There has just been enough rain in recent weeks to ensure growth remained ahead of demand on the Henderson beef and sheep farm along the Co Down coast just outside Kilkeel.
Hosting a farm walk last Thursday to highlight the benefits of the AgriSearch-led GrassCheck programme, James Henderson said that at the moment he has demand of 62kg dry matter per hectare (DM/ha) across his main grazing block.
Weekly measurement of grass takes place every Saturday and it currently shows growth at 73kg DH/ha, so James is well placed to made excellent use of grass.
However, with light soils, the farm is prone to drought and in typical years it averages 30kg DM/ha from June to August.
“This time last year I had no grass and was feeding bales in the field to cattle.
“I have to take advantage of early growth and bale it. In May we were growing over 100kg. That’s when I had to take bales out,” said James.
Figures
He has been paddock grazing across his farm since 2016 and measuring grass as part of the GrassCheck programme since 2018. James attributes those changes as the main reasons why he has been able to increase output of beef per hectare, yet feed significantly less concentrate per head.
Over the period, concentrate fed per head has dropped from 1.2t to around 500kg.
However, more cattle are being finished, with the farm stocked at around 2.7 to 2.8 livestock units per hectare and an excellent gross margin of £1,732/ha achieved in 2023.
“It is all because I am utilising grass better. Paddock grazing is a big part of that,” said James.
Heifers
The Hendersons run a simple system based on bought-in autumn-born, dairy-bred heifer calves, which are taken through to finish at around two years. Around 90 are purchased each year and they are run together as a single batch at grass.
In the older group there are currently 83 head on 31 acres.
The aim is to go into covers of 3,000kg to 3,100kg DM/ha (13-14cm) and graze down to 1,600 to 1,700kg (5-6cm).
James operates with two-day paddocks and at this time of the year pre-mows every second rotation. The paddock is then split in half, with the heifers spending one day on either side. Excellent cleanouts are achieved.
Pre-mowing works well when grass is short and conditions are favourable.
“They won’t eat wet, long grass,” said James.
He had a topper, but quickly realised his error and sold it – a mower helps ensure the sward is green from the bottom up. Just 30kg of chemical nitrogen fertiliser is currently being applied between grazings.
Cost
Over the last 10 years, James reckons he has spent approaching £15,000 on setting up paddocks to include electric fencing, drinkers etc. That might seem a lot, but it is an investment that has quickly paid off, given the significant reduction in concentrate being fed.
To show the benefit of pre-mowing, James had pre-moved the left hand side of this paddock before grazing.
Farm Facts
148 acres in one block.90 dairy origin beef heifers per year250 ewes and 60 ewe lambs to the ram.12 acres of winter barley.
The Henderson family takes around 90 dairy-bred heifers through to beef each year.
Little difference between Angus and Blue
James prefers to buy heifer calves over bulls, as they are easier to manage and also easier to finish off grass.
He also mainly tries to purchase Belgian Blue animals, partly because they can finish into heavier weights, but mainly because he knows the heifers are AI bred. That is the reason he has tended to avoid Angus, given there is potentially a big range in quality of bulls being used on local dairy farms.
However, in the last couple of years, he has managed to source around 40 Angus calves per year from a dairy farmer who is breeding with AI, so there are more Angus in the mix than before.
In general, the Angus are cheaper to buy and easier to finish, with a number coming ready for slaughter. Some of the Blue heifers need a short period of meal feeding to ensure a proper finish, but have better conformation at slaughter (R-grades) and heavier weights.
The pros and cons of each breed tend to balance out and there is no difference in growth rates at grass. On average, heifers are slaughtered at 320-340kg, at 22-24 months. Of the 500kg of meal that is fed per head, 300kg is offered during the rearing phase as calves. Around 50kg is fed when stores are housed to help them settle, with the remainder targeted at finishing.
Worms
During their first grazing season, James ensures heifers are exposed to worms and can build up some resistance. They receive two worm doses, with a third dose given at housing. Older heifers are not wormed in their second grazing season.
To help reduce the worm burden, fields are regularly switched between grazing and silage.
James is also doing some work on anthelmintic resistance with researchers at Queen’s University Belfast.
This multi-species sward was sowed out last year after winter barley.
Role for a multi-species sward
The Hendersons sowed out a 10ac field with a multi-species sward (MSS) after winter barley in 2024, and it is currently being grazed with ewes and twin lambs.
The mix included 8kg of perennial ryegrass, along with 2kg of red clover, 1kg of white clover, 2kg of plantain and 1kg of chicory.
The field received two bags per acre of 10:10:20 at establishment, along with lime. No other nutrients have been applied since then.
Given the farm can struggle to grow grass during the summer, there is a clear role for the MSS, with plantain and chicory both drought tolerant. In addition, while James can offer bales to cattle at grass, it is a less practical option for sheep.
“We needed something to fill the gap,” he said.
James expects the plantain, chicory and red clover to die out after a couple of years, although that still leaves him with a grass white clover sward.
In the meantime, the new sward is growing strongly, but there are various challenges to note.
Managing MSS requires a change of mindset, with higher residuals left post grazing than with grass. In addition, thistles became a problem in a previous field sown with MSS.
It can be ensiled, but only in excellent weather and ideally this should be done before all the plants have headed out. The other option is that James takes cattle to it, but he is reluctant to do that for fear of bloat. He also pointed out that he can’t graze dry ewes on the MSS as it cannot be eaten down bare due to damage done to the likes of red clover.
“The maximum of the farm in MSS I’m looking at is 20%,” said James.
New red clover sward this spring
James planted out a new red clover sward this spring, having had reasonably good results from an existing sward.
In his experience he said the best quality swards tend to be second and third cuts, with previous analysis showing red clover silage at 20.9% protein and 11.2ME.
He said the key is to minimise traffic over the field and thereby the damage done to the growing point of the red clover. He doesn’t tedd the crop and targets a 24 to 48 hour wilt.
The red clover planted this spring did receive two bags per acre of 10:10:20 and lime. It will receive a light grazing with sheep in a couple of weeks to help deal with weeds, before being cut for silage later in the year. The seed mix included 3kg of AberClaret (red clover), along with 1kg of white clover and 9kg of perennial ryegrass.
Performance recording in sheep
As well as dairy bred beef, the Hendersons also run a flock of around 310 ewes put to the ram.
In recent years, James has concentrated on buying performance recorded rams. With a limited pool available locally, it has forced him to source some rams outside of NI. He currently has Aberfield, Meatlinc, Primera and Belclare rams on the farm.
There are fewer E grades than before, but it is lamb survivability and growth rate that really matters. In the past it was taking an average of 200 days to slaughter. Last year, that figure was 168 days and in other years it has been as low as 148 days.
“It is all about genetics and grassland management,” said James.
There has just been enough rain in recent weeks to ensure growth remained ahead of demand on the Henderson beef and sheep farm along the Co Down coast just outside Kilkeel.
Hosting a farm walk last Thursday to highlight the benefits of the AgriSearch-led GrassCheck programme, James Henderson said that at the moment he has demand of 62kg dry matter per hectare (DM/ha) across his main grazing block.
Weekly measurement of grass takes place every Saturday and it currently shows growth at 73kg DH/ha, so James is well placed to made excellent use of grass.
However, with light soils, the farm is prone to drought and in typical years it averages 30kg DM/ha from June to August.
“This time last year I had no grass and was feeding bales in the field to cattle.
“I have to take advantage of early growth and bale it. In May we were growing over 100kg. That’s when I had to take bales out,” said James.
Figures
He has been paddock grazing across his farm since 2016 and measuring grass as part of the GrassCheck programme since 2018. James attributes those changes as the main reasons why he has been able to increase output of beef per hectare, yet feed significantly less concentrate per head.
Over the period, concentrate fed per head has dropped from 1.2t to around 500kg.
However, more cattle are being finished, with the farm stocked at around 2.7 to 2.8 livestock units per hectare and an excellent gross margin of £1,732/ha achieved in 2023.
“It is all because I am utilising grass better. Paddock grazing is a big part of that,” said James.
Heifers
The Hendersons run a simple system based on bought-in autumn-born, dairy-bred heifer calves, which are taken through to finish at around two years. Around 90 are purchased each year and they are run together as a single batch at grass.
In the older group there are currently 83 head on 31 acres.
The aim is to go into covers of 3,000kg to 3,100kg DM/ha (13-14cm) and graze down to 1,600 to 1,700kg (5-6cm).
James operates with two-day paddocks and at this time of the year pre-mows every second rotation. The paddock is then split in half, with the heifers spending one day on either side. Excellent cleanouts are achieved.
Pre-mowing works well when grass is short and conditions are favourable.
“They won’t eat wet, long grass,” said James.
He had a topper, but quickly realised his error and sold it – a mower helps ensure the sward is green from the bottom up. Just 30kg of chemical nitrogen fertiliser is currently being applied between grazings.
Cost
Over the last 10 years, James reckons he has spent approaching £15,000 on setting up paddocks to include electric fencing, drinkers etc. That might seem a lot, but it is an investment that has quickly paid off, given the significant reduction in concentrate being fed.
To show the benefit of pre-mowing, James had pre-moved the left hand side of this paddock before grazing.
Farm Facts
148 acres in one block.90 dairy origin beef heifers per year250 ewes and 60 ewe lambs to the ram.12 acres of winter barley.
The Henderson family takes around 90 dairy-bred heifers through to beef each year.
Little difference between Angus and Blue
James prefers to buy heifer calves over bulls, as they are easier to manage and also easier to finish off grass.
He also mainly tries to purchase Belgian Blue animals, partly because they can finish into heavier weights, but mainly because he knows the heifers are AI bred. That is the reason he has tended to avoid Angus, given there is potentially a big range in quality of bulls being used on local dairy farms.
However, in the last couple of years, he has managed to source around 40 Angus calves per year from a dairy farmer who is breeding with AI, so there are more Angus in the mix than before.
In general, the Angus are cheaper to buy and easier to finish, with a number coming ready for slaughter. Some of the Blue heifers need a short period of meal feeding to ensure a proper finish, but have better conformation at slaughter (R-grades) and heavier weights.
The pros and cons of each breed tend to balance out and there is no difference in growth rates at grass. On average, heifers are slaughtered at 320-340kg, at 22-24 months. Of the 500kg of meal that is fed per head, 300kg is offered during the rearing phase as calves. Around 50kg is fed when stores are housed to help them settle, with the remainder targeted at finishing.
Worms
During their first grazing season, James ensures heifers are exposed to worms and can build up some resistance. They receive two worm doses, with a third dose given at housing. Older heifers are not wormed in their second grazing season.
To help reduce the worm burden, fields are regularly switched between grazing and silage.
James is also doing some work on anthelmintic resistance with researchers at Queen’s University Belfast.
This multi-species sward was sowed out last year after winter barley.
Role for a multi-species sward
The Hendersons sowed out a 10ac field with a multi-species sward (MSS) after winter barley in 2024, and it is currently being grazed with ewes and twin lambs.
The mix included 8kg of perennial ryegrass, along with 2kg of red clover, 1kg of white clover, 2kg of plantain and 1kg of chicory.
The field received two bags per acre of 10:10:20 at establishment, along with lime. No other nutrients have been applied since then.
Given the farm can struggle to grow grass during the summer, there is a clear role for the MSS, with plantain and chicory both drought tolerant. In addition, while James can offer bales to cattle at grass, it is a less practical option for sheep.
“We needed something to fill the gap,” he said.
James expects the plantain, chicory and red clover to die out after a couple of years, although that still leaves him with a grass white clover sward.
In the meantime, the new sward is growing strongly, but there are various challenges to note.
Managing MSS requires a change of mindset, with higher residuals left post grazing than with grass. In addition, thistles became a problem in a previous field sown with MSS.
It can be ensiled, but only in excellent weather and ideally this should be done before all the plants have headed out. The other option is that James takes cattle to it, but he is reluctant to do that for fear of bloat. He also pointed out that he can’t graze dry ewes on the MSS as it cannot be eaten down bare due to damage done to the likes of red clover.
“The maximum of the farm in MSS I’m looking at is 20%,” said James.
New red clover sward this spring
James planted out a new red clover sward this spring, having had reasonably good results from an existing sward.
In his experience he said the best quality swards tend to be second and third cuts, with previous analysis showing red clover silage at 20.9% protein and 11.2ME.
He said the key is to minimise traffic over the field and thereby the damage done to the growing point of the red clover. He doesn’t tedd the crop and targets a 24 to 48 hour wilt.
The red clover planted this spring did receive two bags per acre of 10:10:20 and lime. It will receive a light grazing with sheep in a couple of weeks to help deal with weeds, before being cut for silage later in the year. The seed mix included 3kg of AberClaret (red clover), along with 1kg of white clover and 9kg of perennial ryegrass.
Performance recording in sheep
As well as dairy bred beef, the Hendersons also run a flock of around 310 ewes put to the ram.
In recent years, James has concentrated on buying performance recorded rams. With a limited pool available locally, it has forced him to source some rams outside of NI. He currently has Aberfield, Meatlinc, Primera and Belclare rams on the farm.
There are fewer E grades than before, but it is lamb survivability and growth rate that really matters. In the past it was taking an average of 200 days to slaughter. Last year, that figure was 168 days and in other years it has been as low as 148 days.
“It is all about genetics and grassland management,” said James.
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