How better grassland and silage can boost beef performance
On this week’s Beef Edge podcast, Teagasc researchers, Paul Smith and Emily Roskam discuss the latest research on growing and finishing cattle, how this is being implemented on farms and look ahead to the upcoming National Beef Open day, BEEF2026 taking place on July 1 at Teagasc Grange.
The biggest opportunities to improve feed efficiency in growing cattle without increasing costs on farm, Emily explains, is through good grassland management and silage quality. Teagasc research shows that increasing concentrate levels increases liveweight gain and carcass gain. However, this is hugely influenced by the dry matter digestibility being fed in silage and Emily highlights the various feed rates depending on silage quality and animal type.
The national age of finish remains significantly higher than that achieved on research and top-performing commercial farms, and Paul discusses the main barriers preventing farmers from finishing cattle at 22–23 months of age. Many listeners will have heard of the Beef Quest project, Paul outlines some of the key findings.
Listen in below:
At the BEEF2026 Growing and Finishing Village, a central feature will be a live cattle handling and finishing demonstration, facilitated by Teagasc specialist and advisory staff alongside factory procurement personnel.
Farmers will see first-hand the key areas to assess when selecting animals for sale, including the correct and incorrect levels of carcass fatness and the fat scores and grades required under the Quality Payment Scheme (QPS).
Nationally, a relatively high percentage of cattle are being slaughtered at excessively high fat scores. This represents an economic cost through the use of grazed grass, silage or concentrate on animals with declining carcass performance efficiency. Selecting animals at the appropriate fat score is a must have skill for all farmers finishing beef animals.
Frank O’Sullivan, vet at Teagasc Grange, will outline key animal health considerations, while space allowance will be covered, including the correct areas required and their impact on performance. Nutritional factors will also be discussed, focusing on winter and finishing diets.
For further details on BEEF2026, visit here.
For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page.
The Beef Edge podcast is produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com