Beef
Herd Performance Update with John Barry Co. Tipperary
Herd Performance Update with John Barry Co. Tipperary John’s farm reports strong breeding success, stable grassland management, and impressive animal growth, despite challenges. Aisling Molloy, Future Beef Programme Advisor, tells us more. Breeding Success The spring herd were scanned on 29th August. 61 females were bred this spring and 51 were scanned in […]
27 September 2024
Striking a balance between suckler farming and off-farm work commitments
Striking a balance between suckler farming and off-farm work commitments Limited economic returns have forced many of the current generation of Irish beef farmers to seek off-farm employment. By allocating the majority of their working time elsewhere, beef farming has become an early morning, late evening and weekend activity for many. Despite […]
26 September 2024
Breeding, Grassland, and Nutrition Update with Ed Curtain, Co. Cork
Breeding, Grassland, and Nutrition Update with Ed Curtain, Co. Cork Ed is securing sufficient feed for winter, while preparing dairy beef store cattle for finishing in November. Breeding Ed has 22 cows to calve and to date 10 live calves are on the ground with no issues. They started calving on 1st August. […]
26 September 2024
What to look for in your replacement heifers
What to look for in your replacement heifers Calving heifers at 24 months of age brings many benefits, but a key to making it a reality on farm is selecting the most appropriate heifer early. Nationally just 23% of suckler replacements calve between 22 and 26 months. This is despite the numerous […]
25 September 2024
Underweight store cattle – what are my options?
Underweight store cattle – what are my options? Manager of the Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Campaign, Alan Dillon shares strategies farmers can follow to tackle the problem of underweight store cattle – an issue arising on some farms after a prolonged winter 2023/2024 and a poor summer of grass growth. The wet weather […]
25 September 2024
The Teagasc Beef Budgets 2024/2025 with Aidan Murray
The Teagasc Beef Budgets 2024/2025 with Aidan Murray Following the launch of the Beef Budgets for 2024 at the National Ploughing Championships, Teagasc Beef specialist, Aidan Murray, has an update with all the details. Aidan compares the national kill figures to 2023 and discusses how have the prices changed in comparison to […]
25 September 2024
Clover grazing leaves higher profits from dairy-beef heifer systems
Clover grazing leaves higher profits from dairy-beef heifer systems Research results from Teagasc Johnstown Castle have pointed to the benefits of grazing dairy-beef heifers on swards containing clover and multispecies swards. Despite the lower carcass weight of heifers compared to steers, grass-based, dairy-beef heifer systems have the potential for very high carcass […]
23 September 2024
Weighing up the prospects for continental weanling to bull finishing systems
Weighing up the prospects for continental weanling to bull finishing systems Each year, Teagasc Beef Specialist, Aidan Murray prepares a suite of financial budgets as guide to beef farmers buying cattle for further feeding and finishing. In this budget, he examines the economic prospects for continental weanling to bull beef systems. As […]
20 September 2024
Time to do the sums on winter finishing
Time to do the sums on winter finishing The winter period is fast approaching and with that comes questions on the potential costs and returns from winter finishing systems. Prepared annually by Teagasc Beef Specialist, Aidan Murray, the Teagasc Beef Budgets 2024/2025 are a good starting point for finishers wishing to budget. […]
19 September 2024
Staying SCEP compliant to maximise your payments
Staying SCEP compliant to maximise your payments As the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) progresses, Manager of the Future Beef Programme at Teagasc, Martina Harrington reminds participating farmers on the key obligations for 2024 and 2025. SCEP is designed to promote sustainable and efficient farming practices for beef farmers in Ireland. As […]
18 September 2024