Ruairi Cummins May/June Update 2026

Grassland

2026 has been a tricky year for grassland management. We went from soft, difficult ground conditions to very dry weather in a very short space of time. It’s very dry here in Kilmoganny at the minute and grass growth has really slowed up. I was close to having to introduce silage back into the diet, but thankfully the rain that has come in the last few days should help drive growth again and hopefully keep cattle on grass for the next month.

Up to now, I was following the cows with 20 units of protected urea per acre after grazing. With moisture back in the ground, I’m now going to target 20–25 acres with nitrogen (20 units /acre), phosphorus(3-4 units per acre) and potassium (10 units per acre) + sulphur to try and maximise growth while conditions are right. When grass is under pressure, you have to react quickly when rain comes because there’s no guarantee of when the next drop will fall.

Silage ground is being cut this week and the plan afterwards is to spread 2,500–3,000 gallons of slurry per acre and then top it up with a bag of protected urea and sulphur. I found last year that putting out a bag of potassium per acre on the silage ground in Ballyhall really paid off in terms of regrowth and sward performance, especially on ground that is cut heavily.

One thing I’ve learned this year is the importance of staying ahead of grass supply. Growth can change very quickly in dry conditions, so keeping an eye on covers and average farm cover is important. Any time rain comes, you need to be ready to get fertiliser out straight away to drive growth again.

If grass gets too tight, I’ll feed silage rather than let cows go backwards. We’re in the middle of breeding now, so it’s important to keep cows thriving and not short on feed. If cows lose condition or go hungry at this time of year, it can hit submission rates and cows going back in calf, so keeping good feed in front of them is the main thing.

Calving and Breeding

Calving went well overall this spring. Cows calved down fine, the calves were lively, got up quickly and sucked well from the start. I always try to get cows and calves out to grass as soon as possible, but the weather made that difficult at times this year, with ground conditions slow to improve.

We did have three calf losses, which takes the shine off the calving season. One later-born calf developed a swollen navel. I always keep the sheds well bedded and spread sanitiser weekly, so hygiene would always be a big focus. The calves were lively and sucking well and I feed soya pre-calving to make sure cows have enough protein for good-quality colostrum. I noticed the swollen navel early and the vet treated him, but the infection must have spread internally and we lost him.

Another calf went down with scour, similar to some of the issues I had last year. Again, the vet treated him but he didn’t pull through. The third calf was one I found dead out in the field.

Even with the three losses, we were nowhere near the stage we were at last year with calves going down three weeks after calving. As I mentioned in an earlier update, we blood tested the cows and found selenium levels were very low. The cows were treated pre-calving this year and that seems to have solved the problem, so that has definitely been an improvement. It just shows the value of getting to the root of an issue instead of guessing. Next year, I’ll still be putting an even bigger focus on hygiene around calving and young calves.

Breeding started on the 12th of April and thankfully things have gone well so far. I have the cows and heifers split into two groups. The first-calved heifers and maiden heifers are running with the Limousin bull, while the mature cows are with the Charolais bull.

I am really delighted with the first calved heifers and their calves, see a selection of them below. I was looking at them and their calves last week and can’t understand why more farmers don’t calve their heifers at 24 months. The calves are smashers and the heifers themselves are still powering on. They were the first cattle out to grass this spring and it really stood to them. Within a few weeks at grass they were bulling strongly. There was plenty of activity early on and things have gone quiet since, so hopefully that’s a sign most of them are back in calf already.

Figure 1 Selection of first calvers, their calves and maiden Heifers

The maiden heifers have also done very well over the winter, averaging 0.91kg/day gain. I weighed them on the 14^th of May and they were on average 408kgs – 60% of their mature body weight and ideal for breeding.

Figure 2 LM bull with a maiden heifer

Figure 3 CH bull with progeny

Figure 4 Selection of 2026 born calves

I buy in dairy-beef cross heifers as replacements and rear them myself. The big advantage is the milk they bring into the herd. In 2025, my suckler calves averaged 1.48kg/day up to weaning, which I’m very happy with. The downside can be lighter carcass weights in the cows, so last year I bought a Limousin bull to try and breed a more balanced replacement female with extra carcass while still keeping milk and fertility.

I have the first of those calves on the ground now and I’m very happy with them so far. They are definitely adding more shape and carcass into the heifer calves, which is important from a future cull cow value point of view as well. You can see it already in the Eurostar figures below, with the average carcass figure increasing from +13kg in the 2025 maiden heifers to +19kg in the heifers born this year.

Figure 5 Second Calver with progeny from LM bull

Last year I also worked with a local dairy farmer where he used LM9379 (Shannon Stan) on part of his herd and I bought the heifer calves. The heifers have an average figure of 15kg for carcass and 12kg for milk. My own Limousin bull is carrying +32.6kg for carcass and +2.4kg for milk, so he should help balance things out well by adding more shape and carcass without losing the milk performance I want in the cows.

Between those heifers and my own homebred replacements, I should have a great selection of breeding heifers coming through for 2026.

Figure 6 Euro Star values for 2025 maiden heifers for breeding 2026 and selection of heifers born 2026

Figure 7 Purchased LM calves from LM9379 (Shannon Stan)

Performance

As I mentioned earlier the heifers gained 0.9kg/hd/day to have them on target for breeding.

I am really impressed with the bulls. They have performed well from day one and the weather last year really stood to them. I always let them creep graze ahead of the cows from going out, using horse pigtails. Before weaning they go on creep meal and are built up onto 3 kgs before housing. They are vaccinated with two shouts of Bovipast and an IBR vaccine and get an Ivermectin treatment 2-3 weeks pre housing to ensure there are no issues with pneumonia or lung worm.

They are built up on ration and silage slowly until they are on 9kg concentrate/hd/day, in the form of nuts, fed twice. I had all of them gone by the 13^th of May a fortnight ahead of last year, they were 14.6 months old on average and a carcass weight of 410kg, a grade of U- and a fat score of 3=.

Figure 8 Weighing Record of 2025 born bulls

Figure 9 Finishing profile of 2025 born young bulls from ICBF

Figure 10 Selection of bulls finished in 2026