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15 February 2023

Grass 10 Featured Farmer: Aidan and Luke Maguire, Navan, Co. Meath

Grass 10 Featured Farmer: Aidan and Luke Maguire, Navan, Co. Meath


Aidan and Luke Maguire operate a calf to beef enterprise on free-draining land in Navan, Co. Meath. They provided an update on their grazing management in this week’s edition of the Grass 10 newsletter.

First rotation grazing management

I set myself up a few years ago to go out early in spring and I haven’t changed since. I get out the last week of January and my first rotation finishes around the 7-10th April. I let yearlings out by day and in on silage by night, as I have more control and can allocate what area to graze and get the ground cleaned off. This sets me up with lovely clean pastures to start the second rotation. I’m grazing one or two wetter paddocks now while conditions are good and I’m starting to graze my heavier covers now, as they are getting used to grazing.

You mightn’t see thrive now, but as soon as growth picks up they turn inside out. I especially notice it at the backend of the year. I finished 155 cattle from August to January with only five left to go. All cattle were finished between 18 and 22 months mostly from grass, with approximately 500kg meal per head. These Angus and Hereford bullocks averaged 307kg dead weight. I attribute most of this to a long grazing season.

  • Percentage grazed: 16%;
  • Grazing method: on-off grazing by day;
  • Pre-grazing yield: 1,000kg DM/ha;
  • Average Farm Cover (AFC): 509kg DM/ha;
  • Growth: 5kg DM/ha/day;
  • Demand: 8kg DM/ha/day;
  • Diet: 3kg DM Grass and 3kg DM silage.

Infographic of Aidan Maguire grassland update

First rotation fertiliser management

One third of the farm has gotten 1,650 gal/ac (15u N/ac) of slurry using LESS. I’m saving the rest of the slurry for the red clover silage ground, which I plan to cut three times this year. I’m going this week with 23unit/ac of nitrogen. My soil indexes are 3 and 4 on most of the area and pH 6.3 – 6.7, so they will respond to early fertiliser especially after grazing.

My big challenge will be maintaining AFC above 500kg DM/ha whilst keeping cattle out grazing. Walking the farm allows me to match demand for grass from my cattle with the grass growth.

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