Teagasc held a special beef open day last week for knowledge transfer (KT) discussion groups in Teagasc, Grange, Co Meath.

The event was attended by about 200 farmers, all of whom are attached to a KT discussion group with a Teagasc adviser.

The morning session was spent getting updates on research projects being carried out at Teagasc, Grange, which included the latest results from the clover trial on the Derrypatrick suckler demonstration herd.

Lead researcher on the Derrypatrick herd Peter Doyle outlined some of the data around the current trials on the herd.

He’s currently comparing the difference in weight gains and carcase output from cattle grazed on grass and clover swards versus grass-only swards.

The results to date look promising for clover, with the 2022-born slaughtered progeny coming in with a 14kg heavier carcase weight from the clover sward versus the grass-only from weaning stage to finish. When analysed from birth to finish, the difference increased to 18kg extra for the grass and clover cattle versus the grass-only cattle.

Dairy-beef

Jamie O’Driscoll also gave an update on the dairy-beef trial currently being undertaken in Grange. He highlighted how high-commercial beef value (CBV) index calves are performing better when it comes to carcase weight and grade.

When dairy-beef bullocks were supplemented from July onwards in the second grazing season, high CBV animals came in 26kg heavier in carcase weight as opposed to low-CBV animals.

Interestingly, 73% of the high-CBV bullocks were in spec, 53% of the low-CBV bullocks were in spec while just 22% of the Holstein Friesian bullocks were in spec when finished.

This year’s 2024-born dairy beef progeny on the farm are on target with the Aberdeen Angus bullocks weighing 396kg; Hereford bullocks weighing 395kg; Belgian Blue bullocks weighing 400kg; and Limousin bullocks weighing 388kg when weighed on 19 May 2025.

Average weight at turnout was 307kg. Jamie outlined that an early maturing dairy-beef bullock system can generate a farm net profit of €54,000 before any support payments are added in. This is based on a 40ha farm.

Dosing advice

Teagasc researcher Orla Keane outlined some practices to avoid resistance developing on your farm, including avoiding treating too often and also avoiding under dosing or over dosing.

Orla also outlined that farmers should be using dosing products when needed and based on evidence like faecal samples or where there are signs that animals aren’t performing as expected.

“Ideally farmers should be testing to see if the wormer they are using is working on their farm,” she said. “This can be done by a simple faecal sample before and after the dosing takes place.”

Anaerobic digestor

An overview of the new anaerobic digestor being built in Teagasc, Grange was also given to attendees.

While there is much interest in biogas as a mitigation technology in Ireland, one issue that remains to be addressed is the financial returns and Teagasc proposes to look at this and the feasibility of a small-scale unit.

There is limited research on the economics of grass silage and cattle slurry co-digestion for grid injection. Current research at Teagasc, Grange is seeking to determine the breakeven price for biogas based on the annual costs and incomes for a biogas plant.

The plant in Grange is small compared to other larger plants currently being constructed around the country. It’s proposed to feed the digestor with a mixture of slurry and 70ha of grass silage – some produced in Teagasc, Grange and more purchased from local farms. The ideal mix is 50% slurry and 50% silage. The plant is currently in the final stages of commissioning and when up and running, will produce 3.5 gigwatts (GW) of energy from biomethane gas.

Kepak farm

The afternoon session visited the nearby Kepak finishing farm, which finishes 5,000 head of cattle on an annual basis. The farm can hold 1,500 cattle at any one time and is surrounded by 350ha (864 acres) of the Kepak farm. The majority of this is in winter cereals (wheat and barley), with maize silage and grass silage also being grown on the farm for cattle feed.

The farm is a participant in the Teagasc Signpost programme and has been working closely with Teagasc in recent years to enhance its environmental attributes.

Donegal man Sam Myles is the man in charge of the farm and he’s running a very efficient operation. Cattle are purchased in marts and on farm around 500kg to 600kg. He wants an R+ or better and his age range is 18 to 26 months, with all animals finished under 30 months on the farm. He is buying on average 120 animals a week and selling the same number, with the majority sold to Kepak in Clonee.

“This unit is operated on a commercial basis,” Sam said. “We aren’t getting anymore than anybody else when it comes to base prices, so it’s up to me to make things work here.

“The cattle have to leave a margin,” he said.

The majority of the cattle on the unit are continental suckler-bred cattle, with about 100 dairy-beef and a small number of Wagyu-cross animals. The farm is currently recording an average daily gain of 1.3kg/day across all animals fed on a TMR diet.

Chris Watson from Kepak’s meat division outlined the importance of fat cover and carcase size on hitting retail specifications when meat is traded.

Sam is aiming to have all animals finished in 70 to 100 days and he operates an all-in, all-out system when penning and drafting. Cattle are averaging a 56% kill-out and are coming in at 370kg to 375kg carcase weight.

Local vet Frank O Sullivan outlined the health management on the farm and one of his key messages on the day was to avoid stressing animals at all costs. The farm has an arrival policy where cattle are let rest in a separate straw bedded shed to the main unit and offered hay with no husbandry tasks completed until they have settled in.