Tullamore Farm, the Irish Farmers Journal beef and sheep demonstration farm located just outside Tullamore in Co Offaly will open its gates for a national suckler and sheep open day on Tuesday 23 July.

The farm which is home to an 80 cow suckler herd and 250 mid-season ewe lambing flock is profiled regularly on the Irish Farmers Journal and on farmersjournal.ie.

Entry on the day

There are three ways to get your ticket to this year's open day:

To register your interest and to get exclusive content and videos before the event, please click here

The full flock and suckler herd performance over the last number of years will be on display on the day.

A number of changes have taken place to the breeding programme in the suckler herd in 2024 which include moving to 100% AI being used on the herd and the introduction of sexed semen to the herd.

The farm has also invested in heat detection collars and will outline the pros and cons on the day of the new technology.

Weight performance, breeding data and a financial analysis of the suckler herd versus the sheep flock will be discussed on the day.

House changes

On the sheep side of the house changes have also taken place with the introduction of easy-care sheep, a wool shedding breed. By July the first lambs will have been sold from these ewes and we will have comparisons and figures analysed on a number of sheep dedicated stands on the day. A full breakdown of the last number of year’s lamb performance, drafting rates and carcass details will be outlined on the day.

Workshops and demonstrations on everything from animal health to farm safety will take place in the yard area on the day. The event will also have a host of trade stands from the beef and sheep industry on the day. The trade exhibition arena will have stands featuring handling facilities, AI and breeding, animal health, feed and fertiliser, machinery and motors as well as cattle and sheep societies. Some of the confirmed exhibitors include Zurich Farm Insurance, Dovea Genetics, Drumderry Precast, Foliar Farm Feeds and Seeds, Irish Simmental Cattle Society, Liffey Mills, Datamars Livestock, Midland Veterinary Tullamore, Norbrook, O’ Donovan Engineering, TP Whelehan, Germinal seeds, MSD Animal Health, National Rural Network, Boehringer, Clipex and ECI /JCB with more to be announced in the coming weeks.

This year’s open day is being supported by Zurich Farm Insurance. Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal Zurich Farm Insurance’s Bill Meany said “ Zurich Farm Insurance are delighted to be supporting this year’s Tullamore Farm suckler and sheep open day. Suckler and sheep farmers are the backbone of rural Ireland and indeed our community and we are delighted to be associated with this exciting open day”

The event will also finish with a discussion forum on “The future of suckler beef production in Ireland” where industry stakeholders will discuss the challenges and opportunities for suckler beef production in the years ahead.

Farmers and open day attendants will have a chance to partake in this open discussion forum and field questions to the speakers and presenters on the day.

Gates will open at 10.30am with the discussion forum to kick off at 2pm.

Further details of this year’s national open day can be found in the print edition every Thursday or on farmersjournal.ie.