The 2024 Irish Grassland Association (IGA) beef event will take place outside Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, on the farm of Martin and Caroline Shaughnessy on Tuesday, June 11.
The farm system involves a 16 cow suckler-to-weaning enterprise and a flock of 150 ewes.
It has been described by the IGA as “a typical suckler and sheep operation in the west of Ireland”.
The farm, located to the east of Ballinrobe town, Co. Mayo (Eircode F12PR23), consists of just under 28Ha of both owned and rented, good quality ground.
Originally starting off with a Simmental-type cow, Martin now runs a herd of 16 three-quarter bred Limousin dams mated to Belgian Blue sires each year.
Maiden heifers are crossed back to Limousin genetics, while sexed semen was also introduced in 2023.
Martin also works part-time in local Aurivo marts and has moved away from using a stock bull and now uses 100% artificial insemination (AI), with the aim of breeding males for the export market and females for the domestic trade.
The sheep enterprise consists of Suffolk and Texel-cross ewes that are split lambing at the start of February and then again around St. Patrick’s day each year.
The ewes are sychronised at breeding to leave the management during lambing easier. Lambs are sold through the South-Mayo Lamb Producer Group.
The suckler system is quite simple involving a herd of top-quality E and U-grade cows capable of calving a top-quality calf and the ability to feed that calf with an abundance of milk.
Cow fertility is of utmost importance on the farm also and a calving interval of 363 days was achieved in 2023/2024.
Calving starts on January 1, annually with all cows generally calved by the end of March.
Grass
Top-quality grass is introduced at the end of March when the pairings are turned out for the year. While this might be considered late, early spring grass is prioritised for the early lambing ewes.
The cattle rotationally graze a 10-12ac block on the home farm which is laid out in paddocks under a leader-follower system.
The calves graze ahead of the cows allowing them to utilise quality, leafy grass before the cows.
This also allows Martin to introduce meal prior to weaning. In 2023, the average 200-day weights of the weanlings stood at 315kg for the males, while the females weighed 271kg at that stage.
An early application of protected urea is applied where possible.
As Martin needs to prioritise grass early on in the year, first-cut silage is aimed for early June, with Martin closing paddocks which go too strong for grazing throughout the grazing season – providing a top-quality winter feed source.
Second-cut silage generally takes place in July. The farm grew 10.6t DM/ha in 2023 – well above the national average quantity grown on Irish drystock farms. Slurry is also spread in spring at a rate of 3,000gals/ac.
IGA event
Most of the machinery work is contracted out – allowing the Mayo-based farmer to focus on other important tasks around the farm.
With his relatively small herd of cows, Martin definitely operates at the higher-end of the market for both males and females.
In 2023, his average price for both males and female weanlings stood a €1,700/head – an impressive price for weanlings weighing between 300-400kg.
Martin is also involved in the Teagasc Agricultural Catchments Programme – with the farm located in the Cregduff catchment.
The IGA has said this is a national event which is free to attend and all farmers from across Ireland are very welcome to come along. The event will deliver key learnings for suckler farmers and sheep farmers.
The IGA beef event is sponsored by FBD Insurance and there will be some light food and refreshments available from 6:00p.m. The event will get underway at 6:30p.m sharp and finish at 8:30p.m.