Foyle Food Group, which is owned by the Tyrone-based Acheson family, slaughters 7,000 cattle a week across five different sites in Ireland and the UK. Like all other beef processors, the group finishes a lot of cattle itself, for processing at its own factories. The Foyle finishing farm is located just outside Cookstown in Co Tyrone, and is home to over 1,000 finishing cattle. Foyle opened up its farm earlier this month, for over 200 cattle suppliers to have a look inside the unit.
The farm handles thousands of cattle on an annual basis, with forward store beef animals purchased in marts six days a week across Northern Ireland, with 100-120 cattle slaughtered from the farm on a weekly basis. Cattle are also purchased on-farm and some come from the Foyle Food Group’s 180-cow suckler unit.
Upon arrival on the farm, cattle are assigned to three different feeding programmes. Heavy cattle weighing over 640kg are placed on a 30-day finishing programme, cattle weighing between 580-640kg are placed on feed for 60 days, cattle weighing between 520-580kg spend 90 days on the farm, while cattle under 520kg stay on the farm for 120 days.
Farm manager Darragh McManus said: “We try and keep things as simple as we can here on the finishing unit. It’s all about weight gain, so we want to get the animal going as quickly as possible once they arrive. We place a big emphasis on getting feed and health right and we monitor performance and daily liveweight gains to make sure everything is going as it should.”
Health programme
All cattle are vaccinated for IBR upon arrival on the farm. All cattle coming off grass receive two shots of Bovipast, four weeks apart. Cattle are also dosed for lungworm, stomach worms and external parasites upon arrival. Cattle staying in the unit for 60, 90 and 120 days are treated for rumen fluke and liver fluke throughout the year, while 30-day cattle purchased in the autumn and winter periods get the same treatment.
Some of the farmers listening to William Marshall from the Foyle group explain feed bunk scoring on the farm.
FerAppease
The farm has recently introduced the use of FerAppease during the initial transition period when cattle arrive on the finishing farm. FerAppease is a synthetic analogue of the maternal bovine-appeasing substance (MBAS), which induces an appeasing effect on animals. MBAS is a naturally occurring substance that is secreted by the skin of the mammary gland of lactating animals. FerAppease does not require a prescription from a veterinary practice, as it contains no medicinal ingredients. The product is topically applied on the poll (front of head) or nose of the animals. This then desensitises the amygdala and hypothalmus of the brain. FeraAppease decreases threat perception and downstream stress consequences such as when cattle come in from stressful market environments, or are mixed with new cattle in different surroundings.
The topical treatment lasts about 14 days, with the cost coming in at £2.40/head on the farm. The product was officially launched in the UK last week with Calibre Control.
The product is not yet available in the south of Ireland, but it’s thought it will be available on the market very soon. Foyle Food Group came across the product being used in the US. It is used widespread across the US in feedlots, with some ranchers applying the product before the cattle they purchase leave the mart. It’s also used during routine procedures like castration, disbudding and weaning on suckler farms.
Nutrition
A huge emphasis is placed on diets being fed on the farm, with Armagh-based Farm Gate Nutrition tasked with diet formulation on the farm. Gareth Anderson from Farm Gate Nutrition works closely with the Foyle team, to get diets right and make sure animals are hitting target weight gains on the farm. The plan is working with 2023 weight gains coming in at 1.5 kg/liveweight per day on the farm.
This was on a dry matter intake of 13.1 kg/dry matter per day, which means the feed conversion efficiency came in at 8.8. In 2024, weight gain has improved to 1.8kg/liveweight per day. Dry matter intakes have remained steady at 13.14kg/day, while feed conversion efficiency comes in at 7.3kg of feed/weight gain. This is being put down to a number of changes introduced on the farm in 2024. The unit switched from ground maize to whole maize. The amount of silage being fed in the diets was also reduced in 2024 and replaced with meal. This has been estimated to cost the unit 12p/head/day. If the cattle are priced in at £2.85 (€3.39/kg)/kg liveweight, it means the changes have resulted in a cost saving of £42 (€50) over a 60-day feeding period on the farm.
The new temperature controlled cattle house on the Foyle finishing unit
Feed management
Cattle are fed a total mixed ration (TMR) once per day, with the farm recently undertaking feed bunk scoring to make sure cattle are fed to appetite. The target intake is 2.2% of body weight. Feed bunk scoring involves assessing the feed bunkers on a daily basis for residual feed. The idea is that the amount fed is amended, so that cattle are fed to 99% appetite on a daily basis. Cattle are fed at the same time every day to encourage good intakes. Elensis is a blend of natural substances which improves energy efficiency and digestibility. It stimulates rumen flora and manipulates fermentation, to reduce lactic acid and methane.
A big focus is placed on silage quality to achieve high protein and high energy levels in the diet. Silage is analysed a number of times during the winter months and concentrate feeding is adjusted accordingly, depending on the quality of silage being fed at the time. There are 250 acres of land dedicated to silage making on the farm, with silage cutting taking place every five to six weeks to ensure high quality forage is ensiled.
High energy cereals form the backbone of the diet and where extra protein is required, alternative protein sources are bought in to avoid the use of soya bean meal.
Hay is also included in the diet, with Gareth Anderson pointing to the cost of straw as being a prohibitive factor to its inclusion in diets this winter and the fact that the farm can grow the hay themselves at first cost.
Housing
Cattle accommodation on the farm is a mixture of slats and loose bedding with straw, sawdust and woodchips used to bed animals on the farm. A new state-of-the-art finishing shed was recently constructed on the farm, which has a polycarbonate roof sheeting. This allows for high light transmission and helps to maintain dry bedding. Open sides in the shed also increase ventilation – with the shed also fitted with automatic brushes. Foyle Food Group has observed a higher daily liveweight gain of 0.2kg/day in cattle housed in sheds with brushes.
Foyle Food Group, which is owned by the Tyrone-based Acheson family, slaughters 7,000 cattle a week across five different sites in Ireland and the UK. Like all other beef processors, the group finishes a lot of cattle itself, for processing at its own factories. The Foyle finishing farm is located just outside Cookstown in Co Tyrone, and is home to over 1,000 finishing cattle. Foyle opened up its farm earlier this month, for over 200 cattle suppliers to have a look inside the unit.
The farm handles thousands of cattle on an annual basis, with forward store beef animals purchased in marts six days a week across Northern Ireland, with 100-120 cattle slaughtered from the farm on a weekly basis. Cattle are also purchased on-farm and some come from the Foyle Food Group’s 180-cow suckler unit.
Upon arrival on the farm, cattle are assigned to three different feeding programmes. Heavy cattle weighing over 640kg are placed on a 30-day finishing programme, cattle weighing between 580-640kg are placed on feed for 60 days, cattle weighing between 520-580kg spend 90 days on the farm, while cattle under 520kg stay on the farm for 120 days.
Farm manager Darragh McManus said: “We try and keep things as simple as we can here on the finishing unit. It’s all about weight gain, so we want to get the animal going as quickly as possible once they arrive. We place a big emphasis on getting feed and health right and we monitor performance and daily liveweight gains to make sure everything is going as it should.”
Health programme
All cattle are vaccinated for IBR upon arrival on the farm. All cattle coming off grass receive two shots of Bovipast, four weeks apart. Cattle are also dosed for lungworm, stomach worms and external parasites upon arrival. Cattle staying in the unit for 60, 90 and 120 days are treated for rumen fluke and liver fluke throughout the year, while 30-day cattle purchased in the autumn and winter periods get the same treatment.
Some of the farmers listening to William Marshall from the Foyle group explain feed bunk scoring on the farm.
FerAppease
The farm has recently introduced the use of FerAppease during the initial transition period when cattle arrive on the finishing farm. FerAppease is a synthetic analogue of the maternal bovine-appeasing substance (MBAS), which induces an appeasing effect on animals. MBAS is a naturally occurring substance that is secreted by the skin of the mammary gland of lactating animals. FerAppease does not require a prescription from a veterinary practice, as it contains no medicinal ingredients. The product is topically applied on the poll (front of head) or nose of the animals. This then desensitises the amygdala and hypothalmus of the brain. FeraAppease decreases threat perception and downstream stress consequences such as when cattle come in from stressful market environments, or are mixed with new cattle in different surroundings.
The topical treatment lasts about 14 days, with the cost coming in at £2.40/head on the farm. The product was officially launched in the UK last week with Calibre Control.
The product is not yet available in the south of Ireland, but it’s thought it will be available on the market very soon. Foyle Food Group came across the product being used in the US. It is used widespread across the US in feedlots, with some ranchers applying the product before the cattle they purchase leave the mart. It’s also used during routine procedures like castration, disbudding and weaning on suckler farms.
Nutrition
A huge emphasis is placed on diets being fed on the farm, with Armagh-based Farm Gate Nutrition tasked with diet formulation on the farm. Gareth Anderson from Farm Gate Nutrition works closely with the Foyle team, to get diets right and make sure animals are hitting target weight gains on the farm. The plan is working with 2023 weight gains coming in at 1.5 kg/liveweight per day on the farm.
This was on a dry matter intake of 13.1 kg/dry matter per day, which means the feed conversion efficiency came in at 8.8. In 2024, weight gain has improved to 1.8kg/liveweight per day. Dry matter intakes have remained steady at 13.14kg/day, while feed conversion efficiency comes in at 7.3kg of feed/weight gain. This is being put down to a number of changes introduced on the farm in 2024. The unit switched from ground maize to whole maize. The amount of silage being fed in the diets was also reduced in 2024 and replaced with meal. This has been estimated to cost the unit 12p/head/day. If the cattle are priced in at £2.85 (€3.39/kg)/kg liveweight, it means the changes have resulted in a cost saving of £42 (€50) over a 60-day feeding period on the farm.
The new temperature controlled cattle house on the Foyle finishing unit
Feed management
Cattle are fed a total mixed ration (TMR) once per day, with the farm recently undertaking feed bunk scoring to make sure cattle are fed to appetite. The target intake is 2.2% of body weight. Feed bunk scoring involves assessing the feed bunkers on a daily basis for residual feed. The idea is that the amount fed is amended, so that cattle are fed to 99% appetite on a daily basis. Cattle are fed at the same time every day to encourage good intakes. Elensis is a blend of natural substances which improves energy efficiency and digestibility. It stimulates rumen flora and manipulates fermentation, to reduce lactic acid and methane.
A big focus is placed on silage quality to achieve high protein and high energy levels in the diet. Silage is analysed a number of times during the winter months and concentrate feeding is adjusted accordingly, depending on the quality of silage being fed at the time. There are 250 acres of land dedicated to silage making on the farm, with silage cutting taking place every five to six weeks to ensure high quality forage is ensiled.
High energy cereals form the backbone of the diet and where extra protein is required, alternative protein sources are bought in to avoid the use of soya bean meal.
Hay is also included in the diet, with Gareth Anderson pointing to the cost of straw as being a prohibitive factor to its inclusion in diets this winter and the fact that the farm can grow the hay themselves at first cost.
Housing
Cattle accommodation on the farm is a mixture of slats and loose bedding with straw, sawdust and woodchips used to bed animals on the farm. A new state-of-the-art finishing shed was recently constructed on the farm, which has a polycarbonate roof sheeting. This allows for high light transmission and helps to maintain dry bedding. Open sides in the shed also increase ventilation – with the shed also fitted with automatic brushes. Foyle Food Group has observed a higher daily liveweight gain of 0.2kg/day in cattle housed in sheds with brushes.
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