Mixed farm system paying dividends in Co. Roscommon
Farmers in the west of Ireland and particularly Roscommon are renowned for operating a mixed grazing system (running both cattle and a mid-season lambing ewe flock), which is no different on the farm of Olivia Hynes, Four Roads, Co. Roscommon, participant in the Future Beef Programme. Producing quality weanlings and finishing lambs off grass is a key feature of her efficient farm business.
In this article, Catherine Egan, Teagasc Beef Specialist, provides an overview of the farm and outlines what to expect at an upcoming farm walk on Olivia Hynes’ farm on July 29.
The Future Beef Programme has become a valuable source of practical information for beef farmers, demonstrating how research and innovation can be successfully implemented on working farms. Olivia Hynes’ farm walk provides an opportunity to showcase how technical improvements and good management practices can improve both farm performance and environmental sustainability.
An upcoming farm walk will offer attendees a chance to see first-hand the progress being made on the farm and hear about the management decisions that are delivering positive results. Farmers attending will gain practical insights into improving grass utilisation, animal performance, breeding, herd health, soil fertility and environmental management while maintaining a profitable beef enterprise.
The system
Olivia runs an intensive mixed grazing enterprise, with 49 cows calving in 2026. In 2024, Olivia moved to a 100% AI breeding programme, a major shift following fertility issues with stock bulls.
She now uses a mix of Belgian Blue, Charolais, Limousin, and Simmental sires, supported by two vasectomised bulls for heat detection.
Her goal is to breed all replacements from within her own herd, improving herd health and reducing both disease risk and costs associated with purchasing animals.
Selecting the right genetics for maternal performance, fertility, calving ease and carcass quality remains central to building a productive weanling system on Olivia’s farm. Weanlings are targeted for the export market and sold in the local mart from September.
Last year, the weanling heifers weighed 359kg and the bulls weighed 361kg at time of sale. Olivia has placed huge emphasis on increasing weight gain from grass while selecting AI sires with high carcass and conformation.
Olivia complements the suckler enterprise with an early to mid-season ewe flock of 230 ewes. Scanning and weaning percentages are excellent with all lambs either finished off grass to factory specification or sold live in Roscommon Mart.
With lambs weaned on the farm, thoughts are moving to selecting ewes for breeding season 2026 and carrying out the ram NCT. This will be a practical demonstration on the evening which will be of huge interest to sheep farmers. Reducing labour on the farm when managing sheep will also be discussed on the evening with a discussion around TAMS equipment.
“The farm walk is designed to be highly interactive, with plenty of demonstrations and opportunities for discussion throughout the evening,” local Teagasc Advisor, Brian Daly commented.
“Farmers operating a mixed farming system will be able to visit Olivia’s farm to see the top weanlings being produced and a high performing flock. I encourage farmers to attend and to ask questions, share their own experiences and discuss practical solutions to common challenges facing beef and sheep farmers.”
Over 90% of the farm is free draining brown acid soil, with moderate to good fertility. Olivia has been working on improving fertility for a number of years and liming is a priority to correct pH levels.
Herd health, sustainability and paddocks
Animal health is closely linked to profitability, and maintaining healthy livestock is essential to achieving good lifetime performance on the calves and lambs on the farm. Olivia’s herd health plan places considerable emphasis on preventative herd health planning, including parasite control to reduce disease risks. Attendees will hear how proactive management is helping to minimise losses and maximise productivity on the farm.
Extensive work has been carried out on the Kilcash farm, where the walk is being held, implementing a paddock system which has been a main priority over the last number of years, as well as water troughs being installed. This has allowed Olivia to maximise the proportion of grazed grass in the diet of sheep and cattle, hence reducing costs.
Environmental sustainability has become an increasingly important part of sheep and beef farms. In 2024, 260 trees were planted in a L-shape format adjacent to the slatted shed covering 0.18ha. The objective is to capture ammonia emissions from livestock housing or uncovered slurry stores by directing the emissions into the tree belt and through the main canopy. Up to 1700m of hedging has also been planted on the farm.
Olivia Hynes was a finalist in the Teagasc/FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards 2025
Looking ahead, Olivia plans to reduce labour demands by investing in a new slatted shed on her out-farm. The plan is to build a 4-bay slatted tank for which she has applied for a planning permission exemption and will apply for a 60% TAMS grant. This will also be outlined on the night in detail.
“The value of this farm walk often comes from the conversations between farmers as much as from the demonstrations, discussions and presentations, allowing farmers to exchange ideas and learn from one another. It is a well worthwhile event for any farmer to see how Olivia operates a top-quality weanling system,” Future Beef Advisor, Aisling Molloy remarked.
Event details
Join us on Wednesday, 29 July at 6:30pm for a Future Beef & Sheep National Farm Walk on the farm of Olivia Hynes, Kilcash, Co. Roscommon. The event will be signposted from Knockcroghery village.
For more on Olivia Hynes’ farm and the upcoming event, watch the below video:
Teagasc kindly recognises the support from Kepak, which will provide refreshments at the end of the event.
Further details on the Future Beef Farm Walk on Olivia Hynes farm are available here.