Scale and efficiency on show at Cork farm walks

As part of the Macra na Feirme agricultural conference "inspiration for a generation" delegates visited the farms of Niall O Mahony, Crookstown and Ger Dineen, Kilnamartyra.

The tours were facilitated by Anthony Dineen of Teagasc Macroom.Dineen explained that the land types largely determine the farming system in the area.

Both farms were excellent exponents of their disciplines and were very forthcoming with their information and experiences to the delegates.

Niall O'Mahony

The first stop was on the beef finishing unit of Niall O’Mahony. O’Mahony runs a store to finish beef system alongside a dairy herd and 75 acre tillage enterprise.

Anthony Dineen kicked off proceeding by telling those present that a key to a successful enterprise is knowing exactly what your plan is and sticking to it.

"There is no point buying animals if you don't know what you're going to do with them,” he said.

With over 500 cattle finished each year and with two or three lots of cattle put through the sheds a year as well as cattle sold every week, O’Mahony’s organisational and time management skills were highlighted.

O’Mahony reminded delegates that the first person you must pay is yourself and to control what you can control.

"Make sure an animal hits the spec and when it does, be ready to sell,” O’Mahony said.

System

Niall produces for the Angus scheme, Hereford prime and Continental bullocks and heifers. The vast majority of cattle are targeting a 320kg to 380kg carcase.

Depending on the condition of the animal, the finishing period runs from 80 to 100 days.There is generally a four to six week build up in ration levels from 2kg to 4kg with cattle receiving 8kg per day of concentrates for the final few weeks.

Stress management of the cattle and getting them settled in was something Niall had focused on in recent years. Purchased cattle are allowed a lie back area on arrival and two days after arrival they are vaccinated for IBR and treated for fluke and worms. This costs approximately €5/animal and is the equivalent of two days worth of feed.

Ger Dineen

Prominent BETTER farm participant Ger Dineen got the delegates attention by telling them he had increased his profit by €10,000 without having to sell any extra animal. The improvement was achieved through improving his grass and stock skills.

Dineen has seen his stocking rates creep up gradually over the years as his grass management skills have improved. The stocking rate has increased gradually from 1.4LU/ha to 2.25LU/ha with 2.7LU/ha or 2.9LU/ha the next targets. Some paddocks on the farm had grown 18t of grass while the lowest was at 5t.

An emphasis has been placed on adding farm roadways every year to improve grass utilisation. He has tightened his calving spread with any cow not in calf being sold. All heifers are calved at two years of age.