Green Acres Calf-to-Beef Programme participants – Jarlath and Austin Ruane have been carrying out a plan to control the internal and external parasites that are potentially going to impact their cattle post housing.

Farming from Claremorris in Co. Mayo, the Ruanes are using a targeted approach based on treating the right parasite at the right time.

Treating parasites

The life cycle of lungworms, stomach and intestinal worms, alongside liver fluke all rely on the animal ingesting their larvae during the grazing season. If the cattle are treated effectively at housing they will not be re-infected prior to turn-out.

With cattle’s coats beginning to grow thicker at housing due to temperature decline and a lack of exposure to UV sunlight, the necessity to control external parasites such as lice and mites increases.

To reduce a potential re-infection from any untreated animals, all cattle on the farm were treated on the same day; this is to target a complete kill of the external parasites.

Prior to applying the pour-on the cattle’s backs, they were clipped from their tail to the base of their skull. This was to maximise the skin contact made by the pour-on and reduce the level of winter coat corner available for the lice to shelter in.

Liver Fluke

A liver fluke infestation will not only result in animal losses, but also reduce financial gains on the farm. These losses can occur in a number of ways such as poor growth rates; clinical disease; reduced production; liver condemnations; and death.

There are a number of flukicides which kill liver fluke at different stages of maturity. Therefore the success of treatment will be dependent on matching the active ingredient in the product used to the correct maturity stage.

It is advised to use a drench containing triclabendazole in the third week post housing as it should kill all fluke in the animal. To test the effectiveness of this treatment, dung sampling is advised eight weeks after dosing.

Albendazoles, Clorsulon and Oxyclozanide products will only target mature fluke (10-12 weeks old), this being fluke which have left the liver and reached the bile duct.

Jarlath and Austin selected a Closantel based product to treat their animals two weeks after housing. This active ingredient will control immature and adult fluke.

As this product will not kill the early immature fluke, the Ruanes will having to retreat these animals again a further five weeks after their first dose. This is to kill any remaining fluke that were untreated by the initial dose.

Re-treating for Lice and costs

Even though the Ruane’s have already treated their animals two weeks post housing for lice, using the Ivermectin pour-on product – they anticipate that a second lice treatment will be necessary within the next few weeks.

This is due to the initial application of the pour-on not being sufficient in killing the lice eggs which would have been laid before the treatment. These eggs will hatch out and cause a reinfection of lice within the animal.

The full treatment plan for the Ruane’s farm this winter is outlined in the table below, along with the withdrawal period for each product used.

Having an average weight of 245kg, Jarlath and Austin’s treatment for their weanlings is being considered at a costing of €4.90 per head. The store animals on the farm are costing €10 per head to treat as they are factored at a heavier average weight of 510kg (see below).

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Being participants of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf-to-Beef Programme, the Ruane’s are operating a calf-to-beef system which has seen them rear 60 Holstein Friesian, Limousin and early-maturing calves that were purchased last spring.

The plan for calves is to carry them right through to slaughter at ages from 21 to 30 months-old. Not being solely reliant on its cattle production, the farm also runs a flock of 45 ewes, lambing in mid-season.

Achieving weight targets

This year the Ruanes moved away from the traditional milk feeding methods and instead opted to use an automatic milk feeder. This method was used with great success and provided the calves with an ideal start to progress on and thrive.

As they were being housed recently, the 60 calves were weighed in order to monitor their performance and aid planning for the winter feeding period ahead.

The results illustrated that the calves achieved an average weight of 245kg, which exceeded the 209kg specific target that had been set for the group.

Breaking this down further, it can be calculated that the calves reached an average daily live weight gain (ADG) of 1.04kg from mid-season to housing (see table below).

This success in performance has been attributed to the successful calf rearing period, along with good grassland and health management in the second half of the grazing season.

The reintroduction of meal into the calves’ diets back in August, following a natural diminishing of grass quality and dry matter, was also a contributing factor to the excel in their weight gain target.

The Ruanes now aim to reach a target ADG of 0.6kg over the winter period for their calves. This will mean at 12-months-old, the calves should be weighing on average 312kg with a planned turn-out date of March 1. This date is slightly later than average for young stock on calf-to-beef farms but has been set to suit the norm in the west of Ireland.

Nutritional plan

Both the calves weight at housing and the desired weight at turn-out are two major factors that influence the diet which these animals will be fed over the winter.

Placing a strong emphasis on both silage quality and forage analysis is a key element in participating in the Teagasc Green Acres Programme. The reason for this being that achieving profitability within calf-to-beef systems is integrally based on having high-quality silage available.

The feeding plan on the farm is to provide calves with high-quality, first-cut baled silage, which tested at a 76 dry matter digestibility (DMD). This testing was carried out by the Ruane’s dedicated programme advisor James Fitzgerald.

Alongside this quality silage, they will receive meal at a rate of 0.4/kg/head/day – this is to ensure that the target ADG of 0.6kg is reached over the housing period (see table below).

From viewing the table below, it is clear that the meal feeding the Ruanes will be providing to their calves is considerably low – in comparison to if they had poorer-quality silage (below 70DMD) available.

The calves weight will also play a role in the level of meal they are going to receive; with the group’s 12 lightest calves – weighing on average 204kg – receiving preferential treatment.

These 12 calves will be fed 1.5kg/head/day of a ration containing 16% crude protein right up until February 1. In order to maximise compensatory growth for the remaining 48 calves, meal feeding will be front loaded into the early stages of winter, with no meal being fed for the final six weeks before turnout.

Selecting the correct ration

It is important that if farmers are willing to going out and purchase concentrates, that they buy the correct ration to match their animal’s nutritional requirements.

Providing the correct feeding levels will also influence the level of impact a ration will have on the ADG of cattle. It should be based around the farm’s silage quality.

In this farm’s case, the meal will be fed to weanlings in the first winter, therefore the following ration management guidelines (below) need to be met.

Future plan

For 2021, the farm is aiming to have a small proportion of the cattle slaughtered at 21-months-old. This is to ease any financial strains and provide an even level of cash flow. It will also lead to further space being freed up for younger stock in the winter.

The top 12 performing early-maturing bullocks will be selected for this finishing age. While the remaining 58 bullocks will be fed on until they approach 30-months-old in their third grazing season.

The overall target carcass weight for these animals across all ages and breeds will be 340kg. The Ruanes have always kept this in mind from day one of sourcing their animals, in order to select correct calves that are capable of achieving this target.

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Housing is complete with the exception of 81 spring-born calves, which are currently grazing Redstart – a hybrid of forage rape and kale – and will remain on this crop for the winter, before being turned onto grass in February 2021.

Irvine has been growing this crop for the past four years. He has been utilising the benefits of out-wintering young stock on this forage crop – as it aids both rapid growth ability and all-year-round performance.

Sowing method

Irvine identified an 11ac field of old pasture, which was sprayed off on August 1. This pasture was left to die-off for two weeks before tilling occurred, with a light cover of slurry applied during the intermittent period to aid nutritional requirements.

Prior to sowing, the ground was prepared by tilling with two runs of a disk harrow, along with a one pass of a power harrow on August 13.

From having previous experience in re-seeding grass pastures and sowing rape and kale hybrids, Irvine is a firm believer in fertilising the crop as well. He stated:

The tilling and sowing is the expensive part; the yield needs to be maximised in order to make it worthwhile.

To aid this, a final bag of 18-6-12 to the acre was applied to the crop in order to provide that final boost of nutritional supplementation.

Grazing management

The winter management program has been drawn up for the farm and involves Irvine housing 28 of his lighter stock. This is to aid their liveweight performance and reduce the threat of a setback.

Some 81 weanlings, which are split up into three groups in the ratio of 21:30:30, are currently being out-wintered on the forage crop consisting of a rape and kale hybrid.

Irvine had to be strategic in his management of these young animals on the Redstart crop. If he allowed these weanlings to graze into the forage crop straight away, it may result in some digestive upsets. Therefore, a gradual introduction was commenced over the space of a week to avoid this issue.

In order to meet recommendations on providing sufficient balance to these weanling’s diet, high-quality baled silage (73 DMD) is fed alongside the forage crop. These will now each account for 50% of the animal’s diet.

The baled silage is being fed at a dry matter content of 36%. Assuming each bale weighs 600kg, it can be estimated that there is approximately 216kg of dry matter in each bale provided.

These young animals will have a dry matter appetite which is 2% of its own bodyweight. Therefore, taking into account the average weight of each weanling is 248kg, there is a requirement of 5kg DM/day per animal.

A re-calculation of these animal’s dry matter requirements will have to be reviewed regularly as their liveweight increases.

Dosing and vaccination programme

As this forage crop contains goitrogens, it can disrupt the production of thyroid hormones by interfering with iodine uptake in the thyroid gland and, in turn, lead to goiter.

To avoid this, all of the calves were supplied with a mineral dose which is high in iodine before they entered the forage crop.

They will continue to receive this mineral dose every four-to-six weeks to avoid an imbalance of iodine and ensure they continue to thrive. A seaweed lick is also made available to each group.

Additionally, all calves were treated with an Ivermectin pour-on and and provided with an IBR vaccination.

Target weights

As previously stated, the average weight of the calves being out-wintered is 248kg – this result was taken from housing weighing conducted on November 4.

Of the 28 lighter calves which were housed, they recorded an average weight of 205kg. These animals are currently receiving 2kg of 14% crude protein concentrate along with high quality (76 DMD) baled silage.

The concentrate feeding to these calves is being front loaded until the early stages of the winter. From then on, they will be reduced to average 1kg/day over the course of the winter period.

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Usually, it tends to be an issue that can be seen more so within younger animals, as symptoms are easier to identify – especially in calves during their first grazing season.

From trials studied in Teagasc Grange, calf-to-beef farms are found to be developing higher anthelmintic resistance levels among stomach worms.

According to Teagasc, lungworm populations have not yet developed forms of anthelmintic resistance. Therefore, farmers should aim to maintain this status and avoid developing any level of resistance.

There are three classes of anthelmintic licensed for the treatment of stomach and lungworm in Ireland. These classes are listed in the table below alongside the parasite stages affected by dose.

It is important that farmers decide which development stage of either the stomach or lungworm that they need to target – as this will allow them to use the most appropriate product to kill off the infecting parasite.

Best practice

Some farmers may question exactly when should they dose their young stock to prevent an infestation of stomach or lungworm.

There are different tests which can be carried out to identify cases of stomach worms, lungworms or liver fluke. These individual tests need to be requested. For example, an FEC test for stomach worms will not provide an indication of a lungworm infestation or vice versa.

From the FEC results, the number of eggs provides an indication of the number of adult worms present in the gut. Farmers should monitor and treat for stomach worms if the count goes above 200 eggs per gram.

When it comes to dosing the animal, read the instructions carefully and aim to avoid underdosing the animal. This can be achieved by following the dose-to-weight calculations provided with instructions of dosing products.

Finally, when dosing stock during the grazing season, farmers need to avoid turning cattle back out to clean pastures straight away.

To reduce the threat of anthelmintic resistance, it is best to return animals out to a dirty pasture after dosing.

For further information and advice on dosing and dealing with anthelmintic resistance on your farm click here

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Farming in Mount Temple, Moate, Co. Westmeath, Irvine Allen – a participant in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme – is an example of one such farmer who is beginning to prepare his animals for finishing in the coming months.

Before enrolling into the Green Acres programme in spring 2019, Irvine had been rearing a mixture of autumn and spring-born Holstein Friesian bull calves, alongside early-maturing bulls and heifers. These animals were brought through to finish from 24-30 months-of-age.

As a result of previously operating this system, the last of Irvine’s early-maturing heifers and bullocks are now currently being finished.

Housing of finishing cattle

Currently on-farm, there is a total of 30 early-maturing heifers that are being primed for slaughter. This group consists of 12 autumn-born and 18 spring-born 2019 females.

Ideally, these heifers should have been finished off-grass this autumn, which would have led to shed space being used for wintering more young stock, rather than fattening cattle.

As a result, some of these animals underperformed and missed their target slaughter weight and date – which delayed the finishing period until after housing.

The aim for these females is to reach a carcass weight of 280kg and 245kg for the autumn and spring-born heifers, respectively. To achieve this, a target average daily live weight gain (ADG) of 1kg/day has been set for all heifers prior to slaughter before the end of the year.

Fattening and storing steers

There are also 17 autumn-born 2018 steers remaining to be finished on the farm. This group is made up of 14 Holstein Friesian steers, with the remaining three being early-maturing.

As seen in the table (below), this should result in these males reaching an average carcass weight of 320kg in early-February.

Once this group has been finished, a total of 18 spring-born 2019 steers will be the last of the older cattle groups remaining on the farm.

The plan for these bullocks is to be stored over the winter period and return to grass next spring. These will then be finished once they reach close to 28-30 months old.

The reasoning behind retaining this group of steers over the winter and allowing them back out to grass was based on a number of factors.

The number one factor being that it will aid the farm’s cash flow, during a stage where sales would be limited.

A second reason was their failure to meet a target housing weight of 510kg – as they were recorded being, on average, 480kg when weighed on November 4.

Finally, it allows for the cost of concentrate spending during the winter to be alleviated slightly, with more focus being placed on animals that can generate a heavy carcass.

Finishing diets

During the finishing period, Irvine will provide his heifers with a diet consisting of grass silage, straw, concentrate and fodder beet.

Like many finishing farmers, keeping the cost of feed margin as low as possible is a key target. As can be viewed in table (below), Irvine’s diet for his heifers is costing approximately, on average, €1.74/head/day.

This diet is formulated to provide an energy density of 0.96 UFV/kg DM.

Comparing this to the steers’ diet, an average cost per head is calculated to be €1.93/day. This diet consists of an energy density of 0.92 UFV/kg DM.

Lower levels of concentrates are being offered to the steers in comparison to the heifers, due to the inclusion of fodder beet in their diet.

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Although tillage farming is not considered a viable option on a lot of beef farms around other parts of the country – those who are able to establish a tillage enterprise are taking advantage of its benefits.

Peter operates a calf-to-beef system where both spring and autumn-born calves are carried to slaughter, while a 20-cow suckler herd and a tillage enterprise are also in operation.

Utilising homegrown feeds

On most beef farms, a grass and silage-based diet alongside purchased concentrates from a feed mill would be the main source of feed options.

Ensuring that the books balance and having neither enterprise made to look more or less profitable is an important factor to consider.

To prevent this from happening, the feeds produced from the tillage enterprise are ‘purchased’ at market value by the beef enterprise.

This ensures a fair portrayal of profitability for both systems when profit monitors are being completed.

Finishing diets

From the crops available to Peter, he is able to formulate a winter-finishing diet consisting of high-quality grass silage; homegrown cereals; forage maize; and beet.

Having this high-quality silage available, it will reduce the levels of purchased concentrates required on Peter’s farm.

This will, in turn, allow him to formulate his diets at a lower cost and aiding potential farm profitability.

As his diets are required to be high-energy based, further purchased supplements are required such as maize meal and straight beet pulp. These are then composed into a total mixed ration (TMR), with the diet composition being outlined in table 1 (below).

*Minerals are supplied on top of TMR mix

The costing involved with this mix is averaging at 17c/kg DM, while providing 0.94 UFV/kg DM at 12% crude protein.

Monitoring animal performance

In order to sustain a profitable beef production, a key measure is to ensure that animals on-farm achieve the desired levels of weight gain at every stage of production.

By participating in the Teagasc Green Acres programme, Peter weighs his animals three times each year, targeting periods such as turnout, mid-season and housing.

Finishing animal performance is carefully monitored on Peter’s farm; this is achieved by weighing cattle throughout the finishing period. From this data, he can calculate his animals’ daily live-weight gains and make informed decisions on when to draft his animals appropriately.

Table 2 (below) illustrates the results of the housing weighing, carried out on October 27, for the different categories of stock present on the farm. The data below highlights the change in weight relative to the same stock group of the previous year.

*15 out of total 34 animals in this category were already slaughtered.
**27 out of total 39 animals in this category were already slaughtered

This information will illustrate to Peter how his animals have performed at grass since the mid-season weighing was completed – while also providing a definite starting point to base his winter finishing targets.

Targets for winter period

In terms of cattle numbers being finished at the end of this year, there are currently 12 autumn 2018-born steers that are targeted to be finished over a 60-day period.

Following on from this, there will be 19 heifers remaining on the farm that were born in the spring of 2019. These heifers consist of early maturing breeding, such as Angus and Hereford. Keeping this in mind, these will be allocated an average finishing period of 50 days.

There will inevitably be some heifers from this group that will have to be carried to the 60-day mark.

However, as heifers are drafted frequently for use in Peter’s butchering business, an average finishing period of 50 days is a more representative figure for the group.

Keeping this in mind, a targeted minimum average daily gain of 0.9kg should be achieved. These heifers should then aim for an average live-weight at slaughter of 531kg or a 260kg carcass (49% kill out), as can be viewed in table 3 (below).

Once the heifers have been slaughtered, the remaining animals on the farm for winter finishing consist of spring 2019-born steers, which will be drafted in February / early March.

These steers have been assigned a targeted daily gain of 1kg. As their starting weight at housing is 523kg, an average live-weight of 643kg would be desirable along with a 328kg carcass.

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Within his plan, Peter has focused on having a thorough vaccination programme for his calves, in order to limit the impact of the main respiratory and clostridial diseases.

Veterinary costs on the farm have been significantly reduced by ensuring that the initial vaccine and subsequent booster shots are administered at the correct time.

Peter explains:

I feel that the correct use of vaccines has been a huge help in reducing the antibiotic usage and time spent treating sick calves – which are both costs to the system.

Alongside this, it will lead to improvements in animal performance, while also providing Peter with a sense of security that his cattle have been covered.

Management of purchased calves

The farm is always open to a constant risk of a disease outbreak, as Peter purchases his calves from different sources.

In order to alleviate this risk, Peter manages everything that he can within the farm gate and prevent a herd health breakdown.

With pneumonia being a major risk factor, the monitoring of ventilation within housing facilities, managing his sources from which he purchases his calves and the implementation of a vaccination programme are proving to be vital for Peter.

Commenting on his previous calf rearing experiences, Peter explained: “In years gone by, I would have had trouble with pneumonia in young calves.

“The reasons for this were a combination of the calf rearing area not being ideally suited for calves and the fact that many of the calves I purchased were coming from too many different sources.”

Implementing a vaccination programme

The main threats to young calves include both respiratory and clostridial diseases. Once the calves are settled in on Peter’s farm, they are given an intramuscular vaccine to cover pneumonia (RSV, PI3 and Pasteurella), along with receiving an intranasal IBR vaccine.

Booster shots are then administered via intramuscular injection, four weeks and nine weeks later, respectively – as recommended by the products used.

Nine-week-old calves are covered with a vaccine against clostridial diseases, which is followed by a booster shot when the calves reaches 13 weeks old. The farm’s full plan can be viewed in the table (below).

Speaking about his herd health plan, Peter stated:

Through my involvement in the Green Acres programme, a vaccine programme was drawn up which I have put into use since the spring of this year.

“As a result of using the plan, as well as cutting down on the number of sources, I have seen huge improvements in the health of the calves throughout their first year.”

Reducing stress at housing

Housing time for young animals can be a stressful period. Following the rearing period, housing is the next major source of stress for the calves.

The lightest of his calves have been housed in order to manage their diets more carefully and ensure they don’t receive a setback.

A booster vaccine for pneumonia (RSV, PI3 & Pasteurella) was also given to all calves at the beginning of October. The purpose of this being to prime their immune system for the stress associated with housing and the changing of diets.

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As the autumn 2020 calf crop are now hitting the ground, the participants of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme – who operate autumn-calf systems – are undergoing their yearly task of sourcing, purchasing and rearing autumn calves.

One such farmer is Aidan Maguire from Navan, Co. Meath, who is tweaking the way in which he sources his autumn calves in the hope of improving returns and reducing time input on his farm.

In the past, the autumn-born caves were purchased at calf marts and through cattle agents with varying success. This year, Aidan is putting an increased focus on herd health and the genetic makeup of the calves as he sources them to improve his farm profits down the line.

Reducing the number of sources

Having had trouble with calf health in previous autumn-born batches, Aidan has focused on reducing the number of different herds his autumn calves are coming from.

The reason for this is that the more different herds that calves are bought in from and mixed with, the higher the chance of buying in an unwanted herd health problem.

This year Aidan has 15 Angus autumn calves on the farm which he purchased off of one local dairy farmer and he is in talks with another local dairy farmer about buying 15 dairy-bred bull calves.

This is a huge change on the year previous, when the 30 autumn calves reared on farm had originated from 12 different herds. The reduction in different sources should help greatly in reducing the risk of a disease outbreak during the rearing stage.

In addition, being able to transport the calves directly from the dairy farm and getting them settled into their rearing area on Aidan’s farm – should also reduce the risk of respiratory problems over the rearing stages.

Calf Genetics

Understanding the genetic potential of the calves is extremely important in making the right decision on whether or not to purchase, and at what price.

This year Aidan is sourcing calves with positive figures for carcass merit. He has done so through gaining all the information he can about the genetics of both the dams and sires, of which the calves are out of.

Aidan Maguire

Having visited the farm and seen the cows, Aidan was happy with their size and shape, and knew that their genetics wouldn’t hamper his calves’ ability to meet the carcass specs required.

He was also given access to the ICBF indices of the Aberdeen Angus bull used to sire all of the autumn calves on the farm. This bull is a stockbull with a carcass weight index of +8.2kg and a carcass conformation index of +0.51.

These positive figures for carcass traits will help to increase the slaughter performance and potential income Aidan can generate for his farm.

Rearing and health management

The 15 calves already bought were collected off the dairy farm once the youngest calf was three weeks old. This gave Aidan a good start with strong calves which he vaccinated for pneumonia and IBR once they were settled.

These calves were weighed on October 30 and weighed an average of 106kg – having an average daily gain (ADG) of 0.72kg from birth to now.

These calves are now being weaned off milk as they are well ahead of the target weaning weight of 95kg and are consuming over 1kg of concentrates/day.

Long-term plan

Looking more long term, the plan is to kill off the autumn-born stock off grass at two years old, following a 60-day finishing period.

The aim is for the Aberdeen Angus and Holstein Friesian steers to return an average carcass weight of 320kg at O=grading. The target for the Aberdeen Angus heifers is to return a 280kg carcass at an average grade of O+/O=.

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Keep track of the average farm cover (AFC) if still grazing. At no point over the course of November do we want the AFC to dip below 500kg DM/ha.

Research has shown that 70% of the grass that is available in the springtime is grown in the months of October and November. We need to ensure that we have 600kg DM/ha of an AFC on December 1 to provide good-quality spring grass in sufficient quantities next February and March.

If you have been forced to house your stock due to deteriorating ground conditions like much of the country has over the last couple of weeks, but yet still have a high level of grass on the farm, be flexible and willing to turn out stock to finish off grazing if ground conditions become more favourable over the coming weeks.

Note: In the map (below) Patrick Collins, Richard Long and JP Hammersley have finished grazing for the year, with all stock now housed for the winter.

[grass_growth_map from=”2020/10/29″ to=”2020/11/03″]

Farmers with a sheep enterprise need to be mindful that the same grassland targets apply and that ensuring that grass is available in the spring is the top priority.

Do not regraze what has been closed in the final rotation and do not let the AFC dip below 500kg DM/ha. Spring grass is needed far more by all classes of stock, than what it is for dry sheep over the winter months.

Remember that although the grazing season might essentially be over on the majority of cattle farms, there are still things that can be done to strengthen your hand for next year.

The dry/cold spell promised over the coming days could provide an ideal opportunity to spread lime. Consult your nutrient management plan or recent soil samples and spread anything up to 3t of lime/ac where needs be.

Grazing conditions have been extremely challenging since September and I’ve been watching and moving stock onto dry areas to graze where possible.

After the past two weeks though, the farm is now in a position where grazing has become next to impossible due to unfavourable underfoot conditions and the majority of the stock were housed.

Finishing steers have been housed at this stage and have started on their winter finishing diet which consists of silage (72 DMD) and 5kg of concentrates.

Half of the weanlings have also been housed at this stage and they are receiving just over 1kg/head/day of concentrates along with silage.

The remainder of the weanlings, which are being supplemented with 1kg/head/day at grass, will be housed over the coming weeks, once they have the few remaining drier paddocks grazed-off.

Deteriorating ground conditions have led to the housing of all the heavy stock on the home block. The 18-month-old heifers and bullocks are settling in indoors while the spring-born calves are still out grazing.

The older cattle made good inroads over the last couple of weeks in grazing off the home block and have left only a couple of paddocks that the calves need to get grazed off before they too are housed. I am expecting the calves to be housed in the next five-to-seven days which will signal the end of the grazing season here.

While the temptation is there to leave the calves out and to graze back over the earlier grazed areas which are beginning to recover, housing instead and sparing this regrowth for the spring is the better course of action.

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Grass silage falls into second position – only behind grazed grass – as the most consumed feedstuff on calf-to-beef farms.

Depending on farm location, it can be the main forage source available to animals for between 100 and 150 days over the winter months.

The 12 participating farmers in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf-to-Beef Programme have worked to improve the quality of the silage available on their farms this winter.

Overall, silage quality has improved due to the implementation of plans on: budgeting; closing and cutting dates; pre-closing management; fertiliser; and harvesting/preserving.

First-cut silage quality

Analysis has been completed on the silage made on the participating farms during the summer of 2020.

In terms of silage quality, there are a number of key metrics that require noting. Although a basic silage analysis will provide a host of information on the feed value and the preservation of a silage, the most important element in quality terms is the dry matter digestibility (DMD) of the silage; this is directly linked to energy value – usually the first limiting element in beef diets in Ireland.

At farm level, the DMD of silages produced on the Teagasc Green Acres farms did climb in 2020 when compared to 2019.

An average DMD of 74.4 was recorded this year, which compares favorably to the 72.3 DMD recorded in 2019. In addition, improvements were also witnessed in terms of crude protein content (+0.7%) and the metabolisable energy (+0.3MJ/kg).

Impact of improved silage quality

Although the two-unit rise in DMD may seem small, the additional improvement in silage quality can have a big impact on the meal feeding levels required to reach the desired levels of weight gain over the winter months in calf-to-beef animals.

Ideally, weanlings entering a steer or heifer finishing system need to gain a minimum weight gain of 0.6kg/day over the winter months. In many cases, this is achieved through silage and concentrate diets.

In terms of finishing diets, the improved quality silage will result in the meal feeding requirements required to achieve 1kg/day over the finishing period for Holstein Friesian steers falling by 1kg/head/day (5kg versus 4kg). Over a 100-day finishing period, this equates to a saving of €27/head (€270/t meal cost).

Overall, the reduction in meal feeding on account of the improved quality of silage is worth approximately €3,500 to a farmer carrying 100 Friesian weanlings and 100 Friesian finishing steers over the winter months.

On-farm improvements – Shane Cranny

Shane Cranny farms 40ha of grassland in Myshall, Co. Carlow, where 70-80 autumn-born calves are purchased and carried to beef annually.

As the system is predominately focused on autumn calves, the requirement to house finishing stock over the second winter is all but eliminated. On account of this, first-cut silage is targeted at yearling autumn-born animals to ensure they achieve the desired levels of weight gain over the winter period.

Shane has made vast improvements in his silage quality, with DMD, ME and crude protein all rising. This change occurred due to an earlier harvesting date in 2020, with first-cut silage saved in the second week of May, two weeks earlier than 2019.

With the earlier cutting date, Shane has seen the portion of stem present in the silage reduce significantly and, as a result, DMD value climbed by 4.2 units.

Given the quality of first-cut silage present on the farm this year, Shane can reduce his meal feeding rate to the yearling animals back to 0.5kg/head/day, down from 1.2kg/head/day over the winter of 2019 – a reduction of 5t of meal over the winter period.

Martin Connolly

Martin Connolly, who farms part-time just outside Castleplunket in Co. Roscommon, runs a calf-to-bull-beef system on 60ha where he buys in 120 spring-born, dairy-bred male calves and brings them through to slaughter at approximately 22 months-of-age.

Over the last couple of years, Martin’s silage quality was below par mainly due to the harvesting dates being too late.

The heavy nature of the ground he farms along with high levels of rainfall in the springtime resulted in him not being able to get his silage ground grazed off in time to close it up in early April.

As a result, closing and harvesting dates for the first and second cuts were delayed by over a month, substantially reducing silage quality.

This year, the first-cut silage ground was fertilised in mid-March having been grazed tight with weanlings at the end of the 2019 grazing season. The first-cut was harvested on May 11 and returned a result of 76.4 DMD – an improvement of 13.3 DMD units on 2019.

As Martin is operating a bull-beef system, his concentrate input is going to be higher than those required for steer or heifer systems over the first winter, with an average daily gain of 0.7-0.8kg targeted.

On account of the improved quality of first-cut silage available in the yard, and taking into consideration an average winter length of 120 days, the Roscommon-based farmer stands to see his meal inputs reduce by approximately 14.5t this winter.

The post Reducing purchased concentrates with improved silage quality appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The 2020 grazing season is beginning to draw to a close on farms participating in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf-to-Beef Programme.

Unfavourable weather conditions over the past week have seen the last of the heavier stock housed in many cases, with just lighter weanlings continuing to graze in many instances.

At this stage, drier farms should have 60% of the grazing area closed for next spring, while heavier or highly stocked farms should be targeting 70-80% closed.

With 40% of the grazing area still available on many farms, lighter animals – with spring-born animals being supplemented with concentrates – will finish up the remainder of the ground.

[grass_growth_map from=”2020/10/22″ to=”2020/10/27″]

However, farmers need to bear in mind the level of grass still present on farms in terms of the average farm cover (AFC). Ideally, this should not drop below 500kg DM/ha; where this occurs cattle should be housed and the farm should be closed.

Letting this figure drop below the 500kg DM/ha mark now will have a negative effect on the quantity of grass available at turnout next spring.

When this occurs, spring turnout will be delayed or sufficient grass quantities may only be available for a small number of stock next spring.

In terms of managing grazing animals at grass still, given the quantities of rain that have fallen over recent days, a number of management techniques must be used at farm level.

A growth rate of 35kg DM/ha was recorded over the past seven days, with demand running at 33kg/ha, while the farm cover is at 474kg DM/ha.

At this stage, half of the 2020-born calves have been housed, with the remainder to come indoors this Friday to signal the end of the 2020 grazing year. The home block has been closed at this stage and weanlings will have one more week on silage ground.

From late August up until housing, these calves were supplemented with a home-mixed ration of barley, straw and soya and it has helped them to continue to perform up until the housing period.

The first half of the Friesian bulls were weighed last Friday and they were an average of 252kg, after recording growth rates of 0.76kg/day since birth or 0.75kg/day since the previous weighing in mid-July.

I am targeting an average daily gain of at least 0.8kg/day from these animals until next spring and this will be achieved by offering a TMR [total mixed ration] mix of red clover/grass silage, barley, beet, straw and soya.

The grazing season will be finishing up in the coming days here on my farm. The older cattle on the out-farm have about 10 days grazing left before being housed and stored for the winter. These cattle are mostly Friesian steers and will be finished off-grass next summer.

The Friesian weanlings born in the spring gone by are here on the home block which is being measured. They are also on their last few days grazing before moving onto the 12ac of kale that was sown for them at the last time of writing in early August.

There is one field on the home block which needs to be grazed off before the winter as it has a cover of 1,325kg DM/ha on it. This field was reseeded earlier in the year and is still a bit tender underfoot; the recent rain also has left surface water on parts of it.

I don’t see any value in attempting to get it eaten off now in bad conditions and run the risk of damaging it so I will move the weanlings onto the kale and come back and graze the reseed as soon as conditions allow.

When that reseeded field is grazed off the average farm cover will be closer to 550kg DM/ha which is about the right amount of grass to finish grazing with in order to have good grass in roughly four months’ time at turnout.

The post GrowthWatch: Grazing season draws to a close for heavier stock appeared first on Agriland.ie.

JP Hammersley – a participant in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme – outlined his system of production as part of the latest Teagasc ‘Beef Edge Masterclass’ podcast series.

Farming part-time in Lattin, Co. Tipperary, JP operates a system where Friesian steers are carried to beef.

Originally all animals were slaughtered at 28-30 months. However, to improve both profitability and cash-flow, calf numbers have increased and slaughtering will be split 50:50 between 24 and 28 month steers, with a target carcass weight of 320kg and 350kg respectively.

Presented by Teagasc beef specialist Catherine Egan, JP outlines all the aspects of his calf-to-beef operation, which he manages with an average labour input of 18 hours per week.

Calves are purchased from one local dairy farmer at four weeks-of-age and arrive in batches of 10-12. This has worked well for JP over the years, as he knows he’s buying a healthy calf from a known source.

In relation to grass, JP discusses the grazing management and infrastructure on the farm, with a paddock system of 45 paddocks installed for the three main grazing groups.

In addition, animal performance is monitored with weighing occurring on three occasions during the year – turnout, mid-season and housing, with the targets and 2020 liveweight performance of animals detailed at length.

The full podcast can be accessed here.

The post Teagasc Green Acres farmer outlines system in ‘Beef Edge Masterclass’ podcast appeared first on Agriland.ie.

In the main, grazing conditions have been relatively good this autumn. Grass availability and growth rates have been strong and ground conditions have allowed for tight grazing up to recent days.

It is hoped that, at this point, the autumn rotation is progressing strongly for most farms and farmers on heavy soils should have 70%+ of the farm grazed and closed and dry farms should have between 50% and 60% closed this week.

Farmers should be grazing paddocks that they want to be grazing early next spring, for example, dry paddocks with good access, that have 800-1,000kg DM/ha on them.

[grass_growth_map from=”2020/10/13″ to=”2020/10/20″]

The recent rain is forcing the hand of many farmers with regard to housing heavier stock but this is to be expected at this time of the year. Due to good grass growth rates throughout the autumn, there are some farms that find themselves with a lower area of their farm grazed off and a lot of grass in front of them to graze.

This grass must be grazed off this back end to ensure that the quality of the grass that grows back in the spring is up to the quality we expect. If left behind this grass, it will be mostly dead matter in the spring that will reduce quality and make it hard for animals to graze cleanly.

Wet weather grazing management which needs to be used in this situation revolves around the following.

For farmers who find that grass availability isn’t that high, remember not to overgraze your farm at this time of the year. The target is to have an average farm cover (AFC) of 500-600kg DM/ha at closing so that you will begin grazing in the spring again with good grass availability (800kg DM/ha).

Grass growth is beginning to wind down on the farm, resulting in a drop in grass levels over the last few weeks. Over the previous weeks, I had all of the stock out grazing and a demand for grass of 37kg DM/ha/day.

I kept up to speed easily with the autumn rotation plan to close up the farm to date and now find myself having to apply the breaks on grazing in order to stretch out the grass that’s left until the young cattle are ready to go into the fodder beet.

I have grazed 51% of the farm in the last rotation to date which is slightly ahead of the targeted 42% target for now. Also, the majority of the heavy covers have already been eaten, meaning that the rotation would be getting faster and faster from now on as grass covers been offered to the cattle get lower.

On the back of this, I have decided to house all of the older cattle that are to be finished out of the shed this winter. These include early-maturing heifers which will be drafted for slaughter over the coming weeks as they come fit, and Holstein Friesian, Aberdeen Angus and Hereford bullocks which will be finished later in the winter and next spring.

Remaining outside to finish the grazing rotation are the 47 autumn-born calves and 70 spring-born calves and the 20 dry suckler cows which are mopping up after the calves.

This should provide the right balance for the next couple of weeks to complete the autumn rotation by mid-November. Should I find that they are again pulling away from the targets for the percentage of the farm to be closed it will be the suckler cows that will be the next to be housed.

The average farm cover has dropped over the last couple of weeks due to factors outside of my control. Initially, I’d hoped to have the heavier Friesian stores housed and started on a finishing diet three weeks ago, but delays in completing building works ruled this out and cattle had to stay at grass longer than planned.

These animals were housed this week and this has greatly reduced the farm’s demand and grassland stocking rate.

Although farm cover is lower than where I would like it to be, there’s 53% of the farm closed for next spring and if an average growth rate of 10kg DM/ha can be achieved between now and February 1, these paddocks should have a minimum grass cover of 1,000kg DM/ha next spring.

Depending on weather conditions, calves will stay out up until mid-November. However, this will depend more so on ground conditions than grass supply.

As grass supplies have been tight over the last number of weeks, I made the decision to supplement the calves with 2kg/head/day of concentrates.

I am happy with the way calves have performed with this supplementary feeding and, going forward, I plan to cut out meal during the months of July and August and introduce meal again come early September – typically when grass dry matters begin to drop.

The post GrowthWatch: Graze paddocks now that you want to be hitting early next spring appeared first on Agriland.ie.

We are now at the midpoint of October, which is a significant date in terms of managing this autumn’s grass and setting up our farm well for grazing as early as we can for next spring.

In a normal autumn closing plan, the last grazing round begins at the start of October and our first goal is to have 60% of the farm grazed tightly and closed by the end of October.

At the midpoint of the month, we should have 30% of the farm grazed and closed if we are on target to meet the 60% closed target.

Assessing what is happening in grassland management, relative to the targets you set for it, now and taking corrective action if necessary is one of the last major grassland management decisions you will make for the year and one of the most important.

The following are some ideas as to how you can get your farm back on track to have 60% grazed at the end of the month if you are currently ahead of, or behind, your 30% target.

[grass_growth_map from=”2020/10/07″ to=”2020/10/12″]

Ahead of target (>30% grazed)

In this scenario the aim is to slow down the rate at which your cattle are grazing off ground and stretch the remaining grass out to last up until mid-November.

Behind target (<30% grazed)

If less than 30% is grazed so far, ground needs to be grazed off and closed at a faster rate than so far this month to meet the 60% target.

Recalculate the area of ground you need to graze off per day to reach the 60% target on October 31 and ensure that this area is grazed each day from now until the end of the month. Remember, the main reason for managing grass in this way is to set your farm up well for grazing next spring, which is what really matters.

60% of the heavy animals on-farm have been housed at this stage and are on a finishing diet of 5kg/head/day of concentrate and grass silage.

I plan on drafting the early-maturing heifers over the next couple of weeks, with a target of producing a 245-250kg carcass at slaughter.

Their steer counterparts have also been housed, with an aim of getting these moved off-farm in early-December at a 295-300kg carcass.

All of this year’s calves, along with the 2018-born continental-cross dairy animals, are still at grass; by housing the early-maturing forward animals earlier, it has allowed me to extend the grazing season for as long as possible for these animals.

The earlier housing of the Angus and Hereford animals has also allowed us to graze the heavier stock in smaller groups, which has helped to both balance grass supplies and ground conditions; the latter has started to become tricky over the past 14 days.

In terms of the autumn rotation planner, 19.95ha of ground has been grazed and closed for next spring in line with the autumn rotation planner.

The last of the slurry was also spread on Monday last and this was applied to paddocks that have been grazed bare and are low in potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) indexes.

I began closing the farm on September 29 and want this rotation to last 45 days. The plan is to house on November 14.

The farm is split up into 45 paddocks, so put simply, I need to close a paddock every day to stay on track for housing on November 14.

However, I will tweak this slightly as grazing a paddock per day would result in almost 75% of the farm closed by the start of November, which is a bit much.

I will graze through the heavier swards of grass now during this month to slow down the area that is closed to 60% by the month-end. I will then hopefully have lighter covers on the remaining 40% of the farm which can be grazed off quickly with less stock when some of the heavier animals are housed.

Last year all cattle were housed on November 17 and I had some cattle out by day again by January 24. Getting the grassland management right at the shoulders of the year and shortening the winter is a huge help in reducing costs and getting weight on cattle.

The post GrowthWatch: Targeting 60% of the farm grazed by the end of October appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Grazing conditions have deteriorated significantly on some of the farms participating in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef programme over the past 10 days.

In some cases, especially for farmers operating on heavy ground in the south-west of the country, rain and the resulting saturated ground has forced some farmers to call time on the grazing season for heavier animals.

Although last week’s grazing techniques had been in play, the wet weather over last week pushed some of the paddocks beyond grazing and resulted in situations where water was sitting on paddocks.

Young stock are still out grazing drier paddocks on heavier farms and – where conditions improve – these will be used to graze out these wetter paddocks later in the year.

[grass_growth_map from=”2020/09/30″ to=”2020/10/08″]

These animals have a lower liveweight and, when managed correctly, they should be able to graze out paddocks when conditions allow.

Although forward animals have been housed on some of the heavier and wetter farms in the programme, many farmers are still grazing these animals in drier parts of the country. In these cases, animals will begin to be housed where grazing area targets for the autumn rotation targets are being exceeded.

Grazing conditions have deteriorated significantly since last weekend and 38 Holstein Friesian steers have been housed so far.

These animals have been receiving 4.5kg/day of concentrates since early-August and are just about ready to draft for slaughter.

To ensure that these animals don’t suffer a performance check until slaughter, they are being provided with high-quality surplus bales taken during the summer months.

As dry areas for heavy cattle to graze are beginning to get scarce, I plan to house the remainder of the 2019-born steers over the coming days. Half of these animals will move onto a finishing diet, while the remainder will be stored to finish off-grass next summer.

There’s still a lot of grass on farm, so I am aiming to utilise and graze this with this year’s calves who are still being supplemented with 1kg/head/day of concentrates to counteract the lower dry matter present in autumn grass.

As it stands, I am aiming to close 11.17ha/week as part of the autumn rotation planner. As some parts of the farm are very heavy, we aimed to start closing during the last week of September and should have 33.51ha closed by this weekend and we are on target for achieving this.

The post GrowthWatch: Rain forces stores indoors on heavy farms appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The wet weather over the couple of days has made grazing conditions challenging on some of the heavier farms enrolled in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme.

Combined with a period of relatively strong grass growth over recent weeks, some of the farmers in the programme are tackling heavier covers.

Where conditions have become tricky on account of rainfall, a number of management practices must come into play.

Firstly, the farm must be walked to identify paddocks that can or can’t be grazed on account of ground conditions. Keep an eye on the weather forecast; what might be grazeable at the start of the week, mightn’t be so at the end.

Although skipping wetter paddocks now may be advisable, it’s still worth trying to get these grazed when conditions allow, and if conditions improve – get in and get them grazed out.

[grass_growth_map from=”2020/09/20″ to=”2020/09/30″]

In instances where heavier covers are being grazed (>2,000kg DM/ha), the strip wire must also come out of its summer holidays to ensure an adequate cleanout is being achieved. Even though we are in October, a post-grazing height of 4cm is still targeted. In some circumstances, it may be advisable to offer a fresh strip of grass twice daily to ensure utilisation is maximised and that animal performance is not compromised.

Where heavier covers are not grazed out adequately at this stage, you will potentially be looking at a white butt in the sward until mechanical intervention can take place in the form of bales in 2021.

By grazing it properly now, you’re going to improve the quality of grass available next spring, have more settled animals – as they will be grazing swards of leaf to the base – and, in turn, have a higher level of animal performance from your early spring grazing.

Another factor that has to be considered is the liveweight of animals that are grazing. Although skipping paddocks on some farms may be required until the weather settles again, there is also an option to graze the best of these ‘wet’ paddocks with lighter stock to reduce the risk of poaching and the wastage of grass.

Growth rates are slowing down and we’re beginning to think about housing some of the more forward Friesian steers and transitioning them onto a finishing diet. Last week, the farm grew 32kg DM/ha and that figure is likely to back again next week on account of the colder and wetter weather.

Stock numbers have grown here over recent years, so we’re trying to balance grazing demand and grass supplies to try and keep the younger animals, on farm, out at grass for as long as possible.

To achieve this, we’ve set up an autumn rotation planner for the farm, with the first paddocks due to be closed the week ending October 11. We’re aiming to have 60% of the farm grazed by November 1 and to achieve this we need to graze approximately 5ac/day or 34ac/week.

We also have a tank of slurry left to spread before the slurry deadline in mid-October. We’ve looked back at soil test results and this will be applied on the hungrier silage fields at a rate of 3,000 gallons/ac after grazing. This should supply the fields with roughly 15 units of P/ac and 30 units of K/ac, which will help in bringing up the soil indexes going forward.

The post GrowthWatch: Making use of grass in challenging conditions appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Although seemingly a long way away, preparations for spring grassland management are starting to take place on the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef farms.

Ensuring farms close with an adequate supply of grass this back-end is critical to getting cattle out to grass as early as possible next spring.

Not only will achieving an earlier turnout have positive impacts in terms of economics, its higher feed value will have positive impacts on animal performance compared to the silage / concentrate diets offered over the winter months.

[grass_growth_map from=”2020/09/17″ to=”2020/09/22″]

To make an earlier turnout possible, plans must be put in place at farm level and this takes the form of the autumn rotation planner – a tool which enables the farm to be closed off properly to have an adequate supply of grass next spring.

The reasons for its use are twofold. Firstly, it allows you to maximise the proportion of grazed grass in the animal’s diet for the remainder of the year and, secondly, it ensures that a sufficient supply of high-quality grass is available next spring to facilitate an early turnout.

The 60:40 autumn rotation planner is based on having proportions of the farm closed by certain dates. These dates will vary slightly across the country and depend on soil type and the amount of grass that is likely to grow over the winter. An outline of these target dates is provided in the (below) table.

The farm recorded a growth rate of 51kg DM/ha over the past week and the good weather has allowed excellent graze-outs to be achieved.

Although housing is hopefully a long way away, I’m starting to focus on what paddocks will be grazed and closed in early-October to ensure there’s an adequate supply of grass next February to allow for an early turnout.

I am aiming to graze and close some of the paddocks closest to the yard first as the autumn-born calves will be let out by day initially and it suits when they are close to house them in the evening time.

The farm cover at the moment is 821kg DM/ha and I would be aiming to close with a cover of 550-600kg DM/ha come late-November.

To achieve this, and to ensure there’s an adequate supply of grass next spring, I’ll be implementing an autumn rotation planner with a target of having 60% of the farm closed by late-October and using the remainder of the ground to carry us through until late-November.

I’ve also started to slaughter autumn 2018-born steers off grass, with the first batch going without supplementary feeding.

To get the remainder of the animals over the line and to ensure they are moved off-farm before the need to house occurs, I’ve introduced concentrate supplementation at a rate of 4kg/head/day.

As ground conditions are excellent, this feed is being offered under the strip wire in the field and it should help in giving the steers the final few kilogrammes they need to achieve an adequate fat cover.

Growth has been running at almost double demand for the past three weeks and it is allowing me to build grass covers on farm.

I’ve recorded a growth rate of 52kg DM/ha over the past week, while demand is running at 28kg DM/ha.

The three-week average figure for growth and demand respectively is 46kg DM/ha and 25kg DM/ha. With this level of surplus grass, I’ve been able to pull up the average farm cover [AFC] of the farm from 340kg DM/ha to 501kg DM/ha since September 1.

Although the farm is running slightly behind where it needs to be in terms of cover, I’ve the option to house some of the finishing Friesian steers earlier as they were well ahead of target on their mid-season weight.

If a similar level of performance compared to previous has been achieved between the mid-season weighing this year and now, these steers should be hitting the 510kg as an average as it stands, with the heaviest being well over the 550kg mark.

If growth drops below demand, the heaviest of these animals will be housed and finished earlier. Although they will be finished at an earlier age, our carcass weight target of 320kg should be well and truly achievable.

In terms of closing up ground, I’m farming a mixture of dry and heavy land, so I’ve settled on closing some of the paddocks intermediate of the Teagasc targets for these respective land types, with a closing date of October 2 targeted for the first of the paddocks.

Again, the target is to close with an AFC of 550-600kg DM/ha and, if I can keep growth ahead of demand, this target is achievable.

The post GrowthWatch: Preparations for spring grassland management begin now appeared first on Agriland.ie.

With the weather forecast looking relatively good for the time of year and with warm weather aiding ground conditions in many parts of the country, the aim for all areas of the country should be to maximise the use of autumn grass and to continue to graze down to the correct post-grazing heights.

This will benefit your farm for the rest of the grazing season and, in particular, next spring, in improving spring grass quality once the correct decisions are made now.

Provided ground conditions allow, aim to graze down to 4cm on the areas of the farm that are the first to become tricky in challenging weather. This will ensure that a quick and clean grazing can be achieved on the last rotation later in autumn or so that there will be good-quality grass for next spring if no opportunity arises to graze for the rest of the year.

[grass_growth_map from=”2020/09/09″ to=”2020/09/17″]

Then when weather conditions deteriorate further – which is inevitable – the dryer parts of your farm will still have grass covers capable of carrying your stock later into the year to shorten the winter housing period.

The closed period for spreading chemical fertiliser is now in effect (September 15), and so no chemical fertiliser containing nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) can be spread. Straight potassium (K) fertiliser can continue to be spread throughout the winter as well as lime.

71 calves are currently grazing the home block, which is being grass measured. They are receiving 1.25kg of meal per head which is a half-and-half mix of rolled barley and a 16% protein nut.

With the warm weather and strong growth rates, these calves will not keep control of this grass on their own going on the Pasturebase Ireland figures. Extra cattle can be moved onto this block to help clean it off in time for closing for spring grass if needed.

The last of the third-cut silage was baled on Sunday last. The grass was baled in good conditions, with an average bale count of five bales/ac. This brings the total bale count to 725 which is where it needs to be to see me through the winter. The first and second cuts were tested for quality lately. The first-cut had a dry matter digestibility (DMD) of 73% and the second-cut had a DMD of 75.4%, which I was very happy with.

The 11ac of redstart that was sown about one month ago is also doing well. One bag/ac of 18-6-12 was spread on the redstart at the start of the week to keep it spurred on. Tilling and seeding the redstart is the expensive part, so I make sure that I get a yield that makes it worthwhile by not skimping on the fertiliser.

Grass levels on the farm ran low after the last few bits of silage were cut in late August. I spread 28 units/ac of urea across the entire farm between then [late August] and the start of September to keep growth going. This seems to have worked well as grass availability has recovered back to where it needs to be on the back of growth rates from 45kg to 80kg DM/ha/day over the last couple of weeks.

The heavy weather over the last while might be helping grass growth but it has also brought with it a slight outbreak of pneumonia among some of the spring-born calves. While I think I have them on the mend now, it’s something I will be staying very vigilant for over the rest of the autumn.

14 spring of 2019 born heifers were selected for fattening off-grass and are currently getting 4.2kg of meal per head per day. They are fattening up very quickly and as of now it looks like a selection of them will be fit to go before the November 1 deadline I had aimed for.

The post GrowthWatch: Aim to maximise the use of autumn grass appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The deadline for chemical fertiliser nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) applications is fast approaching, with midnight on September 14 being the cutting off point for spreading this year.

When it comes to the final round of fertiliser, there are a number of questions farmers need to ask. Firstly, is an application of fertiliser warranted and how am I for grass?

Where farm covers are running high, and farms are relatively lowly stocked, the economics of spreading chemical N at this time of year may be questionable in some cases.

However, where the farm is running on target – or even slightly below target – for grass, there may be scope to spread chemical N before the deadline closes.

When a decision is made on whether or not to spread, the paddocks on the farm that are most likely to respond to additional N must be targeted first. These will be the paddocks with a high perennial ryegrass content that are green and leafy to the base.

[grass_growth_map from=”2020/09/02″ to=”2020/09/09″]

The field conditions must also be examined and spreading should only occur where ground is trafficable and free from surface water – an issue still on some farms in the south west of the country.

Where slurry is still present on farm – and looking at the weather ahead – there may be an opportunity to empty the tanks while ground conditions are still manageable.

Remember, slurry is a source of N – and along with a boost of potassium (K) and P – it will help to keep grass growing over the coming weeks.

Excellent graze outs are also being achieved, and with the availability of the Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) technology – ground on which it has been applied will be available once more for grazing before housing.

The average farm cover is running at 1,372kg DM/ha, but our stocking rate is 3.9LU/ha. In a normal year, we’d take out bales, but any of the heavier covers are reseeded paddocks – on their third grazing – and we’re splitting and achieving very good graze outs.

I’m not too keen on going in and taking bales of these paddocks in their first year of production.

Growth rates have been excellent over the last few weeks, sitting at 80kg DM/ha and that has been helped by the reseeded paddocks and the kinder weather conditions we’re experiencing.

Before the fertiliser deadline, I hope to apply 20 units of N to any of the grazed out paddocks or those on the block with a cover below 1,000kg DM/ha, that are green and leafy to the base.

We also still have a tank of slurry present in the yard and this will be applied to any of the paddocks that are showing low indexes of P and K.

We reseeded another three paddocks after silage approximately 11 days ago through stitching and a very good establishment has been achieved.

If conditions allow, we will apply a post-emergence spray of Pastor Trio in the coming weeks, once the seedling weeds are the size of a 50c coin.

All calves on the farm are currently being supplemented with 1kg/head/day of concentrate at the minute. We introduced meals during the wet weather to calves and will continue until housing in late November / early December.

We like to build a bank of grass during the months of September and October to try and maintain the calves grazing as long as possible as we are farming very dry land.

The stocking rate has been steadily falling as the majority of the 30-month bullocks, spring lambs and cull ewes were sold off.

This has led to the reserve of grass on the farm for late autumn grazing and building, even in spite of some low growth rates recorded over the last couple of weeks.

Left to sell at the moment are eight bullocks which are at grass and the last 13 spring lambs. The next sale after that will be the 15 spring of 2019-born bullocks which have been picked out and housed for finishing.

This has helped reduce the demand for grass further which will help extend the grazing period for the sheep well into the winter.

The calves are split into a heavier and lighter bunch for more accurate meal feeding and balancing grass demand on two different blocks.

One bag/ac of SulCAN is being spread at the moment for the last round of fertiliser before the deadline and samples of the silage made this year will be taken and sent for testing in the coming days to assess how this year’s silage cutting went and to plan ahead for the winter feeding period.

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During the day, AgriLand released a number of videos showcasing the improvements Martin has made since enrolling on the programme, before ending the day with a panel discussion.

The second phase of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme was launched in the spring of 2019.

Since then, Martin – along with 11 other participating farmers – have been working on implementing farm plans aimed at achieving a net margin of €500/ha before farm subsidies are taken into account.

If you missed any of the action, or would like to have another look, all of the content can be viewed by following the links below.

Introducing Martin Connolly: Our host farmer for today’s Virtual Farm Walk

Virtual Farm Walk: Small changes reap big silage quality rewards

Virtual Farm Walk: Chasing heavier carcasses in Co. Roscommon

Virtual Farm Walk: Improving pasture quality through reseeding

Virtual Farm Walk: Calf health is your wealth

Virtual Farm Walk: The final chapter

Martin, who farms part-time just outside Castleplunket, in Co. Roscommon, runs a calf-to-bull beef system on 60ha of fragmented and slightly heavy land.

Each year, he purchases 120 spring-born, dairy-bred male calves and brings them through to slaughter at under 22 months-of-age.

Throughout the day, Martin explained some of the main aspects of the farm system, how the first 18 months of the programme have gone for him; he also discussed the targets he is aiming to hit as part of the adjusted farm plan.

We also spoke to the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme management team – Alan Dillon, Seán Cummins and James Fitzgerald – and Martin’s local Teagasc advisor Gerry Cregg, on topics such as: silage quality; calf-to-beef system; growth targets; calf health; vaccination; and calf prices.

The post Virtual Farm Walk: Relive all of the action appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As you can see from this Virtual Farm Walk, Martin – along with the 11 other farmers enrolled in the programme – have made significant progress in relation to the main pillars which contribute to profitable calf-to-beef production.

While there are many factors which fall outside the control of the beef farmer – including both beef and meal prices – there are many practices which have been shown to improve these enterprises’ returns. Most of these practices can be implemented inside the farm gate.

During the panel discussion (below), we talk to Martin and his programme and local advisor – James Fitzgerald and Gerry Cregg – about the areas that lead to a successful calf-to-beef operation, while outlining common pitfalls that farmers encounter along the way.

Martin runs a Friesian bull beef system – getting bulls away under 22 months-of-age; however, this system isn’t for every farmer. Martin opts for this approach due to these animals’ ability to achieve better liveweight gain and higher conformation scores.

Another determining factor is Martin’s ability to secure a route to market for these bulls. Despite this, there are many factors that should be explored before deciding on the production system. Some of these include, but are not limited to: land type and location; labour availability; and facilities.

There are also two prerequisites when it comes to dairy calf-to-beef production, namely good grassland management and the ability to make top-quality silage on-farm – both of which Martin has made significant improvements in.

Larger paddocks were subdivided into smaller allotments and grass measuring has led to better grass management, utilisation and the production of some 200 surplus bales. First-cut silage was harvested five weeks earlier than 2019, which subsequently resulted in the second cut happening at the end of June.

This also paved the way to turn calves onto top-quality after grass. Resseding is also incorporated in the farm plan in bid to improve sward quality.

These developments, coupled with his wealth of calf-rearing knowledge – and the addition of an animal health plan – have now equipped Martin with the tools to take the farm to the next level.

As already much publicised, the profitability of this system depends on calf price – a topic that has been well publicised in recent times. How much is paid for calves can be a determining factor in terms of a profit or a loss when we consider the large fixed and variable costs associated with a calf-to-beef system.

A correction in purchase price was witnessed in the spring of 2020 – not only on Martin’s farm, but across the 11 programme farmers’ holdings.

However, regardless of purchase price, animal – and particularly calf health – can not fall by the wayside and has a big impact on the calf’s viability for beef production going forward.

We know that purchasing calves direct from dairy farmers – or known, local sources – can have many benefits for calf-to-beef finishers. Firstly, beef farmers know the health status of the dairy herd and they can be confident that the calf has received an adequate amount of colostrum.

They can also be confident that the calf has been managed correctly in terms of milk, calf creep and water in the early days of life, which allow the animal to reach its weight targets in the future months.

Providing the correct housing environment is central for a calf to reach its genetic potential and to avoid stress and health issues. Inadequate housing can be linked to increased incidents of respiratory disease and scours.

For Martin, the farm plan will continue to target a higher carcass weight at slaughter – moving from 320kg to 335kg or slightly higher – while keeping production costs to an absolute minimum.

This will ultimately lead to increased beef output. We know that the most profitable beef farmers in Ireland drive output by selling as many kilograms of beef out the farm gate as possible – achieved through a combination of higher stocking rates, heavier carcass weights and low production costs.

The Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme team will continue to work alongside Martin, and the Roscommon-based farmer will continue to reach new targets as set out in the farm plan over the coming years.

Martin, and the Teagasc team, are now available to answer any questions you may have on the Teagasc Beef social media platforms – Facebook and Twitter.

The post Virtual Farm Walk: The final chapter appeared first on Agriland.ie.

With a wealth of experience in rearing calves, Martin Connolly realises the importance of keeping calves as healthy as possible over the rearing stage, and the impact that can have on the latter stages of the production system.

On the Roscommon-based holding, the basics in terms of: sourcing calves from a few known sources; optimising the calf-rearing environment; using the correct feeding regime; and regular health checking are all done well.

The 120 calves he rears each spring are sourced from three-to-four local dairy farmers with whom Martin has built up a good relationship with over the years.

Knowing how the calves were managed from birth to sale – as well as any problems there were – helps to make the transition between the two farms as stress-free as possible; this minimises the health problems that could potentially occur.

The calf shed is bedded with a deep bed of barley straw before the calves arrive and is topped-up regularly, ensuring that the calves always have a clean, dry lie.

Doors and air inlets can be adjusted where necessary to allow for increased control of the environment inside the shed as weather conditions change.

The calves also have free access to clean water and concentrates from the get-go, with troughs cleaned regularly along with the milk feeding equipment.

As the calves are fed, Martin takes time to observe them as they drink and eat meal, allowing him to identify sick calves as early as possible before treating them effectively.

To add to this, a comprehensive vaccination programme for pneumonia, IBR and clostridial disease has been put in place with the help of MSD Animal Health Ireland; this is having a huge positive effect on calf health.

Having weighed up the €20/calf cost of the vaccination programme versus: the antibiotic usage saved; the time saved treating sick calves; and the increased performance of the calves – particularly the bottom third of calves – Martin is happy that implementing this vaccination programme will be a central part of his calf health plans for years to come.

Having already seen an increase in calf performance due to improved herd health, Martin expects this effect to have an even greater benefit in terms of performance of these cattle during their second grazing season and finishing stage.

Whereas in previous years, a cohort of finishing bulls would perform below that of what is required as a legacy of having been setback by pneumonia in earlier life.

Martin is expecting next year’s finishing bulls to be far more uniform in their performance and achieve a higher average carcass weight as a result.

Again, Martin is available to answer any questions you may have on his system on the Teagasc Beef social media platforms – Facebook and Twitter.

The post Virtual Farm Walk: Calf health is your wealth appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As part of Martin Connolly’s farm plan, an element of reseeding was included to not only improve the quantity of grass grown on the farm, but to also maximise the quantity grown each year.

Over recent weeks, Martin has reseeded 8ac on his farm with a dual-purpose grazing and silage mix.

In the below video, he details the steps he’s undertaken.

Martin discussed the steps he completed to ensure that his autumn reseeding programme was a success – both in terms of germination and for the longevity of the sward.

After desiccating the existing sward in early August, the Roscommon-based farmer applied lime at a rate of 2t/ac in order to bring soil pH to the optimum level of 6.3 for perennial grass seed varieties.

The soil cultivation process involved two runs of a disc harrow and two runs of a power harrow before the seed was set.

Once sowing was completed, the field was rolled to limit the impact of a leather jacket attack and to ensure a good soil-to-seed contact was achieved.

In terms of the seed mixture used, ‘Greenacres Goldbite’ – a mix from Drummonds – was selected; it contained varieties rated highly on the Pasture Profit Index (PPI) and it was suited for an early graze in the spring, one-cut silage in mid-May and grazing for the remainder of the year.

After the sward has established, Martin plans to re-enter the field with a post-emergence spray to tackle any seedling grassland weeds before they become too established.

However, this step will depend on the weather conditions that occur towards the latter half of the month.

Martin is available to answer any questions you may have on his system throughout the day on the Teagasc Beef social media platforms – Facebook and Twitter.

The post Virtual Farm Walk: Improving pasture quality through reseeding appeared first on Agriland.ie.

A failure to reach the desired levels of performance – at any stage in the production system – will either lead to a reduction in carcass weight upon slaughter or an additional outlay in terms of finishing costs.

In the worst case scenarios, both may occur.

Martin Connolly, the host of today’s Teagasc Green Acres Virtual Farm Walk, has set slaughter targets for his finishing bulls.

In the below video, both Martin and Teagasc’s Alan Dillon discuss the targets on farm and what steps are being taken to ensure animal performance is maximised.

A focus on grass and silage

Since enrolling in the programme, Martin has placed a greater emphasis on grassland management, measurement and budgeting.

This has been achieved through the installation of additional paddocks, walking the farm weekly and budgeting using PastureBase Ireland to keep track of pre and post-grazing heights on the grazing ground.

Martin has found that the additional splitting of fields he has done is helping him to make grassland management easier. In total, there are now over 40 grazing divisions on the farm.

He has been targeting a pre-grazing yield of 1,400kg DM/ha and a post-grazing height of 4cm for all of his stock and is achieving this consistently.

He finds that the grass measuring has allowed him to make better decisions in terms of grassland management and improve his farm substantially in this regard.

In addition, a high value has been placed on the surplus bales he has harvested off his grazing ground and is currently using them as part of his bull finishing diet due to its very high feeding quality.

Aiming for a 15kg heavier carcass

A key target for Martin is to bring the average carcass weight of his Holstein Friesian bulls up to 335kg – up 15kg heavier than previously achieved on farm.

As part of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme, all stock are weighed three times during the year.

These weighings are timed to coincide with housing, turnout and mid-season. Calves on Martin’s farm are achieving a satisfactory level of thrive over the rearing stage and first grazing season.

In order to achieve better weights, performance over the first winter and second grazing season needs to be improved.

Improved silage quality and accurate meal supplementation will be central to achieving an average daily gain (ADG) of 0.75-0.8kg for the first winter.

Good grassland management and herd health will be central to achieving an ADG of 1.1kg over the second grazing season, resulting in a housing for finishing weight of 500kg.

Over the course of the following 120 days, the bulls will be built up to 8-9kg/day of concentrates as part of a total mixed ration (TMR) and will be slaughtered at an average carcass weight of 335kg.

Martin is available to answer any questions you may have on his system throughout the day on the Teagasc Beef social media platforms – Facebook and Twitter.

The post Virtual Farm Walk: Chasing heavier carcasses in Co. Roscommon appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Unlike other beef systems, where dry suckler cows may be present to mop up poorer-quality silages over the winter months, there’s no room for inferior-quality silage in calf-to-beef enterprises, as animals need to perform at every stage of the production chain.

Calf-to-beef systems require high-quality silage of 72-74% DMD (dry matter digestibility), which is a key factor in achieving the desired levels of animal performance over the winter months.

Where inferior-quality silage is produced at farm level, animal performance may suffer or an additional outlay on concentrate feeds may be required to ensure animals are provided with an adequate quality diet to reach the desired levels of performance over the winter months.

Farming in Castleplunket, Co. Roscommon, Martin Connolly – the host farmer for today’s Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme Virtual Farm Walk – has made a number of changes in a bid to improve the quality of silage available for his growing and finishing Holstein Friesian bulls.

Martin outlines these changes in the video (below).

Strategies employed at farm level

Over the last couple of years, Martin’s silage quality was below par mainly due to the harvesting dates being too late.

The heavy nature of the ground he farms, along with high levels of rainfall in the springtime, resulted in him not being able to get his silage ground grazed off in time to close it up in early April.

As a result, closing and harvesting dates for the first and second cuts were delayed by over a month, substantially reducing silage quality.

This year, the first-cut silage ground was fertilised for silage in mid-March, having been grazed tight with weanlings at the end of the 2019 grazing season.

Fertiliser and slurry were spread to make up a rate (units/ac) of 90N 15P 90K (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium). The first cut was harvested on May 11 and has returned a result of 73% DMD on testing.

The second cut was then closed up immediately after with the same rate of fertiliser; this was harvested on June 27.

A knock-on effect of having the silage harvesting completed earlier was that Martin had aftergrass to graze the calves on far earlier this year; he expects this to have a positive impact on the liveweight gain of the calves.

Along with this, Martin has been measuring grass weekly and baling surplus paddocks as the opportunity arises, resulting in an additional 200 bales of high-quality forage harvested to date and improved sward quality all grazing season.

The silage ground has received lime based on the advice of soil samples taken last year and 8ac are currently being reseeded which will be added in to the first-cut silage ground for next year.

Martin is available to answer any questions you may have on his system throughout the day on the Teagasc Beef social media platforms – Facebook and Twitter.

Part 1: Introducing Martin Connolly: Our host farmer for today’s Virtual Farm Walk

The post Virtual Farm Walk: Small changes reap big silage quality rewards appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Throughout the day, you will have the chance to watch a series of videos from Martin’s farm as he outlines his farming system and what he is aiming to achieve as part of the Green Acres programme.

The second phase of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme was launched in the spring of 2019 and, since then, Martin and 11 other dairy calf-to-beef farmers have been working closely with the programme manager, Alan Dillon, and advisors, James Fitzgerald and Seán Cummins.

Both the management team and the farmers work on farm plans aimed at achieving a net margin of €500/ha before farm subsidies are taken into account.

Martin Connolly farms part-time just outside Castleplunket where he runs a calf-to-bull beef system. He farms 60ha of fragmented and slightly heavy land which would be typical of the area and typical of much of the west of Ireland.

He buys in 120 spring-born, dairy-bred male calves off local farmers and brings them through to slaughter at under approximately 22 months-of-age.

Martin has been traditionally achieving a carcass weight of 320kg at just under two years with his bulls, but from here on – as part of the Green Acres farm plan – a carcass weight of 335kg or higher will be targeted.

There is a major focus on achieving this extra carcass weight and controlling variable costs through improving grassland management, silage quality and implementing a rigorous herd health plan.

Stay tuned throughout the day as we follow Martin’s farm walk and feel free to ask questions through the Teagasc Beef social media platforms – Facebook and Twitter.

The post Introducing Martin Connolly: Our host farmer for today’s Virtual Farm Walk appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The second phase of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme was launched in the spring of 2019.

Since then, Martin – along with 11 other participating farmers – have been working on implementing farm plans aimed at achieving a net margin of €500/ha before farm subsidies are taken into account.

Martin, who farms part-time just outside Castleplunket, in Co. Roscommon, runs a calf-to-bull beef system on 60ha of fragmented and slightly heavy land.

Each year, he purchases 120 spring-born, dairy-bred male calves and brings them through to slaughter at under 22 months-of-age.

Throughout the day, Martin will explain some of the main aspects of the farm system, how the first 18 months of the programme have gone for him; he will also discuss the targets he is aiming to hit as part of the adjusted farm plan.

Topics on the day will include grassland management, silage quality, animal performance and herd health.

Additionally, Green Acres programme advisor, Seán Cummins, will outline why silage quality is so important for calf-to-beef systems and what steps need to be taken to ensure that a high-quality winter feed is made on farm.

Also, programme manager Alan Dillon will outline different target weights – for specific animals – at different times of the year, while also touching on winter nutrition plans.

Tomorrow evening, AgriLand beef specialist Niall Claffey will be joined by Martin – and his dedicated programme advisor James Fitzgerald, along with his local Teagasc advisor Gerry Cregg – during an on-farm discussion.

Social media takeover

Throughout the day, Martin and the programme management team will be available on the Teagasc Beef social media platforms – Facebook and Twitter – to answer any questions or queries you may have.

The post Reminder: Virtual Farm Walk to take place on AgriLand tomorrow appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The second phase of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme was launched in the spring of 2019.

Since then, Martin – along with 11 other participating farmers – have been working on implementing farm plans aimed at achieving a net margin of €500/ha before farm subsidies are taken into account.

Martin, who farms part-time just outside Castleplunket, in Co. Roscommon, runs a calf-to-bull beef system on 60ha of fragmented and slightly heavy land.

Each year, he purchases 120 spring-born, dairy-bred male calves and brings them through to slaughter at under 22 months-of-age.

Throughout the day, Martin will explain some of the main aspects of the farm system, how the first 18 months of the programme have gone for him; he will also discuss the targets he is aiming to hit as part the adjusted farm plan.

Topics on the day will include grassland management, silage quality, animal performance and herd health.

Growing grass and improving silage quality

Over the last 18 months, small changes on Martin’s farm have resulted in an additional 200 bales of high-quality forage harvested to date and improved sward quality throughout the grazing season.

Green Acres programme advisor, Seán Cummins, will outline why silage quality is so important for calf-to-beef systems and what steps need to be taken to ensure that a high-quality winter feed is made on farm.

Achieving better weight gain

As part of the programme, all participants are now measuring grass on their farms. Martin finds that – by grass measuring – it has allowed him to make better decisions in terms of grassland management.

Like the other 11 farmers, he uses PastureBase Ireland to keep a better control on pre-grazing and post-grazing covers.

The Roscommon-based farmer will also identify other practices that have led to improved grassland management and utilisation.

Also, programme manager Alan Dillon will outline different target weights – for specific animals – at different times of the year, while also touching on winter nutrition plans.

Achieving good herd health

With a wealth of experience in rearing calves, Martin realises the importance of keeping calves as healthy as possible over the early stages of life and the impact that any setbacks can have on the latter stages of the production system.

Martin will discuss his calf-souring programme, while outlining the steps he takes towards keeping animals thriving on the farm in terms of the right environment along with a vaccination programme.

On Thursday evening, AgriLand beef specialist Niall Claffey will be joined by Martin – and his dedicated programme advisor James Fitzgerald, along with his local Teagasc advisor Gerry Cregg – during an on-farm discussion.

Here, we will dive a little deeper into some of the significant changes that have been implemented on the farm and how these will help the farm’s bottom line.

All the action will be available on AgriLand’s platforms and on Teagasc social media channels. Throughout the day, questions for Martin or the management team can be asked through the Teagasc Twitter or Facebook pages.

The programme is supported by: Drummonds Ltd; Liffey Mills; Volac Ireland; TP Whelehan; MSD Animal Health; and Munster Bovine.

The post Virtual Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme farm walk next Thursday appeared first on Agriland.ie.