07 July 2022

Ballyvadin dairy calf-to-beef demonstration farm

Ballyvadin farm has been established by Teagasc in conjunction with Dawn Meats & Shinagh Dairy Farm. It will demonstrate the best technologies for profitable & sustainable production of beef calves from the dairy herd. Chloe Miller and Padraig French give some information about what is planned

Background

The recent expansion in the national dairy herd has resulted in an increasing number of both dairy (dairy × dairy male) and dairy beef (dairy × beef breed male and female) calves each year. Currently, a sustainable outlet for these calves has included live exports to mainland Europe; however, all indications are that this may not be possible in the future. Building a sustainable outlet for the ever-increasing dairy and dairy-beef calves coming from the industry is a priority. Additionally, the slaughtering of unweaned calves will not be sociably acceptable in the future. Consequently, there is a requirement to develop profitable dairy calf-to-beef systems. The dairy calf-to-beef demonstration farm based at Ballyvadin, Fethard, Co. Tipperary will demonstrate the deployment of best technologies to display profitable and sustainable dairy-beef production for beef farmers and other key stakeholders

Farm system

Ballyvadin farm is 112-hectare (ha) of free-draining clay loam soil and will be sown with perennial ryegrass/clover swards. Planned nitrogen (N) application rate for these swards when established is ~ 125 kg/ha. The farm will be stocked initially with 300 calves which will be reared through to beef as steers and heifers. The animals will be slaughtered when they reach adequate fat cover and the age at slaughter will determine the feed demand. The number of animals reared will be adjusted based on forage supply and demand. Although the target will be to maximise animal production from grazed grass and high-quality silage, a proportion of animals will also be slaughtered in the first-half of the year to demonstrate efficient winter finishing systems.

Animal selection

Ballyvadin farm will procure approximately 300 spring born calves each year from a small number of farms at between 2-to-4 weeks of age. These calves will be a minimum of four stars on the Commercial Beef Value (CBV) index and will include both bulls and heifers. All animals will be slaughtered when they reach a minimum carcass fat score of 3- with the majority expected to be slaughtered before the end of the second grazing season.

Ballyvadin objectives

There are 7 main objectives for the farm

1. Integrate a beef farm with a dairy farm
2. Operate a financially sustainable dairy-beef enterprise
3. Reduce nutrient losses to water ways
4. Implement mitigation strategies that reduce the impact of dairy calf-to-beef farming on climate change
5. Incorporate a proportion of the farm into high-diversity landscape features
6. Implement mitigation strategies to reduce ammonia emissions
7. Reduce the use of antibiotics and anthelmintics

Integrate a beef farm with a dairy farm

Closer collaboration between a dairy and beef farmer in management and transfer of calves will lead to significant benefits for both parties. The dairy farm will have a secure outlet for non-replacement calves and the beef farm will have a supply of calves in which they can have influence over the genetics, nutrition and health management prior to the calves arriving on the beef farm.

Ballyvadin farm is a joint venture between a meat processor – Dawn Meats Ltd and Shinagh dairy farm which is owned by four west cork dairy co-ops; Bandon, Barryroe, Lisavaird and Drinagh. Shinagh dairy farm is a demonstration dairy farm operated in conjunction with Teagasc and Shinagh Estates Ltd. A supply contract between Shinagh dairy farm and Ballyvadin dairy-beef farm will be developed, tested and demonstrated in the operation of the joint venture and this will also be used for other dairy farms supplying calves to Ballyvadin Farm.

Operate a financially sustainable dairy-beef enterprise

Dairy calf-to-beef production is financially exposed to significant financial risk in terms of animal performance and beef price. Performance at farm level is significantly poorer than what is achievable with best practice i.e. in Teagasc Grange. This farm will demonstrate a model that can give a competitive return on the capital and labour employed. To achieve this, the following technologies will be demonstrated:

• Excellent pasture management to ensure animals always have access to high-quality grass and grass silage.
• Minimal concentrate supplementation, with a focus on maximising animal performance from forage.
• Optimal animal performance at all stages of the animals’ life cycle to reduce age at slaughter
• The development of herd health plans to minimise morbidity and use of antibiotics and anthelmintics.

Reduce nutrient losses to water ways

Nitrogen and phosphorus (P) are key nutrient inputs into grassland systems and can be applied by either organic or inorganic fertilizers. The soluble P and soil particles can be washed into drainage networks and streams located on farms influencing water quality in the streams and wider catchment. Nitrogen loss typically occurs on soils that have high permeability. There is a stream running through the Ballyvadin Farm that can be monitored for this purpose. Mitigation strategies on the demonstration farm will include:

• Minimise point source pollution from buildings, farm yards and farm roadways.
• Minimise diffuse source pollution from drainage and runoff from land using good grazing and slurry/fertiliser application practices.
• Adopt the use of riparian buffer zones adjacent to watercourses.

Implement mitigation strategies that reduce the impact of dairy calf-to-beef farming on climate change

The agricultural technologies/strategies outlined in the Teagasc Greenhouse Gas MACC will be used to mitigate the impact of dairy-beef farming on climate change. These include:

• Use of high-merit beef genetics.
• Inclusion of white clover in swards to reduce chemical N requirements.
• All slurry applied using low emissions slurry spreading (LESS) methods.
• All inorganic chemical N applied as protected urea.
• Use of low crude protein concentrate feeds.
• Reaching target slaughter weights as soon as possible to reduce lifetime methane

Incorporate a proportion of the farm into high-diversity landscape features

Wildlife measures on intensive grassland farms can play an important role in halting the decline of biodiversity and achieving the goals of sustainable agriculture. Ballyvadin Farm already has a significant amount of natural and semi-natural habitats. To build on these existing features, a biodiversity plan will be developed for the farm to:

• Maintain and manage existing habitats appropriately.
• Improve the quality of existing hedgerows
• Install riparian buffer strips of permanent vegetation adjacent to the existing streams and pond; and avoid fertilizer, slurry or herbicide application in these areas. Establish new habitats where appropriate.

Implement mitigation strategies to reduce ammonia emissions

The agricultural technologies/strategies outlined in the Teagasc Ammonia MACC will be used to mitigate the impact of dairy-beef farming on ammonia emissions. These include:

• Use of low crude protein concentrate.
• Inclusion of white clover in existing pastures to reduce chemical N levels.
• All slurry to be applied using LESS methods.
• All chemical N applied as protected urea.

Reduce the use of antibiotics and anthelmintics

The EU Farm to Fork strategy has set a target to reduce the use of antimicrobials by 50% by 2030. On Ballyvadin farm:

• A benchmark for the use of both antibiotics and anthelmintics will be established.
• Pasture management will be optimised to minimise the use of anthelmintic.
• There will be a strict calf pneumonia programme.