Gates open at 10.30 am and farmers will make their way around five main stands on the home farm. The full suckler herd and sheep flock will be on display on the farm walk route, along with the 2023-born in calf heifers. Full performance stats and weight gains will be available on all stock on the farm.

  • Introduction to Tullamore Farm.
  • Farm Finances and Suckler Breeding.
  • Health Plan and New technologies.
  • Tullamore Farm Sheep System Performance.
  • Grassland, Soil Fertility, Sustainability and Combi crops.

    • Attendees will then make their way through the exhibitor area, where over 40 exhibitors will be set up with displays for farmers to interact with.

    The exhibitor area will also host a sheepdog training demo headed up by well known Roscommon sheepdog trainer Eamon Egan and a sheep dipping demo.

    This area will also have a live quad bike safety demo, where Meath man Andrew Reilly will take people through some safety aspects when driving quads.

    Workshops and Demos

    A number of workshops and demos will take place in the yard area, along with a discussion forum kicking off at 2pm. Agri Aware and Farm Relief Services will run a live tractor safety demo at the entrance to the yard area.

    ICBF will run a demonstration on the Commercial Beef Value (CBV) index using animals from the Tullamore Farm. Sheep Ireland will also run a demonstration on data collection from sheep flocks, how to capture it and explain what they do with it.

    Sligo sheep shearer Karol Devaney will be in the new slatted shed running a sheep shearing demo and talking about some of the challenges that sheep farmers are facing in relation to wool.

    There will be a farmer health and wellbeing workshop in the sheep shed, where farmers’ health issues will be discussed. Irish Farmers Journal renewables editor Stephen Robb will run a workshop concentrating on rooftop solar, what grants are available and how to go about installing them on your farm. Full catering facilities will be available on site during the open day.

    Forum discussion: ‘The future of the suckler cow’

    Suckler cow numbers remain in heavy decline and the sector faces many challenges in the next five to ten years. What will the sector look like? How will the industry change?

    What do the changes mean for part time and full time suckler farmers? Within the challenges are there opportunities for farmers that stay with suckling? Farmers will have their chance to participate in the discussion forum and put their questions and views to the panel.

    Panel Chair: Jack Kennedy

  • 2pm: Forum opens.
  • 2.10pm: Results of Irish Farmers Journal /KPMG study.
  • 2.30pm: Panel Discussion chaired by Jack Kennedy, Editor, Irish Farmers Journal.
  • 2.50pm: Questions and answers.
  • 3pm: Forum Closes.

    • Panel Participants

    Michael Wallace, UCD

    Michael Wallace grew up on a family dairy farm in north Co Monaghan. He obtained his BSc and PhD in Agricultural Economics from Queen’s University Belfast and MSc in Economics from the University of Warwick.

    In 2015 he moved to the School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development at Newcastle University as senior lecturer in Farm Business and he subsequently became programme director for Newcastle’s BSc Agri-business Management. He returned to UCD in August 2018 as professor of agriculture and food economics.

    Much of his research work has focused on assessing impacts of agricultural and environmental policies on farm businesses and farm households. He has also published extensively on the economics of agricultural production systems and farm productivity

    Phelim O’Neill, IFJ

    Phelim O’Neill joined the Irish Farmers Journal in 2015 and covers international markets and EU affairs: the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP); and trade negotiations that impact farming and the food industry.

    Phelim worked in Omagh Meats for 11 years before moving to the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC). He also held the role of chief executive of the Northern Ireland Meat Exporters Association ( NIMEA) – the trade association for meat factories in NI.

    Thomas O’Connor, full time beef and sheep farmer, Co Kildare

    Thomas O’Connor is a full time beef and sheep farmer farming alongside his parents just outside Moone in Co Kildare. He has an 80 cow suckler herd which runs alongside a 300 ewe flock. He also runs a finishing enterprise purchasing weanlings in the west and finishing bulls at 16 months, bullocks at 24 months and heifers at 22-24 months.

    JP Cowley, Easkey, Co Sligo

    JP Cowley is a full time suckler farmer from Easkey in Co Sligo. He runs a split calving continental suckler herd producing high value type weanlings for mainly breeding and export markets. Cows are a mixture of commercial Limousin, Charolais and Belgian Blues. Progeny are typically shown in Mayo-Sligo Livestock Market on show and sale days. He is a previous chairman of the Irish Farmers Association in Co Sligo.