Standing 320m above sea level is Slieve Glah, the highest point in central Co. Cavan, and farming on it is Con Smith, the subject of this week’s Beef Focus.
Con is a suckler farmer based in Corraweelis, who is farming 170ac of land, much of which is mountainous in nature.
The farm has been in the suckler business since 1995, with Con taking it over in 2002 from his late father Benny.
The herd is primarily spring calving, with approximately 40 cows calving down on the farm each year. As well as this, the farm buys in a number of Angus and Hereford heifer calves from the dairy herd.
The best of these are kept as replacement heifers for the suckler herd and the remainder are sold as store heifers.
Con believes the better-type heifer calves bought from the dairy herd tend to make great suckler cows, saying “they have plenty of milk and tend to be very quiet”.
The majority of the progeny from the suckler herd are sold as store cattle from 12 to 18-months of age, with some of the stronger calves sold as weanlings.
The majority of the suckler progeny, as well as the cull cows, are sold at Con’s local mart – Cavan Co Operative Livestock Mart – which hosts a general sale of cattle every Friday.
Due to the fragmented nature of the farm, breeding is carried out using two stockbulls. Con admits that he has a preference for using stockbulls as opposed to artificial insemination (AI) for breeding as he believes it reduces the risk of missed heats in cows.
A Charolais and a Hereford bull are kept on farm with the Charolais bull used on mature cows and the Hereford bull used primarily on replacement heifers.
Both bulls have five-stars and qualify for the Beef Data Genomics Programme (BDGP) of which Con is a participant in.
“The BDGP programme works well and suits the suckler system on the farm here but you would need to be getting a higher payment for it,” said Con.
“There’s no money in this suckler farming and with fertiliser and meal prices the highest they’ve ever been this year, it’s definitely not getting any easier.
“Suckler farmers will need more support and they have to be getting a better price for the quality of cattle they are producing.”
This year Con purchased an additional 5ac field located beside his home farm. He has plans to carry out improvement work on the new land and hopes to use it for both silage and grazing.
Cattle are generally housed on the farm by November 15, when ground conditions generally begin to deteriorate as the winter sets in.
Cattle are fed round-bale silage for the duration of the winter, before going back to grass in mid to late-March.
Calving gets underway on the farm from February onwards. Cows are calved down in a dry-bedded shed and are fed a small amount of concentrates in the run up to calving as well as post-calving, to help boost milk production for the calf.
Once weather conditions allow in the spring, cows and calves are let out to grass. This year’s calving season went well and Con said he is happy with how this year’s crop of calves are performing.
Con is farming with the help of his wife and three children and noted that his son Charlie has a particular interest in the cattle. He hopes there will be a good future for the next generation of suckler farmers, but said: “Prices and supports will have to improve if suckler farms are to remain viable into the future.
“Suckler farming is a tough sector to be in and the margins are very tight.”
For more Beef Focus stories, click here.