northern ireland suckler beef programme international beef cattle workers group wednesday 30 october...
TRANSCRIPT
NORTHERN IRELAND SUCKLER BEEF PROGRAMME
International Beef Cattle workers Group
Wednesday 30 October
Kieran Mailey
Irish Farmers Journal
& Francis Breen
Programme adviser, CAFRE
BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND
• Programme launched in March 2011 to run for 3 years
• 8 suckler farms selected from across Northern Ireland plus CAFRE farms
• 3 year plans drawn up for the farms• Programme will focus on• Breeding / fertility• Grassland management• Increasing output
• Following on from Teagasc/IFJ BETTER Farm Programme
BETTER Farm Programme
• Programme established in 2009• 16 farms through-out the country and 2
agricultural colleges• 3 year farm plans developed• Output, grassland management and
breeding and fertility -3 key areas for improvement
• Breeding/fertility has huge effect on management of other areas in plan
BETTER Farm Programme
BETTER Farm Programme
• Phase 1 GM/ha moved from €367/ha to €879/ha.
• 66% of the increase in gross margin achieved in Phase 1 derived from improvements in technical efficiency
• aim to carry this through to Phase 2• Phase 2 launched in July 2012.• 35 farms in total.
PROGRAMME FARMS
Programme TargetsProgramme Targets
NISBPNISBP
GM / haGM / ha £750£750
Calving Index (days)Calving Index (days) 365365
Calving Spread Calving Spread (weeks)(weeks) 1212
Stocking rate (LU/ha)Stocking rate (LU/ha) 22
Calves/cow/yr Calves/cow/yr weanedweaned 0.950.95
Progress to dateProgress to date
2012 2011 2010
Av farm size (Ha adj Grassland / cow herd)
98 99 95
Av Cow herd 110 99 91
Av Stocking rate (LU/ha)
1.97 1.82 1.65
Av GM/ha £674 £534 £402
Av Kg LWT/ha 629 632 567
Variable costsVariable costs
Importance of Fertility
• Improved grassland = more cattle needed• More calves born = increased output• Reduce cost of carrying empty cows• Easier to batch manage groups of stock• Reduce labour demand• More Kg beef from grass
• Which is better:
A cow calving every year or calving every 365days?
280 days
30 days
55 days
Breeding Calendar for Beef Cow
Cow sucking calf – non cycling
Approx. gestation
2-3 cycles to get cow back in calf
Grassland
• Biggest resource• Cheapest feed available• Most abundant feed on farm• Has to be properly managed – lime, P & K• Reseed annually• Cost of grazing - £0.25 to £0.40/day
• £300/t @ 5 bags @ 200 days = £0.37• €50/tonne DM grass (Teagasc)
Simple paddock system
Grassland
• Paddocks system will grow more grass• “In at your shin, go at your toe”• Walk swards weekly• Well managed grass– Energy = 11.5-12.5 Mj ME– Protein = 18% - 24%
Comparison of Grass Growth 2011 v 2012
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Kg
DM
/ha/d
ay
GR2011
GR2012
• 2011 – 24.7ha set stocked– Av grass growth - 49kg DM/ha/day– Seasonal yield - 6.2t DM/ha
• 2012 – 24.7ha rotationally grazed– Av grass growth - 59kg DM/ha/day– Seasonal yield - 7.2t DM/ha