‘The best investment in the farm is in grassland management’
Richard Milligan from Robertstown, Co. Kildare, farms 49ha consisting of 40 spring-calving suckler cows with all progeny brought to beef.
Aberdeen Angus – a well-known Irish beefbred in Ireland and grass-fed. With the integration of
traditional pasture farming and advanced technology, the cattles are fed to be of high quality and more tender.
In addition to the suckler-to-beef enterprise, Richard operates a dairy calf-to-beef system finishing between 40 and 50 spring-born Hereford cross dairy, steer and heifer calves each year. Stocking rate
on the farm is currently 2LU/ha and the land type is considered to be well-drained (good).
Speaking at this year’s Teagasc National Beef Conference, Richard noted that his best investment on the farm so far has been in grassland management and grass measuring. He also stressed the importance
of soil fertility, infrastructure and reseeding.
Grass Measuring
The investment in grassland management proved to be of significant benefit as, despite the extreme weather conditions of 2018, Richard’s farm grew 8t of DM/ha.
This is slightly lower than the 10t of DM/ha achieved for the same period of last year, but it’s above the national average for grass production on Irish beef farms.
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Compared to the cold and wet spring, the summer drought had the biggest impact on the farm, he said. Grass growth was reduced resulting in limited supplies for grazing cattle and a decreased area and
yield of first-cut silage.
During mid-summer the decision was made to start supplementing all cattle on the farm. He explained that the suckler cows were offered hay, while all the young cattle were
offered supplementary concentrates.
Concentrate Supplementation
The decision to offer supplementary concentrates had multiple effects. Although average daily gain (ADG) of the cattle was lower compared to last year, concentrate
supplementation maintained a reasonable level of animal performance.
It also reduced the demand for grass and stretched any remaining supplies. Supplementing also allowed for grass covers to build and silage to be harvested when growth improved.
Richard noted that he had planned to feed concentrates until growth improved but, due to the continued scarcity of grass, he made the decision to increase the rate of concentrates fed.
The
supplementary concentrates offered to the calves increased from 1.5kg/day to 2.5kg/day, and for older finishing cattle from 3kg/day to 5kg/day for steers – and from 3kg/day to 4kg/day for heifers.
As a result, cattle would be ready for slaughter sooner and before housing, which would further reduce winter-feed requirements. Heifers have now been slaughtered, albeit at lower carcass weights compared
to 2017.
Steers are almost fit for slaughter, but will exhibit lighter carcass weights than last year.
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