Front-loading concentrates: Too often we see weanlings leave the shed in spring at much the same weight as they entered it, with the primary factor being diet. The first step is to get your silage tested and aim to feed the best quality silage to your weanlings, with a top-up of energy coming from concentrates thereafter.

Teagasc research throughout the years on various farm programmes has shown that front-loading concentrates in the early stages of housing resulted in a better performance in weanlings despite the overall weight of meal being the same. Taking a 150-day winter, feeding 2kg/day for the entire period results in 300kg of feed per weanling.

What’s more beneficial is to split this in to two halves, with 3kg/head fed for the first 75 days and 1kg/head fed for the final 75 days. This works because younger cattle have a higher feed conversion ratio, with a weaning off of concentrates ahead of spring also being beneficial as cattle continue to perform at grass.

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Teagasc Beef Conference: This year’s Teagasc National Beef Conference is at 5pm at the Raheen Woods Hotel, Athenry, Co Galway (H65 E443). The theme of session one is ‘Beef Farming 2025: Value, Profit and Renewal’. Session one will focus on high-value weanlings, with breeding decisions to market demand being discussed.

Managing the suckler cow pre- and post-calving for fertility and performance, the myostatin gene in beef breeding: balancing muscling and calving ease and how to breed, feed, and sell weanlings the market wants are some of the key topics being discussed, with speakers from Teagasc and ICBF joined by farmers and mart managers.

Session two is titled ‘Beef 2025 and Beyond: Prices, Profits and Passing on the Farm’. This session will explore what is currently driving beef price and where it may be heading next, with Trevor Boland from IFAC discussing profits in 2025 and planning tax for this year and the years ahead. The evening will finish with a panel discussion on generational renewal on beef farms, highlighting the challenges and solutions to a low level of young farmers in beef farming. It is an event not to be missed.

Tax implications: The talk on tax implications will be of huge interest to farmers amid record profits on some beef farms. While farmers who purchase in cattle for finishing will have seen much of the money received for finished cattle eroded through high or weanling prices, suckler to weanling or suckler to store farmers will see a big jump in profits, which may dictate spending or sales for the remainder of the year.

Talk to your accountant and check your tax liability, calculating your income and outgoings for the year and for the year end and ask for advice if a tax bill looks high. This may mean holding off on selling some cattle until the new year, with profits gained in 2026 easier spent across 12 months than the six weeks left in 2025. Bigger projects such as farm buildings or other infrastructure work can be planned out accordingly.