Growing and refining a calf-to-beef system in Co. Mayo

From modest beginnings in 2016 when 10 calves were purchased, Jarlath and Austin Ruane have developed their calf-to-beef enterprise considerably over recent years.

Now purchasing ~80 calves annually - a mix of Holstein Friesian, Angus, Limousin and Hereford males - the Ruanes’ journey into dairy-beef was outlined as part of a recent DairyBeef 500 Campaign farm walk.

Farming a total of 34ha today, with 28.5ha attributed to beef production, the farm is home to a dairy-beef enterprise and a lowland ewe flock. In a throwback to the previous store-to-beef production system, a small number of store cattle are purchased annually and are also finished on farm.

As one of 15 demonstration farms enrolled in the DairyBeef 500 Campaign, the Ruanes are working to improve animal health, animal performance and grassland management, with the overall aim of improving on-farm profitability. In addition to this, a central focus is placed on the sustainability credentials of the farm, as the Ruanes are also participants in the Teagasc Signpost Programme.

Ironing out issues

The starting point in a successful dairy-beef enterprise is the acquisition of a healthy calf, which will ultimately meet the performance targets on your farm. In this regard, sourcing a problem-free animal from a trusted source is key – an area which the Ruanes have been working hard to achieve in recent years.

Initially, during the set-up phase, there was a number of teething problems with calf genetics, calf quality and the number of source herds from which calves were purchased.

Back in 2019, a total of 50 calves were purchased by Jarlath and Austin, originating from 26 different source herds – often passing through dealers and marts. This wide variety of sources brought about its own issues with an outbreak of scour and pneumonia occurring.

Doubling down on their efforts in calf sourcing has resulted in a considerable drop in the number of source herds; 79 calves were purchased from four herds of origin in 2023 and 78 calves were purchased from five source herds in 2022. In addition to this, all calves are purchased from local dairy herds.

The revised approach to calf sourcing has helped the Ruanes overcome many of the early-life challenges associated with calf health. A highly positive effect on overall herd health has been observed; the farm has reduced the incidence of illness and resulting treatments required in calves significantly during the calf rearing phase.

In addition to a change in calf buying policy, the Ruanes have worked hard to create the perfect housing environment for their calves. Along with the installation of an automatic feeder in 2020 to ensure consistency with milk feeding and to reduce labour, improvements have been undertaken on the calf rearing shed. Not only was infrastructure installed to create greater control of air flow, drainage was improved for seepage management.

A vaccination policy has also been implemented. Once calves are acclimatised, an intranasal vaccine to protect against RSV and Pi3 is administered. An oral drench for coccidiosis is also administered. At turnout, calves are given a vaccine against clostridial diseases, with a follow-up booster given after four weeks.

By focusing on purchasing a healthy calf, creating the correct environment and using vaccines effectively, the Ruanes have seen a 35% reduction in the vet bill per livestock unit when 2020 and 2022 expenses are compared.

Grassland management

Like many farms in the west of Ireland, the Ruanes’ farm is fragmented and is divided in four main blocks – all located within a five-mile radius of the main block.

Despite this fragmentation, excellent grazing infrastructure is present – consisting of paddocks, roadways and water points. A paddock system serves multiple purposes. Not only does it allow for increased grass production, as the ‘grow in three weeks and graze in three days’ principle can be applied, it allows for: better grass utilisation; enhanced animal performance; the identification and removal of surpluses in the form of quality bales; and ease of management – the latter is critical for Jarlath and Austin as they both work full time off farm.

The Ruanes also engage in regular grass measuring to ensure that quality grass is maintained in front of stock at all times. By entering paddocks at the desired pre-grazing cover (8-10cm or 1,300-1,600kg DM/ha) during mid-season, animal performance can be maximised. Grass measuring also aids in identifying surpluses, which can be removed as high-quality bales and fed back to priority animals over the winter months.

Improvements in soil fertility have also been observed. Back in 2019, 50% of the Ruanes’ farm was at the optimum level for pH and phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) indexes. Through an intensive liming and fertility programme, which is still ongoing today, this is slowly improving. 70% of the farmed area is now at a pH of 6.3 or greater, and 58% either index 3 or 4 for P and 68% at index 3 or 4 for K.

In addition to improving soil fertility, the Ruanes have also embraced technologies to improve the sustainability credentials of their grass-based production system. Along with purchasing a low-emission slurry spreader, protected urea has become the fertiliser of choice this year when applications of P and K are not required.

Slaughter performance

An overview of the slaughter performance of the farm was provided by Tommy Cox, DairyBeef 500 Advisor. Noting that weight from age and carcass weight targets were being missed when the Ruanes first joined the Teagasc Green Acres Programme – the predecessor to the DairyBeef 500 Campaign – due to the influence of Jersey genetics in sourced calves - he explained how an increased focus on the calf sourcing policy has helped in this regard.

By not purchasing animals with lower beef production potential, while also focusing on animal health and grassland management, the Ruanes have managed to reduce the age of slaughter of their farm from 26.7 months back to 24.2 months.

Tommy explained: “Although these animals seemed cheaper at the time, the increased costs associated with keeping them for longer to meet factory specs and the resulting lighter carcasses produced resulted in lower levels of profitability when compared to their comrades with superior genetics.

“These animals often left behind an increased environmental footprint due to the fact that many of these animals were being kept into their third grazing season, which was something the Ruanes were conscious of and wanted to address.”

Marketing on the farm is now split into three periods, rather than just summer sales. The heaviest of the steers are marketed off grass at 20-21 months following the second grazing season. A proportion of animals are marketed from the shed at 24 months, while a small proportion are turned back out to grass for a third grazing season – targeting finish at 28 months. Going forward, the plan is to reduce the numbers going back to grass for the third season to under 10% of total animals sold.

Farm finances

Tommy also explained how the improvements in technical performance have reaped continued reward in terms of profitability, with levels increasingly steadily. Heavier carcasses and increased numbers have seen beef output on the farm increase by over 500kg/ha from the 1,204kg/ha recorded in 2018 to the output of 1,704kg/ha recorded last year, with most of this extra gain coming from grazed grass or high-quality silage.

Table 1: Physical and financial performance of the Ruanes’ farm

The extra beef going out the farm gate and the increase in beef price has seen gross output in monetary terms increase significantly in recent years. Going forward, the plan is the try and keep this output at similar levels and try reduce variable costs where possible. Variable costs as a percentage of gross output is often used a measure of efficiency in beef farming systems. The aim for the Ruanes is to improve this metric to 57% in 2023 from the 67% recorded in 2022.

Meal, fertiliser and calf rearing costs account for the highest proportion of variable costs on the Ruanes’ farm. Meal accounted for 41% of total variable costs in 2022, with fertiliser and calf rearing costs contributing to 23% and 14%, respectively, of total variable costs. Continued efforts are being made to reduce theses costs, while also increasing weight gain from grass.

In the future fixed costs are expected to rise, with plans in place to construct new slatted accommodation under TAMS III, which will bring fixed costs from €897/ha in 2022 to a projected level of €950/ha in 2023. It is projected that the farm will generate a net margin (excluding subsidies) of €1,116/ha in 2023. However, maintaining a focus on technical efficiencies and controlling costs will play a central role in achieving this target.