Grass and class drive output in Kilkenny

On last week’s BETTER farm beef challenge page we profiled the technical day hosted by suckler farmer Trevor Boland on his farm in Co Sligo. This week, we take a look at a more recent visit to the Phelan family farm in Co Kilkenny. The walk was held on one of the farm’s out-blocks in Freshford, and John Phelan was our host.

John works on the family farm full-time alongside his brother Tadgh and parents Tim and Monica. Tillage is one enterprise on the farm, but the BETTER farm beef challenge group came to see its other thriving enterprise – a store heifer-to-beef system.

John and his brother run the operation together.

How it works

John explained the system is completely store-to-beef. He also outlined that all animals purchased are heifers. “We used to buy in bullocks but realised we were always under pressure with them getting too heavy and factories not wanting them,” he said. “We can push our heifers as hard as we like and their average carcase weight is only ever going to be around 390kg.” Furthermore, he has found that “heifers are easier fleshed, quicker to get finished and easier to manage”.

Roughly speaking, heifers are managed in two different systems, with the main difference being shed finish v grass finish. “Heifers that arrive in the earlier part of the year will get a full season at grass, will commence their finishing period as soon as they hit the shed and their target slaughter date is February and March out of the shed,” John explained. “Other heifers purchased later in the year will get a period at grass, a store diet in the winter and will get an early turnout for slaughter off the grass from late-May onwards.”

The most eye-catching feature of this system is without doubt the quality of heifers the Phelans look for. Each animal is a top-quality continental, primarily Charolais-cross but also Limousin-cross. “We definitely are paying more to source our heifers but I’d like to think we can command a higher price for them in the beef market too,” John said. “I’ve always said the bad one will eat as much and cost the same to keep as the good one. Plainer cattle seem to play into the factories’ hands because they can essentially pay what they want for them.”

On processor relations, John said: “I don’t have a contract with the processor but I do sit down at the start of every year and talk to them. There is no point going out and buying expensive cattle if I don’t have a home for them. “I’m a big believer in not chopping and changing factory too much. Of course you have to have options, but at the same time you need to try and establish a relationship too.”

2018

In 2018, a total of 304 heifers were bought in. All heifers purchased were yearling and stores rather than weanlings as they are seen to be lower risk. Just under 270 of the heifers bought were over one year old and averaged 444kg at purchase. Another 35-odd just under one year old arrived at 350kg.

John said: “I do some buying myself, mainly farm-to-farm trading. But we do rely heavily on the help and expertise of a man to source stock for us. We have built a good relationship over the years and he is someone we can trust. Sourcing the right stock is a great foundation for success.”

On arrival to the farm, a standard management procedure is carried out on all heifers. This includes quarantine in an induction paddock for 10 days, an IBR vaccination, a clostridial vaccination, a worm dose and a fluke dose. “We have to assume no animal has been treated before they arrive here,” John said. Cattle are also weighed on arrival, as well as pre-housing, post-housing and before slaughter.

In 2012, the farm’s stocking rate was 2.02LU/ha. Fast-forward to 2018, 304 heifers grazed on 60ha equating to an average stocking rate of 2.89LU/ha. “We are far more heavily stocked than we were a few years ago but it wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t mange the grass,” John said. Infrastructure and grass measuring were highlighted as two major contributing factors: “We invest a little bit of the profits back into grazing infrastructure every year.”

Grazing groups are large in size. On the block in Freshford groups are currently at about 60-head but John would have no hesitation in pushing close to 100 heifers per group. Each paddock provides roughly two-days-worth of grazing but this can drop to one-day if weather is wet. Through grass measuring, paddocks are regularly removed as surpluses. “There is no reason why farmers can’t wrap more paddocks in the year,” he said. “It shouldn’t matter how small the field is, the contractor only charges per bales.”

These surplus bales are central to the mantra of making high-quality silage and cutting concentrate costs. Target silage quality is around 75% DMD and if achieved, finishing animals should need no more than 5kg/head/day of concentrates.

The strategy with fertiliser spreading is to blanket spread approximately 30 units N/ac once a month. The out-block gets no slurry, so 18:6:12 is applied in the early part of the year for silage and in line with soil indexes and Sul-CAN is used thereafter. To date, all grazing ground has received 100 units N/ac. The final key grassland management task is topping. According to John, he will top for at least two rotations in an effort to keep grass quality to a maximum.

“We grow a lot of crops here on the farm but out of all of them, grass is without doubt one of the most difficult to manage.”

Slaughter performance on the farm is exceptional. On the 304 animals slaughtered in 2018, average carcase weight was 383.5kg, average kill-out was 58% and over 85% of the carcases graded R+ or better. Furthermore, by being able to drive up stocking rate through better grassland management, the farm’s total beef output has moved in a similar direction.

In 2018, beef output per hectare was 1,154kg. The national average is 450kg. Beef output per livestock unit was 399kg. The target for a store-to-beef system is 345kg. Underpinned by this rising output, profitability has been rising simultaneously. Despite gross output increasing, gross margin for 2018 did take a hit but this was driven solely by a 117% increase in feed costs after a drought-stricken summer. That said, the average gross margin for the last three years has still been €1,501/ha.

Going forward, John’s biggest concern is sourcing the high-quality heifers he wants. “It’s definitely getting harder and harder to source the good cattle,” he said. “If it comes to it we may have to look at a different type of heifer but I certainly wouldn’t like to see the good suckler breeding disappearing.”