Huge crowds attend DairyBeef 500 farm walk in Cavan
As part of a major DairyBeef 500 farm walk, a large crowd visited the farm of Charlie and Charles Smyth, Virginia, Co. Cavan to see their dairy calf to beef farm in action
On Thursday, July 10, those attending got to see a well-run farm in operation. The DairyBeef 500 farm walk provided an insight into the Smyths’ system of production, looking at how their calves and cattle perform at grass.
Stand two gave an overview of grassland management to maximise animal performance on the farm, whilst also focusing on improving water quality. There was information outlined on how to select animals in preparation for finishing and the final stop gave an overview of the costs of producing a heifer from purchase to slaughter.
About the DairyBeef 500 farm
Since Charlie joined the DairyBeef 500 Campaign, he has demonstrated his open mindedness and ambition to improve profitability and performance on his farm. By focusing on calf rearing, grassland management and silage quality to reduce input costs and age of slaughter, a steady stream of improvement has been made.
Charlie recently begun to use some higher quality beef sires, identified from the Commercial Beef Value (CBV), a tool which will bring more confidence to beef farmers that they can source calves that are of superior genetic merit in terms of carcass weight and conformation than the average dairy beef calf.
- Available to view below, the comprehensive booklet from the event covers:
- Farm Overview
- Farm Physical and Financial Performance
- Farm Performance
- Summer Parasite Control in Calves at Grass for Dairy Calf-to-Beef Systems
- Ensuring the Successful Transition to Grass
- Selection of calves based on genetic potential
- Drafting animals for finish
- Grassland Infrastructure
- Grassland Management
- Agricultural sustainability support and advisory programme (ASSAP)
- The Signpost Programme: meeting our greenhouse gas emissions targets to 2030+ on beef farms
- How to reduce farm inorganic fertiliser application rate?
For more information, read the booklet from the Smyth farm walk here (PDF).
Further information on the DairyBeef 500 Campaign is available on its webpage.
The DairyBeef 500 Campaign is sponsored by Munster Bovine, Volac Milk Replacer Ireland, Corteva Agriscience, MSD, Liffey Mills and Drummonds.