One of the final groups from the 2022 Certified Irish Angus Schools competition believes a five-point plan to support sustainability in the Irish Angus breed of cattle could deliver “real benefits for all”.
Students of Mercy Secondary School in Co. Westmeath, Sinéad Bracken, Mary Ellen Colton, Chloe McDermott and Trása Bracken, were announced as one of the five finalists of the competition last year.
They were awarded calves to rear for 18 months as part of the competition with the theme of ‘Exploring the opportunities of low carbon beef’ in mind.
Their aim is to demonstrate how Irish farmers can produce the most sustainable beef by following the Certified Irish Angus five-point plan, while also educating consumers and farmers about carbon sequestration on farms.
Five-point plan
As their theme is sustainability, the girls wanted to rear their calves in the most sustainable way possible.
McDermott said the five-point plan supports the “three pillars of sustainability”, which are environmental, economic, and social sustainability.
Bracken explained that the first point of the group’s five-point plan is to encourage farmers to use a high-genetic merit Irish Angus sire on their farms.
“For example, the Certified Irish Angus Producer Group recently bought a new high-genetic merit sire called Dromcow Tirbesman,” she said.
“Tribesman holds exceptional traits. He holds a terminal index of €76 and a replacement index of €155. The Certified Irish Angus Producer Group has a new ‘Elite Breed Improvement Programme’.
“So, whether you have a pedigree herd, you’re a dairy farmer or a beef farmer, there really is something on offer and it’s definitely something for a farmer to look at if they want to increase their genetic merit and overall sustainability.
“We as a group believe if you start out with a good calf you will finish with a good calf at finishing.”
Grassland management
The next point in the plan is grassland management. According to Colton, if farmers manage their grass properly they will have better quality grass and it will cut down on costs and cattle can have an early turnout in spring.
“Our calves have had an early turnout this spring as we are already implementing a paddock-based system on our farm,” she said.
“We also did soil tests on Trása and Sinead’s farm to see what their soil was lacking and, especially this year, knowing what your soil needs and doesn’t need can save the farmer money.”
Healthcare
“Healthcare is our third point. When rearing our calves, we try to use as little amount of dosage as possible, as we don’t want antimicrobial resistance to build up,” McDermott said.
The group thinks a lot of farmers dose their animals when they may not need to, and thus encourage farmers to only dose when they are sure it is necessary.
“We think a lot of farmers dose their animals when they mightn’t need it. That’s why before we dose for worms, we will always faecal egg count our calves,” McDermott said.
“It’s a very quick process and can save the farmer a lot of time and money. But, of course, the Irish Angus Breed is an exceptional breed when it comes to health and holds unique traits like being naturally polled so farmers won’t have to de-horn them and they are also a very hardy breed.”
Home-grown feed
The group said the importing of feed into Ireland from “many different countries” must stop as part of the sustainability plan; home-grown feed is the plan’s fourth point.
Bracken said the imports need to stop if Ireland wants a “greener future”.
“This is why we feed our calves a sustainable diet of beans and barley. We grow the barley on myself and Trása’s farm,” she said.
“We source the beans off a tillage farmer in our local area.”
Support local
Colton said home-grown feed leads into the final point of the group’s five-point plan, which is supporting local.
“Going back to what Chloe said at the start about the three pillars of sustainability, supporting local links to social sustainability in our local communities,” she said.
“Especially after Covid-19, it’s very important for farmers to source their materials and feed locally as it will cut down on the environmental impact but it will also ensure a thriving community.”
Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition
The Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition aims to promote the Certified Irish Angus brand while educating students about the care and attention required to produce quality beef for consumers.
It is run by Certified Irish Angus and its processor partners, ABP and Kepak.
Each group also benefits from the proceeds raised through the sale of the animals at the end of the competition. The overall winners also receive a bursary of €2,000 towards further education.
The girls got through several different stages of the competition to reach the final five groups, and will continue rearing their calves until next year, when they hope to be crowned overall winners of the competition.
“Typically the competition is ran up in Croke Park the last Friday of March,” Trása Bracken said.
“We were up there on April 1, last year, so hopefully we’ll find out if we’re the overall winner in March 2024.”