Inside John Pringle’s suckler-to-beef system
Future Beef Programme farmer, John Pringle from Co. Wicklow gives an insight into his suckler beef system finishing bulls at under 16 months, preparing for silage and the upcoming National Beef Open Day taking place on 29th May at 6:30pm on this episode of the Beef Edge podcast.
Joining host Catherine Egan, John details his sheep and beef enterprise and how the farm has evolved over the last number of decades.
He describes the management of the bulls from weanling to finish on the farm and the plans for bulls being finished in 2026. Good health measures play an important role in reducing stress and maintaining thrive.
John is highly focused on efficiency and grass utilisation and describes how the system changed in recent years with improved utilisations, closing farm in the autumn and applying lime since joining the Future Beef programme. The plan is to harvest silage in the coming week with the target to make over 70 dry matter digestibility (DMD).
Breeding season has been going well so far and John has implemented a synchronisation protocol for the heifers for the second year in a row.
The investment in sheep and cattle handling facilities, along with a new shed, has improved labour efficiency and health and safety on the farm.
Listen in below:
Join us on Friday, 29th May at 6:30pm for a Future Beef National Farm Walk on the farm of John Pringle, Kilacloran, Aughrim, Co. Wicklow. Eircode: Y14 PT99.
For further details on the event, visit here.
For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page.
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