NORTHERN IRELAND SUCKLER BEEF PROGRAMME

International Beef Cattle workers Group

Wednesday 30 October

Kieran Mailey

Irish Farmers Journal

& Francis Breen

Programme adviser, CAFRE

BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND

• Programme launched in March 2011 to run for 3 years

• 8 suckler farms selected from across Northern Ireland plus CAFRE farms

• 3 year plans drawn up for the farms• Programme will focus on• Breeding / fertility• Grassland management• Increasing output

• Following on from Teagasc/IFJ BETTER Farm Programme

BETTER Farm Programme

• Programme established in 2009• 16 farms through-out the country and 2

agricultural colleges• 3 year farm plans developed• Output, grassland management and

breeding and fertility -3 key areas for improvement

• Breeding/fertility has huge effect on management of other areas in plan

BETTER Farm Programme

BETTER Farm Programme

• Phase 1 GM/ha moved from €367/ha to €879/ha.

• 66% of the increase in gross margin achieved in Phase 1 derived from improvements in technical efficiency

• aim to carry this through to Phase 2• Phase 2 launched in July 2012.• 35 farms in total.

PROGRAMME FARMS

Programme TargetsProgramme Targets

NISBPNISBP

GM / haGM / ha £750£750

Calving Index (days)Calving Index (days) 365365

Calving Spread Calving Spread (weeks)(weeks) 1212

Stocking rate (LU/ha)Stocking rate (LU/ha) 22

Calves/cow/yr Calves/cow/yr weanedweaned 0.950.95

Progress to dateProgress to date

2012 2011 2010

Av farm size (Ha adj Grassland / cow herd)

98 99 95

Av Cow herd 110 99 91

Av Stocking rate (LU/ha)

1.97 1.82 1.65

Av GM/ha £674 £534 £402

Av Kg LWT/ha 629 632 567

Variable costsVariable costs

Importance of Fertility

• Improved grassland = more cattle needed• More calves born = increased output• Reduce cost of carrying empty cows• Easier to batch manage groups of stock• Reduce labour demand• More Kg beef from grass

• Which is better:

A cow calving every year or calving every 365days?

280 days

30 days

55 days

Breeding Calendar for Beef Cow

Cow sucking calf – non cycling

Approx. gestation

2-3 cycles to get cow back in calf

Grassland

• Biggest resource• Cheapest feed available• Most abundant feed on farm• Has to be properly managed – lime, P & K• Reseed annually• Cost of grazing - £0.25 to £0.40/day

• £300/t @ 5 bags @ 200 days = £0.37• €50/tonne DM grass (Teagasc)

Simple paddock system

Grassland

• Paddocks system will grow more grass• “In at your shin, go at your toe”• Walk swards weekly• Well managed grass– Energy = 11.5-12.5 Mj ME– Protein = 18% - 24%

Comparison of Grass Growth 2011 v 2012

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Kg

DM

/ha/d

ay

GR2011

GR2012

• 2011 – 24.7ha set stocked– Av grass growth - 49kg DM/ha/day– Seasonal yield - 6.2t DM/ha

• 2012 – 24.7ha rotationally grazed– Av grass growth - 59kg DM/ha/day– Seasonal yield - 7.2t DM/ha