Michael & Niall Biggins September/October Update 2025

Media

Niall recently featured in the new Future Beef labour saving series. series, featuring Future Beef farmers from across the country, showcases simple, effective measures that can help farmers improve efficiency, reduce workload, and enhance safety on beef farms.

Watch the video below where he discusses the new cryptosporidium vaccine that he is now using on the farm.

Grassland

Michael and Niall started closing paddocks from the 1^st October to ensure they have an adequate supply of grass for next spring. They expect to have all the cattle housed by mid-November.

The remaining weanlings are being fed ration at grass and the in-calf heifers are still out full time, while the cows were housed in early October.

The red clover was cut for silage and harvested on 23^rd September. It yielded 26 bales on total and means that Michael and Niall won’t have to graze it this autumn. As clover needs light over winter, it is important to either graze, cut or mulch it in autumn.

Michael also took the opportunity to spray the crop with ProClova, which can be used a minimum of 2 years after the crop was sown. Docks were starting to appear in patches across the field so he was keen to control them before they get out of control. The recommendation is to spray it 2-3 weeks after cutting to allow for re-growths, and it must only be applied between 1^st March and 31^st October. The advice is to mix 125 grams of ProClova and 0.25 litres of XL Adjuvant in 200 litres of water per hectare for established grassland. The rate varies for newly established grassland so it was always important to follow the advice on the label.

Figure 1: The docks were slow to die back in the red clover field after spraying

Performance

33 bull weanlings were sold live off farm this autumn. They ranged from€2100-€2300 in price at approx. 307kg live weight.

There are 31 remaining weanlings on the farm – consisting of 20 heifers and 11 bulls. The weanling bulls are eating 3kg of a 16% crude protein ration per head per day, while the breeding heifers are being fed 2kg/head/day at grass.

Figure 2: The breeding heifers for 2026

Five empty cows were sold live in the mart on 4^th October at an average weight of 685kg. A further 5 empty heifers were sold on 24^th October at an average weight of 470kg.

The bull weanlings (29) were weighed on 20^th September. They averaged 307kg and had gained 0.8 kg/day since their previous weighing on 30^th August.

Some of the heifers (12) were also weighed on the same day and averaged 310kg, after gaining 1.21 kg/day during the same period.