27 May 2024

Beef and to the point

For Teagasc’s dairy-beef research and KT programme, Research Officer Nicky Byrne and Walsh Scholar Jenny Abbott, DairyBeef500 Programme Manager Alan Dillon and Programme Advisor Fergal Maguire explain how their work supports Ireland’s world-class beef production systems.

Can you explain the team’s role?

Nicky: Over the past 10 years there has been a 50% increase in Irish dairy cow numbers and a corresponding increase in the number of finished cattle originating from the dairy herd. This team has put a research programme in place to harness the opportunity that exists for profitable and sustainable grass-based beef production from the dairy herd.

Alan: The DairyBeef500 programme started in 2022 as an expansion of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf-to-Beef programme. Running over an initial five-year period, it aims to increase knowledge transfer to farms through our research combined with industry sponsorship.

Fergal: DairyBeef500 provides an intensive advisory service to a nationwide network of monitor farms. It runs an annual five-day new entrant dairy calf-to-beef course, holds dedicated dairy-beef discussion groups nationwide and integrates with Teagasc research centres to disseminate findings to the public.

Among those leading innovative beef research at Teagasc Grange are (L-R) DairyBeef500 Programme Manager Alan Dillon, Walsh Scholar Jenny Abbott and Advisor Fergal Maguire (Photo: Tony Keane)

What are your core priorities and objectives?         

Nicky: Influencing the development of dairy-beef systems that deliver improved profits for beef and dairy farmers, while minimising the carbon footprint of beef production and helping meet national GHG reduction targets.

Jenny: Currently, net margins of top-performing commercial dairy calf-to-beef systems are up to 10 times lower than research level. There are several reasons for this, but a major contributor is poor performance during the calf rearing stage. The current project aims to take an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to improving animal welfare and the economic and environmental efficiency of grass-based dairy calf-to-beef production systems.

How does your research achieve these objectives? How are findings presented and used?

Alan: Our programme will implement the latest technologies from Teagasc Grange and Teagasc Johnstown calf-to-beef research units on commercial farms nationwide. We aim to create awareness about new indexes relevant to dairy and beef farmers, such as the Dairy Beef Index (DBI) and Commercial Beef Value (CBV). This information is disseminated through various channels within Teagasc and agricultural media outlets.

Jenny: My research explores early-life nutritional programmes to enhance calf growth and lifetime performance to meet market specifications, as well as minimising carbon footprint. This data helps optimise dairy calf-to-beef production blueprints, providing insight into economic and environmental sustainability at farm level.

Nicky: To improve the sustainability of dairy-beef production, my main research objective is developing dairy-beef systems of reduced slaughter age from forage-based diets. My research takes a farm systems approach to assess the impact of different animal genetics and dietary interventions to reduce slaughter age, while maintaining carcass quality and output.

What are the key techniques and tools you use to achieve this work?

Alan: The DBI and the CBV are two key tools which have been shown in our research to work and dramatically improve farm efficiency. These tools help farmers breed and select animals of higher and more efficient beef production efficiency.

Jenny: We have a new histology and immunohistochemistry lab on site, allowing the analysis of cell development, cell architecture and gene expression within tissues. This will explain the metabolic mechanism underpinning any differences in animal performance and slaughter characteristics observed.

What specific projects are you currently working on?

Nicky: Currently I am working on several projects. Dairy4Beef is focused on the role of animal genetics and concentrate feeding strategy to reduce slaughter age. REDCLOVER is a project which explores the role of red clover inclusion into silage swards and the subsequent impact on animal performance over the first winter and finishing periods. Early Slaughter B€€F is a project which examines the role of pasture type in supporting reduced slaughter ages for early and late maturing dairy-beef heifer systems.

Jenny: My work is within a series of dairy calf-to-beef studies to assess and quantify the impact of various strategic, genetic, nutrition- and health-based interventions on performance at both an animal and systems level. My PhD project aims to take an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to improving animal welfare and the economic and environmental efficiency of grass-based dairy calf-to-beef production systems.

Alan: Our DairyBeef500 monitor farms have achieved their net profit target of over €500/ha, excluding all direct payments. We are running a new entrant dairy calf-to-beef course which will have 38 farmers graduated by the end of 2024. We’re also running several media campaigns through Teagasc and national media to promote the CBV index and the DBI.

Can you explain the relevance of this work in the context of Irish farming and agriculture?

Nicky: Dairy-beef now accounts for 60% of cattle processed in Irish meat plants. However, as the number of dairy-beef cattle increases there has also been a decline in their carcass conformation and weight, reducing their profit potential within dairy-beef systems.

Jenny: Increasing numbers of dairy calves are available for beef production and with dairy beef making a significant contribution to Ireland’s national kill, dairy beef has a major role to play within Irish agriculture. With low farm-level profitability, improving economic and environmental sustainability with innovative proven solutions is vital for the industry.  

Fergal: The carcass quality of dairy-beef sires has been steadily declining in recent years. Using high beef merit, high DBI bulls deliver higher CBV calves. This leads to more efficient performance levels on-farm, allowing for greater levels of carcass gain, resulting in a younger age of slaughter. This helps Irish farmers meet their climate change ambitions while improving profitability.

What results have you seen so far?

Jenny: Enhanced early life nutrition shows improved animal liveweight performance, with the largest gains seen in the post-weaning period. Ongoing work will determine the full extent of early life nutritional regimes on lifetime performance, and how best to take advantage of the post-weaning period.

Fergal: Farmers purchasing high CBV calves are achieving higher levels of carcass performance and a younger age of slaughter. Dairy farmers are moving to using better quality beef sires on their dairy herds, resulting in higher volumes of high CBV calves becoming available.

Nicky: Our research has shown that substituting Holstein Frisian males for high carcass merit beef-cross-dairy males, can double farm income and reduce the carbon footprint of beef produced by 10%. This research is important to inform national breeding policy, including the use of sexed semen and the use of high beef merit sires on the dairy herd. 

Nicky Byrne speaks about the efficiencies of dairy-beef production to delegates of the FAO’s Global Agenda on Sustainability Livestock 2022 (Photo: Paul Smith)

How does your team’s work contribute to Teagasc?

Nicky: Our work is important to both beef and dairy producers and wider industry stakeholders. This research has been strategically utilised by beef and dairy knowledge transfer teams to help improve farm efficiency, and the research programme’s findings have played a central role in new policy formation. 

Jenny: Our research into the mechanisms underpinning animal development and the impact of early life nutrition on the economic and environmental sustainability of dairy beef systems creates the foundations for blueprints to be developed, supporting advisors, educators and farmers in turn.

Alan: The DairyBeef500 team works across both beef and dairy programmes, which is unique in Teagasc. It aims to improve beef breeding strategies across the dairy industry and improve profitability across the beef industry. Dairy farms who euthanise calves from 2024 onwards risk losing their quality assurance, meaning there will be close to 30,000 extra calves in the system for Irish farmers or exporters to purchase. Teagasc can use the data generated from the high CBV calves to assess any potential increase in profit from purchasing these calves.

Are there any upcoming trends that will affect your work?

Nicky: It is expected that the proportion of beef originating from the dairy herd will continue to grow. However, to improve economic and environmental efficiency, these animals must be sired by high beef merit bulls. Our research and the identified technologies can help influence producers to embrace system change.

Fergal: Knowledge and use of CBV when purchasing dairy beef calves is currently very low, especially for pricing. An extensive media campaign and a large effort by the DairyBeef500 team at farm walks will be needed to highlight the importance of purchasing higher value beef genetics.

What are the principles you work to that you think make your team successful?

Nicky: We aim to make a difference to the livelihoods of our farmers and lessen agriculture’s impact on the environment. Our work focuses on providing solutions to the challenges faced by farmers, positioning them to take full advantage of the increasing opportunities in dairy-beef production.

Alan: Our main aim is ensuring that dairy-beef production is profitable and environmentally sustainable. We work closely with the Signpost team and Climate Advisory Service to ensure that the changes we make on-farm are helping farmers meet their climate change ambitions, while improving profitability and ensuring viable income generation for each farmer. 

What are you proudest of as a member of the team?

Jenny: Being part of a multidisciplinary team at the cutting edge of research eager to create change within the agricultural sector.

Alan: In five years, we’ve helped our demonstration farms improve profits from €100/ha to consistently over €500/ha, excluding all direct payments.

Fergal: I’m proud to help improve knowledge transfer to farmers, to consistently increase farm profitability while also tackling crucial sustainability ambitions.

Nicky: Seeing our research put into practice on commercial farms and witnessing the research findings making a difference at farm level.