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The BETTER Farm NI programme will hold two farm walks this autumn, with the first event taking place on Thursday 29 August hosted by Thomas and Paul Jamison in Dromore, Co Down.
The Jamison farm carries a spring-calving herd of predominantly purebred Limousin cows on a 100ac grassland unit.
Male calves are finished as young bulls through ABP Lurgan, with heifers surplus to breeding requirement also taken through to slaughter. Since joining the BETTER Farm NI programme in 2017, cow numbers have increased from approximately 60 head to 75 females calving down this year.
The farm walk will get underway at 7pm and the event is open to all members of the public. Outlined below are some of the main changes on-farm over the past three years.
1. Increasing gross margin
All of the programme farms have been set a challenge of achieving a gross margin of £1,000/ha.
Gross margin is relatively comparable across all farms, as it ultimately reflects herd output through cattle sales, minus replacement and variable costs. These include grazing, silage, concentrate and veterinary costs.
On the Jamison farm, gross margin at the outset of the programme was £478/ha and was generated from an average of 56 cows weaning calves in 2016.
In 2017, gross margin increased to £857/ha. By 2018 it slipped to £755/ha, reflecting a combination of factors such as higher concentrate costs and increased calf mortality last spring, but remains a 58% increase from the programme outset.
With the herd expanding to 75 cows this year, the farm is on track to reach the target gross margin of £1,000/ha due to increased cattle sales. The farm’s finances will be outlined at the event, along with details of the farm plan.
2. Grassland management
There is little point in increasing cow numbers if there is insufficient grass grown on a farm for grazing and providing winter fodder for the additional animals.
To accommodate extra cows, investment has been made in the grazing system. A rotational paddock system has been set up along with a planned fertiliser programme to address soil fertility.
Grass growth is monitored weekly and swards with poor grass growth have been reseeded. For the year to date, the grazing block has grown 6.4t/ha of grass from May to mid-August and is running ahead of previous years.
Last year, the same grazing area grew 4.64t/ha from May to September with 5t/ha grown in 2017. While favourable weather conditions will have boosted grass growth this year, controlled grazing and targeted fertiliser applications will also have been key factors in growing more grass.
3. Changing cow type
The suckler herd predominantly consists of purebred Limousin cows. As a result several cows are lacking in maternal traits, such as milk production. Over the past two years the breeding policy has changed to introduce new genetics into the herd using different breeds.
Breeding consists of AI and natural service. Simmental, Stabiliser and Angus sires have served cows along with Limousin bulls to improve maternal traits in cows. The first crossbred calves were born this spring and the heifers will be retained as herd replacements for next year, along with future crossbred female calves.
As it will take several years to breed increased milk production into the herd, a group of in-calf heifers was purchased last autumn to speed up the rate of change.
These animals replaced cull cows after pregnancy scanning and were purchased from a known farm with a high health status to minimise disease risk.
4. Calving pattern
With a bull beef-finishing system in place, it is important that cows calve in a compact block during March and April to maximise weaning weights off grass.
The herd has had fertility issues in the past, causing several cows to slip in calving date. These included an injured stock bull during the 2018 breeding season and sub-fertile bulls in previous years.
However, cows are coming forward in calving date year-on-year. This spring, 65 out of 75 cows calved in a 10-week period.
All cows calved in a 16-week period with a calving interval of 389 days, compared with the NI average calving interval of 409 days. The target for 2020 is to have all cows calved in a 12-week period from early March to mid-May.
5. Finishing young bulls
With an intensive bull beef-finishing system on-farm, cattle performance is closely monitored with weighing scales.
The 2018-born bulls have been slaughtered, and to date bulls averaged 0.86kg/day of carcase gain. Carcase weights have averaged 397kg, with bulls grading U+2=.
As the calving pattern is tightening year-on-year, it will have a positive impact on the bull-finishing system.
Having more bull calves born in March and April, rather than May and June, will result in heavier calves at housing.
This will shorten the indoor finishing period and reduce the level of concentrate feeding required to get bulls to their target liveweight of 650kg prior to slaughter.
The bull-finishing system will also benefit from Angus and Stabiliser genetics coming into the herd, as animals will be more likely to reach fat class three when slaughtered, thereby improving carcase value.
Another change on the farm is to introduce concentrates to bull calves through creep-feeders from August.
Separating bulls from heifers allows targeted concentrate feeding to male calves only, reducing costs. The net benefit is calf performance is improved during autumn, when milk production in cows tails off quickly.
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