Suckler calf-to-beef steer finishing
– Peter Lawrence
The farmers operating the steer system have shown steady progress since joining the programme and due to the nature of the system some farmers will reap their rewards when cow numbers reach their target and cattle sales increase.
The characteristics of the top performers in this system are:
High whole-farm stocking rate. Highly stocked at grass (>2.2 Lu/ha).Target weanling liveweight gain over the winter 0.5 to 0.6 kg/day.Capitalise on compensatory growth to achieve high weight gains off grass during the second grazing season.Aim to turn yearling cattle out to grass early and target a +230-day grazing season.Farmers aiming to gain at least 200kg liveweight from grazed grass.High-quality silage required to reduce meal input to weanlings during store period and finishing stock. Aim for at least 73% DMD.Five-star sires used – both Tomas Murphy and James Madigan use five-star stock bulls for terminal traits.Can help limit grazing groups during the summer – graze heifers and steers together.Suits both autumn and spring systems – autumn-calving system allows heifers and steers to be finished off grass to help farm cashflow.Suckler cows rearing male calves growing at 1.2 to 1.3kg/day pre-weaning.Tight calving spreads – this creates lots of steers and heifers that can be sold as a group (80% of herd calved in first two months).Calving interval close to 365 days. No passengers in these herds. Empty cows culled at weaning.Achieving required market spec on all stock at slaughter in terms of carcase weight, age and fat score.![]()
Summary of changes on James Madigan’s farm
The farm plan identified the need to increase stocking rate and output. Increased cow numbers gradually from 68 in 2012 to 84 cows and heifers calving in 2015. To do this, additional paddocks and drinkers were installed on the farm. Better grassland management has helped to improve grass utilisation by walking paddocks every week and targeting pre-grazing covers of 10cm. Reseeding is also an important focus, with 10-15% of the farm reseeded annually. There were additional roadways put in place also to help reduce labour when moving stock to paddocks. Soil fertility was another key area of focus. Regular soil tests were carried out and a fertiliser plan created to improve fertility and to increase grass growth.
Breeding
A strict culling protocol and stopping recycling cows from the autumn herd to the spring herd has kept a focus on fertility. In addition, bringing in replacement heifers from the dairy herd with good milk and fertility has been advantageous. As replacements are bought in, Jamese can focus on using only terminal stock bulls and AI sires to help improve calf quality. Other changes made include:
Changing from selling cattle live to finishing as 24-25 month steers and 22-23 month heifers.Weighing cattle regularly on farm to monitor cow and calf performance.Consulting a local vet and introducing a herd health plan.Staggering silage production to target early cut high-quality silage for younger cattle and later high-yielding silage for dry cows.Slatted shed with lie-back constructed in 2013 to accommodate herd expansion.Under-16 month
bull system
– Alan Dillon
Over the past three years, this system has consistently shown high gross margins and results have been on an upward curve.
The top two gross margins of the programme in 2015 came from Mike Dillane and Ger Dineen, both of whom operate this system. Ger operates a closed herd, finishing all his own bulls and selling half of his surplus heifers live for breeding and finishing the rest. Mike has an autumn-calving herd and has the majority of his bulls and heifers killed by springtime. This leaves his sheds empty and last year he decided to refill the sheds with 400-450kg bulls which were slaughtered in the summer. The summer price rise left strong margins after variable costs and raised his gross margin by approximately €150-€200/ha. Whether this extra run of bulls leaves the same margin this year given current store prices and beef price predictions remains to be seen.
The characteristics of the top performers in this system are:
High whole-farm stocking rate. Highly stocked at grass (>2.2 LU/ha).Five-star sires used – both Ger Dineen and Mike Dillane use 100%.Suits both autumn and spring systems. Autumn-calving system allows a second run of store bulls to be finished in summer if market conditions allow.High quality silage required to reduce meal input to autumn cows and finishing stock. Aim for 73% DMD+.High maternal value cows capable of producing weanlings at 400kg with little or no ration.Early turnout to grass and a long grazing season (+230 days).Tight calving spreads – this creates uniform lots of bulls and heifers that can be sold as a group.Calving interval close to 365 days. No passengers in these herds. Empty cows culled at weaning.Achieving required market spec on all stock at slaughter in terms of carcase weight, age and fat score.![]()
Summary of changes on Mike Dillane’s farm
The farm plan identified the need to increase stocking rate and output – increased from 67 to 103 cows over past four years. Although the farm is heavy in nature, earlier turnout to grass and quicker rotation length helped weight gain at grass, as did extra paddocks and reseeding.
Like the other farmers, a focus on soil fertility helped increase grass production.
Breeding
There has been a clear focus on breeding. The calving pattern has been tightened. All AI is used – the first 40% are bred to maternal sires and the remainder to terminal sires. Maternal sires are selected on predicted milking ability and daughter calving. Terminal sires are selected on calving ease, carcase weight and carcase conformation.
He has changed from selling all weanlings and culls live to 90% finishing and is moving to 100% finishing over next two years. Other changes include:
Extra store bulls purchased for finishing. Continuation of this depends on market prices.Herd health plan introduced. Vaccination policy for all stock.Portion of heavy land used for silage was drained and reseeded. Production levels have more than doubled on this land.Four-bay slatted shed built in 2014 for finishing extra stock.Sucking-to-weanling systems
– Catherine Egan
In 2015, there were seven suckler-to-weanling producers in the BETTER farm programme. Predominantly based in the northwest of the country, they have an average farm size of 36.6ha. The land type can be a major challenge.
Some of the farms had cattle housed during some of the summer months due to poor ground conditions and heavy rainfall. This of course resulted in high cost of feed during this time in conjunction with delayed turnout. Gross margin averaged €715/ha for the farms, compared with €695 in 2014, an increase of 3%. The increase in gross margin is minimal although there have been significant increases on some farms. Two of the farmers, Tom Halpin and Billy Gilmore, have changed system and were previously in this system analysis.
The characteristics of the top performers in this system are:
High whole-farm stocking rate (>2 LU/ha).Sires selected to breed top-quality weanlings.Targeting 400kg weanling at 10 months requires maternal cows with good milk supply.Having a tight calving spread leads to improved grassland management – and a uniform group of weanlings to be sold in one group.Maximising weight for age by utilising grass in a paddock system.Achieving breeding targets of a calf per cow per year to maximise output.Selecting poor-performing and empty cows for culling.Good stockmanship and attention to detail around calving.Suckling to weanling- Richard Jennings
Richard operates a mixed sucking to weanling and sheep enterprise in Co Mayo. The suckler herd consists predominantly of Limousin cross bred from the dairy herd. Maternal Limousin AI sires are used on the best-quality cows to breed suitable replacement stock with good milk supply.
The remaining cows are bred to high-quality Belgian Blue AI sires. As 100% AI is used, only top-performing sires are selected. Although there is more work involved at calving, Richard feels the returns make up for it. Two vasectomised bulls are run with the cows to detect them coming in heat. A flock of 107 mainly Suffolk crossbred ewes bred with a Texel ram will start lambing from 17 March onwards. Richard has been weaning two lambs per ewe for the past number of years.
![]()
Main changes made
Completing a profit monitor in early January each year helped to identify changes to be made for the coming year when action can be taken.Removing creep feeders and creep-grazing the calves ahead of the cows has helped to increase grass utilisation on the farm and reduce concentrate input.Weighing cattle on a regular basis to monitor performance has huge benefits.Soil-testing the farm helped to identify low index P and K levels on the farm. Targeting applications to these paddocks has helped increase soil indices.Compact calving to 12 weeks mid-November to early January has helped reduce labour on the farm.All the cows finishing calving by January. Breeding season starts in February. Lambing gets under way in March.While the U16 month bull finishing systems out-performed the suckler and steer systems in the last few years, one has to be mindful of the market conditions attached.
In the coming year, all finishers in the programme will be finishing cattle as much as possible under the required weight limits. This will have an impact on gross margin as it will limit the value of output from each cow.
This will no doubt have an impact on profit monitor analysis next year. In the case of Mike Dillane’s system, additional bulls bought in to finish in 2015 did help to push output further. The ability to continue this will depend on live cattle prices.
Weather
The gross margins in the weanling systems are slightly lower than they should be. The majority of suckler-to-weanling producers are in the west and northwest, which was battered by very poor and wet weather in 2015 which reduced the period at grass on some farms and increased variable costs. Looking ahead, better weather will undoubtedly have a more positive impact on gross margins from this system.
Suckler calf-to-beef steer finishing
– Peter Lawrence
The farmers operating the steer system have shown steady progress since joining the programme and due to the nature of the system some farmers will reap their rewards when cow numbers reach their target and cattle sales increase.
The characteristics of the top performers in this system are:
High whole-farm stocking rate. Highly stocked at grass (>2.2 Lu/ha).Target weanling liveweight gain over the winter 0.5 to 0.6 kg/day.Capitalise on compensatory growth to achieve high weight gains off grass during the second grazing season.Aim to turn yearling cattle out to grass early and target a +230-day grazing season.Farmers aiming to gain at least 200kg liveweight from grazed grass.High-quality silage required to reduce meal input to weanlings during store period and finishing stock. Aim for at least 73% DMD.Five-star sires used – both Tomas Murphy and James Madigan use five-star stock bulls for terminal traits.Can help limit grazing groups during the summer – graze heifers and steers together.Suits both autumn and spring systems – autumn-calving system allows heifers and steers to be finished off grass to help farm cashflow.Suckler cows rearing male calves growing at 1.2 to 1.3kg/day pre-weaning.Tight calving spreads – this creates lots of steers and heifers that can be sold as a group (80% of herd calved in first two months).Calving interval close to 365 days. No passengers in these herds. Empty cows culled at weaning.Achieving required market spec on all stock at slaughter in terms of carcase weight, age and fat score.![]()
Summary of changes on James Madigan’s farm
The farm plan identified the need to increase stocking rate and output. Increased cow numbers gradually from 68 in 2012 to 84 cows and heifers calving in 2015. To do this, additional paddocks and drinkers were installed on the farm. Better grassland management has helped to improve grass utilisation by walking paddocks every week and targeting pre-grazing covers of 10cm. Reseeding is also an important focus, with 10-15% of the farm reseeded annually. There were additional roadways put in place also to help reduce labour when moving stock to paddocks. Soil fertility was another key area of focus. Regular soil tests were carried out and a fertiliser plan created to improve fertility and to increase grass growth.
Breeding
A strict culling protocol and stopping recycling cows from the autumn herd to the spring herd has kept a focus on fertility. In addition, bringing in replacement heifers from the dairy herd with good milk and fertility has been advantageous. As replacements are bought in, Jamese can focus on using only terminal stock bulls and AI sires to help improve calf quality. Other changes made include:
Changing from selling cattle live to finishing as 24-25 month steers and 22-23 month heifers.Weighing cattle regularly on farm to monitor cow and calf performance.Consulting a local vet and introducing a herd health plan.Staggering silage production to target early cut high-quality silage for younger cattle and later high-yielding silage for dry cows.Slatted shed with lie-back constructed in 2013 to accommodate herd expansion.Under-16 month
bull system
– Alan Dillon
Over the past three years, this system has consistently shown high gross margins and results have been on an upward curve.
The top two gross margins of the programme in 2015 came from Mike Dillane and Ger Dineen, both of whom operate this system. Ger operates a closed herd, finishing all his own bulls and selling half of his surplus heifers live for breeding and finishing the rest. Mike has an autumn-calving herd and has the majority of his bulls and heifers killed by springtime. This leaves his sheds empty and last year he decided to refill the sheds with 400-450kg bulls which were slaughtered in the summer. The summer price rise left strong margins after variable costs and raised his gross margin by approximately €150-€200/ha. Whether this extra run of bulls leaves the same margin this year given current store prices and beef price predictions remains to be seen.
The characteristics of the top performers in this system are:
High whole-farm stocking rate. Highly stocked at grass (>2.2 LU/ha).Five-star sires used – both Ger Dineen and Mike Dillane use 100%.Suits both autumn and spring systems. Autumn-calving system allows a second run of store bulls to be finished in summer if market conditions allow.High quality silage required to reduce meal input to autumn cows and finishing stock. Aim for 73% DMD+.High maternal value cows capable of producing weanlings at 400kg with little or no ration.Early turnout to grass and a long grazing season (+230 days).Tight calving spreads – this creates uniform lots of bulls and heifers that can be sold as a group.Calving interval close to 365 days. No passengers in these herds. Empty cows culled at weaning.Achieving required market spec on all stock at slaughter in terms of carcase weight, age and fat score.![]()
Summary of changes on Mike Dillane’s farm
The farm plan identified the need to increase stocking rate and output – increased from 67 to 103 cows over past four years. Although the farm is heavy in nature, earlier turnout to grass and quicker rotation length helped weight gain at grass, as did extra paddocks and reseeding.
Like the other farmers, a focus on soil fertility helped increase grass production.
Breeding
There has been a clear focus on breeding. The calving pattern has been tightened. All AI is used – the first 40% are bred to maternal sires and the remainder to terminal sires. Maternal sires are selected on predicted milking ability and daughter calving. Terminal sires are selected on calving ease, carcase weight and carcase conformation.
He has changed from selling all weanlings and culls live to 90% finishing and is moving to 100% finishing over next two years. Other changes include:
Extra store bulls purchased for finishing. Continuation of this depends on market prices.Herd health plan introduced. Vaccination policy for all stock.Portion of heavy land used for silage was drained and reseeded. Production levels have more than doubled on this land.Four-bay slatted shed built in 2014 for finishing extra stock.Sucking-to-weanling systems
– Catherine Egan
In 2015, there were seven suckler-to-weanling producers in the BETTER farm programme. Predominantly based in the northwest of the country, they have an average farm size of 36.6ha. The land type can be a major challenge.
Some of the farms had cattle housed during some of the summer months due to poor ground conditions and heavy rainfall. This of course resulted in high cost of feed during this time in conjunction with delayed turnout. Gross margin averaged €715/ha for the farms, compared with €695 in 2014, an increase of 3%. The increase in gross margin is minimal although there have been significant increases on some farms. Two of the farmers, Tom Halpin and Billy Gilmore, have changed system and were previously in this system analysis.
The characteristics of the top performers in this system are:
High whole-farm stocking rate (>2 LU/ha).Sires selected to breed top-quality weanlings.Targeting 400kg weanling at 10 months requires maternal cows with good milk supply.Having a tight calving spread leads to improved grassland management – and a uniform group of weanlings to be sold in one group.Maximising weight for age by utilising grass in a paddock system.Achieving breeding targets of a calf per cow per year to maximise output.Selecting poor-performing and empty cows for culling.Good stockmanship and attention to detail around calving.Suckling to weanling- Richard Jennings
Richard operates a mixed sucking to weanling and sheep enterprise in Co Mayo. The suckler herd consists predominantly of Limousin cross bred from the dairy herd. Maternal Limousin AI sires are used on the best-quality cows to breed suitable replacement stock with good milk supply.
The remaining cows are bred to high-quality Belgian Blue AI sires. As 100% AI is used, only top-performing sires are selected. Although there is more work involved at calving, Richard feels the returns make up for it. Two vasectomised bulls are run with the cows to detect them coming in heat. A flock of 107 mainly Suffolk crossbred ewes bred with a Texel ram will start lambing from 17 March onwards. Richard has been weaning two lambs per ewe for the past number of years.
![]()
Main changes made
Completing a profit monitor in early January each year helped to identify changes to be made for the coming year when action can be taken.Removing creep feeders and creep-grazing the calves ahead of the cows has helped to increase grass utilisation on the farm and reduce concentrate input.Weighing cattle on a regular basis to monitor performance has huge benefits.Soil-testing the farm helped to identify low index P and K levels on the farm. Targeting applications to these paddocks has helped increase soil indices.Compact calving to 12 weeks mid-November to early January has helped reduce labour on the farm.All the cows finishing calving by January. Breeding season starts in February. Lambing gets under way in March.While the U16 month bull finishing systems out-performed the suckler and steer systems in the last few years, one has to be mindful of the market conditions attached.
In the coming year, all finishers in the programme will be finishing cattle as much as possible under the required weight limits. This will have an impact on gross margin as it will limit the value of output from each cow.
This will no doubt have an impact on profit monitor analysis next year. In the case of Mike Dillane’s system, additional bulls bought in to finish in 2015 did help to push output further. The ability to continue this will depend on live cattle prices.
Weather
The gross margins in the weanling systems are slightly lower than they should be. The majority of suckler-to-weanling producers are in the west and northwest, which was battered by very poor and wet weather in 2015 which reduced the period at grass on some farms and increased variable costs. Looking ahead, better weather will undoubtedly have a more positive impact on gross margins from this system.
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