Benchmarking for the period January to December 2016 has now been completed on the 10 programme farms using the CAFRE benchmarking programme.
The process calculates the costs of operating a suckler herd, as well as farm income before subsidy payments, thereby giving an accurate reflection of actual farm profit based on production.
The figures produced inform the farmers of their cost to keep a suckler cow on their farm, as well as the cost to produce 1kg of beef within their suckler herd.
The figures are also used to plan for the year ahead by addressing the areas of production where costs are too high or where the herd may be under-performing.
The programme farmers use the calendar year for benchmarking rather than the normal financial year of April to March.
Benchmarking should be completed as early as possible, once the production year is complete. This makes the information much more relevant and therefore timely if you want to make real changes inside your farm gate.
Profit
Since the launch of the programme in 2011, the main target for the farms has been to hit a gross margin of £750/ha.
The target was set relative to typical benchmarking results for suckler farms in Northern Ireland and what was deemed achievable.
Gross margin per hectare (GM/ha) was used as the main measure of profit, as land is the most limiting and under-utilised resource of any farm business.
Throughout the programme, the farms have shown that by increasing stocking rates on farm and increasing the volumes of grass produced and utilised to feed the extra stock, then gross margin per hectare will increase.
Key results in 2016
The average GM/ha for the 10 farms in 2016 was £921 (£782/ha in 2015).The average GM/ha for the phase one farms in 2016 was £960 (£919/ha in 2015).Phase one farms have increased GM/ha by 167% or £600/ha since 2011.The average GM/ha for the phase two farms in 2016 was £882 (£645/ha in 2015).GM/ha on phase two farms increased by £237/ha or 36% from 2015 to 2016.Phase two farms have increased GM/ha by £517 or 142% from 2013 to 2016.Financial results in focus
Phase one farms
The results of the programme farms are outlined in Table 1 and 2, while Table 3 outlines the average stocking rate on the farms.
Table 1 outlines the gross margin per hectare (GM/ha) for the five farms involved since phase one. In 2016, GM/ha averaged £960/ha, which was an increase of £41/ha on the previous year.
The higher beef prices during the latter half of 2016 will have had an influence on the higher gross margins.
But the point to note about beef prices is that in recent years, prices have tended to peak during the pre-Christmas trade.
The programme farms are selling cattle at the right time to hit these higher prices. Calving patterns being tightened in spring, better grassland management producing heavier cattle coming into the house for finishing and improved management has cattle being finished at a time when demand is exceeding supply.
Progress
Since the start of the programme, these five farms have seen GM/ha increase by £600/ha from the baseline of £360/ha in 2010.
This is a significant increase in direct farm profitability as fixed costs have remained relatively static on the farms over the six-year period.
Average stocking rate on these farms is now 2.48CE/ha, which is 1CE/ha higher than the national average.
In 2010, stocking rates averaged 1.67CE/ha. Herd size has increased from an average of 56 cows in 2010 to 73 cows in 2016.
John Milligan had the largest increase in gross margin over the six years, followed by Alan Cairns and then John Egerton.
John Milligan has moved to a suckler-to-beef system, having previously run a suckler-to-store system. Cow numbers have increased from 44 to 67 cows.
Cattle are being finished at 20 months of age at carcase weights close to 360kg or 650kg liveweight. Six years ago, steers were being sold live at 23 to 24 months at similar weights.
Liveweight produced and sold per hectare farmed has increased from 673kg to 815kg/ha on his farm.
Phase two farms
Table 2 outlines the GM/ha for the five farms that joined the programme in phase two. Average gross margin in 2016 was £882, up £237/ha on the previous year.
From the start of phase two, GM/ha has increased by £517/ha over the baseline data set in 2013. As with the phase one farms, this increase has come from focusing on getting the basics right for grazing, winter feeding, cattle health and breeding.
After a three-year period, the phase two farms have seen a faster rate of progress than the phase one farms achieved after their first three-year period.
Average herd size is now at 61 cows, up from 43 cows in 2013. Average stocking rate is now 2.14CE/ha, up from 1.79CE/ha in 2013.
£1,000 GM/ha
Two farms passed the £1,000 barrier for GM/ha. James Taylor had the highest GM/ha at £1,064, followed closely by Andrew Gardiner, who has seen his GM/ha increased threefold since 2013.
Both farms operate finishing systems, as do the other three farms in phase two.
For James Taylor, cow numbers have increased from 65 to 92 spring-calving cows operating in a very compact calving block of less than 10 weeks. Liveweight produced per hectare has increased from 751kg to 911kg/ha, which is driving output on-farm.
Over the next two weeks, we will outline in-depth analysis of the 10 programme farms.
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Benchmarking for the period January to December 2016 has now been completed on the 10 programme farms using the CAFRE benchmarking programme.
The process calculates the costs of operating a suckler herd, as well as farm income before subsidy payments, thereby giving an accurate reflection of actual farm profit based on production.
The figures produced inform the farmers of their cost to keep a suckler cow on their farm, as well as the cost to produce 1kg of beef within their suckler herd.
The figures are also used to plan for the year ahead by addressing the areas of production where costs are too high or where the herd may be under-performing.
The programme farmers use the calendar year for benchmarking rather than the normal financial year of April to March.
Benchmarking should be completed as early as possible, once the production year is complete. This makes the information much more relevant and therefore timely if you want to make real changes inside your farm gate.
Profit
Since the launch of the programme in 2011, the main target for the farms has been to hit a gross margin of £750/ha.
The target was set relative to typical benchmarking results for suckler farms in Northern Ireland and what was deemed achievable.
Gross margin per hectare (GM/ha) was used as the main measure of profit, as land is the most limiting and under-utilised resource of any farm business.
Throughout the programme, the farms have shown that by increasing stocking rates on farm and increasing the volumes of grass produced and utilised to feed the extra stock, then gross margin per hectare will increase.
Key results in 2016
The average GM/ha for the 10 farms in 2016 was £921 (£782/ha in 2015).The average GM/ha for the phase one farms in 2016 was £960 (£919/ha in 2015).Phase one farms have increased GM/ha by 167% or £600/ha since 2011.The average GM/ha for the phase two farms in 2016 was £882 (£645/ha in 2015).GM/ha on phase two farms increased by £237/ha or 36% from 2015 to 2016.Phase two farms have increased GM/ha by £517 or 142% from 2013 to 2016.Financial results in focus
Phase one farms
The results of the programme farms are outlined in Table 1 and 2, while Table 3 outlines the average stocking rate on the farms.
Table 1 outlines the gross margin per hectare (GM/ha) for the five farms involved since phase one. In 2016, GM/ha averaged £960/ha, which was an increase of £41/ha on the previous year.
The higher beef prices during the latter half of 2016 will have had an influence on the higher gross margins.
But the point to note about beef prices is that in recent years, prices have tended to peak during the pre-Christmas trade.
The programme farms are selling cattle at the right time to hit these higher prices. Calving patterns being tightened in spring, better grassland management producing heavier cattle coming into the house for finishing and improved management has cattle being finished at a time when demand is exceeding supply.
Progress
Since the start of the programme, these five farms have seen GM/ha increase by £600/ha from the baseline of £360/ha in 2010.
This is a significant increase in direct farm profitability as fixed costs have remained relatively static on the farms over the six-year period.
Average stocking rate on these farms is now 2.48CE/ha, which is 1CE/ha higher than the national average.
In 2010, stocking rates averaged 1.67CE/ha. Herd size has increased from an average of 56 cows in 2010 to 73 cows in 2016.
John Milligan had the largest increase in gross margin over the six years, followed by Alan Cairns and then John Egerton.
John Milligan has moved to a suckler-to-beef system, having previously run a suckler-to-store system. Cow numbers have increased from 44 to 67 cows.
Cattle are being finished at 20 months of age at carcase weights close to 360kg or 650kg liveweight. Six years ago, steers were being sold live at 23 to 24 months at similar weights.
Liveweight produced and sold per hectare farmed has increased from 673kg to 815kg/ha on his farm.
Phase two farms
Table 2 outlines the GM/ha for the five farms that joined the programme in phase two. Average gross margin in 2016 was £882, up £237/ha on the previous year.
From the start of phase two, GM/ha has increased by £517/ha over the baseline data set in 2013. As with the phase one farms, this increase has come from focusing on getting the basics right for grazing, winter feeding, cattle health and breeding.
After a three-year period, the phase two farms have seen a faster rate of progress than the phase one farms achieved after their first three-year period.
Average herd size is now at 61 cows, up from 43 cows in 2013. Average stocking rate is now 2.14CE/ha, up from 1.79CE/ha in 2013.
£1,000 GM/ha
Two farms passed the £1,000 barrier for GM/ha. James Taylor had the highest GM/ha at £1,064, followed closely by Andrew Gardiner, who has seen his GM/ha increased threefold since 2013.
Both farms operate finishing systems, as do the other three farms in phase two.
For James Taylor, cow numbers have increased from 65 to 92 spring-calving cows operating in a very compact calving block of less than 10 weeks. Liveweight produced per hectare has increased from 751kg to 911kg/ha, which is driving output on-farm.
Over the next two weeks, we will outline in-depth analysis of the 10 programme farms.
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