DairyBeef 500 farmer, Peter O’ Hanrahan from Co. Kilkenny is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to discuss his dairy beef system, grassland management on the farm and the upcoming farm walk taking place.

Peter explains how calves are sourced from five farms within 15 minutes of his own farm. They are reared on automatic feeding system which he discusses in detail. They are grazed in two groups, with lighter calves forming a third group, and rotated every three days in a paddock system.

Currently, calves are performing well gaining 0.84kg/head/day. Stores will be weighed at the end of the month and drafted for feeding indoors. This year’s silage quality is very good at 72-75 DMD, which will reduce the concentrates to be fed over winter.

Peter also describes the excellent handling unit that is used to easily handle large groups of cattle safely and efficiently.

For full insights, listen to the Beef Edge podcast below:

The DairyBeef 500 farm walk on Peter’s farm takes place on Thursday, September 4 at 6pm and the address is: Kiljames, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, R95 N25H. All aspects of the O’Hanrahans’ dairy calf to beef system will be on full display. Further details on Peter O’Hanrahan’s DairyBeef 500 farm walk are available here.

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com, more episodes and information are available on the Beef Edge podcast show page.