After a few weeks where grass growth struggled to meet demand, there has been a marked turnaround on Tullamore Farm this week.
"It’s been a really slow going and we thought at one stage we were going to have to go back in with meal or silage to one of the groups of heifers that are currently grazing on the out-farm," says farm manager Shaun Diver.
However, more positively, grass growth for the last seven days hit 90kg/DM/Ha/day.
Shaun continues: "We were just able to grow around what our demand was at 45kg/DM/Ha/day over the last few weeks, but things changed drastically this week. Average farm cover is currently running at 793kg/DM/Ha, with the grazing area stocked at 3.35 live units."
There are currently 17 days of grass ahead of stock and the likelihood is if the current growth continues we will have to take out some paddocks within the next two weeks.
Pleasing results
"We killed the first of our under 16 month bulls this week," says Shaun.
"The remaining bulls were weighed this week and they currently weigh an average of 680kg. They are currently gaining 1.73 kg/day since their last weighing."
This 14-month-old Limousin bull killed out at 387kg dead weigh (62% kill out), grading at U=3= and making €1,703.
These results have greatly pleased Shaun, who was very happy with the fat scores and grading. A further 10 bulls have been drafted to be killed next week.
This week’s bulls were killed at a €4.10/kg base price, with the two U= graded bulls making €4.40/kg.
This 14-month-old Limousin bull killed out at 358kg dead weight (57% kill out) grading at R+3- and making €1,532.
Breeding progress
Breeding is going well, with 62 of the 80 cows on farm bred in the last four weeks. furthermore, 35 of 38 heifers were serviced over the same period.
The stock bull has now been turned out with the heifer group, he will run with the heifers for the next four to five weeks before being turned out with the cows to mop up for the last three weeks of the breeding season.
Cows are currently being inseminated once a day at noon. A vasectomised bulls is being used to aid in heat detection and this bull is fitted with a Mooheat collar.
After a few weeks where grass growth struggled to meet demand, there has been a marked turnaround on Tullamore Farm this week.
"It’s been a really slow going and we thought at one stage we were going to have to go back in with meal or silage to one of the groups of heifers that are currently grazing on the out-farm," says farm manager Shaun Diver.
However, more positively, grass growth for the last seven days hit 90kg/DM/Ha/day.
Shaun continues: "We were just able to grow around what our demand was at 45kg/DM/Ha/day over the last few weeks, but things changed drastically this week. Average farm cover is currently running at 793kg/DM/Ha, with the grazing area stocked at 3.35 live units."
There are currently 17 days of grass ahead of stock and the likelihood is if the current growth continues we will have to take out some paddocks within the next two weeks.
Pleasing results
"We killed the first of our under 16 month bulls this week," says Shaun.
"The remaining bulls were weighed this week and they currently weigh an average of 680kg. They are currently gaining 1.73 kg/day since their last weighing."
This 14-month-old Limousin bull killed out at 387kg dead weigh (62% kill out), grading at U=3= and making €1,703.
These results have greatly pleased Shaun, who was very happy with the fat scores and grading. A further 10 bulls have been drafted to be killed next week.
This week’s bulls were killed at a €4.10/kg base price, with the two U= graded bulls making €4.40/kg.
This 14-month-old Limousin bull killed out at 358kg dead weight (57% kill out) grading at R+3- and making €1,532.
Breeding progress
Breeding is going well, with 62 of the 80 cows on farm bred in the last four weeks. furthermore, 35 of 38 heifers were serviced over the same period.
The stock bull has now been turned out with the heifer group, he will run with the heifers for the next four to five weeks before being turned out with the cows to mop up for the last three weeks of the breeding season.
Cows are currently being inseminated once a day at noon. A vasectomised bulls is being used to aid in heat detection and this bull is fitted with a Mooheat collar.
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