Advantage Beef Programme
However, the rain has returned and the farm has now greened up again, with grass growth starting to recover.
Farm manager Matthew Quinn said that the current average farm cover (AFC) is 640kg DM/ha.
He said: "AFC recovery is expected to continue due to relatively low grass demand.
"Grass was basically non-existent from late July to August and this has had an impact on growth rates and animal performance on the farm."
He said that when grass supplies ran out on the farm, cattle that remained at grass were being fed on silage meal and hay but weight gains suffered due to the lack of grass.
Cattle and sheep on the ABP Demo Farm
Currently, there are 210 cattle housed for finishing on the ABP Demo farm. These are the spring-2025-born heifers and steers.
There are 100 of the spring-2025-born cattle currently at the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) Tully progeny test centre in Co. Kildare for feed intake trials.
These cattle were on display at the ICBF Tully open day on Tuesday, September 8.
Of these, 50 are heifers and 50 are steers. Another 50 steers will be sent to the facility for finishing.
There were 15 heifers sent to the factory from the ABP farm on Friday (September 11), and these heifers had an average carcass-weight of 267kg and an average grade of 'O=3+'.
Two of the heifers on the batch graded an 'R'.
The average live weight of the bullocks on the farm is 522kg. These cattle were housed in early August at an average weight of 470kg.
The heifers were housed on July 31 with an average weight of 444kg. These are currently averaging 501kg.
Approximately 400 of the 2026-born dairy-beef calves are at grass on the farm currently. These are being supplemented with 2kg concentrates/head/day.
The average calf weight on the farm currently is 187kg, which the far manager said is "disappointing".
However, he added that it is not surprising as a result of the toll the weather took on grass growth and grass supplies this summer.
Lambs
Approximately 700 store lambs have also been bought in for grazing the farm over the winter months.
These lambs were bought from farms in Co. Kerry at an average weight of approximately 30kg.
Lambs were sheared before arrival and were vaccinated on arrival. These lambs will start being offered concentrates after Christmas and will be drafted from early 2027 with the aim of having all lambs finished by March.
A 16ac area of ground has been earmarked for reseeding. This has been sprayed in preparation.
As well as grass supply challenges during the dry spell, water supply was also an issue.
This continues to be an issue and is being closely monitored on the farm as the water table in the region has dropped after the dry spell this summer.