A beef and tillage farmer in Co. Laois plans to increase the profitability of his business in the coming years through the use of Friesian bull calves and improved management practices.
John Lalor is one of the farmers participating in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf-to-Beef Programme, which aims to promote best practice in calf-to-beef systems.
On Tuesday, he opened the gates of his farm to 300 farmers to show them how he plans to increase the gross margin of his beef enterprise by 46% by 2018.
Lalor farms 100ha on the outskirts of Ballyfin Village in Co. Laois, with the farm split between a beef (46ha) and tillage enterprise (54ha).
The Laois farmer previously had a herd of 90 suckler cows, but due to a lack of profitability and a TB outbreak between 2008 and 2010 he decided to focus on the calf-to-beef enterprise.
Over the past six years, he has purchased 75 Angus heifers calves and brought them to beef at 22-24 months of age.
Farm finances
Lalor plans to increase the farm’s gross margin by 45% over the four year duration of the Teagasc Green Acres programme.
He said that the calf-to-beef system has worked well on the farm and prior to joining the Teagasc Green Acres programme, he had a gross margin of €713/ha from the beef enterprise.
But, in a move to increase the profitability of the business, Lalor plans to purchase 50 Friesian bull calves and 50 Angus heifer calves in future years.
Bringing the Friesian bull calves into the system will allow cash flow to be spread out over the year, he said as he plans for this stock to be ready for slaughter later in the year.
The majority of this profitability increase comes from additional output, combined with the lower purchase price of the Friesian bull calves.
Another area that Lalor has worked on to improve the profitability of his business is grassland management and in 2015 he installed over 20 paddocks on the farm.
The presence of the Friesian steers on the farm means that the farms stocking rate will increase from 2LU/ha to 2.58/ha.
Video: Angus and Hereford heifers at grass
Finishing systems
Over the past six years, Lalor has focused on finishing 75 Angus and Hereford heifers at 22-24 months of age. But, in the coming years, the beef system will be split between Friesian steers and Angus and Hereford heifers.
Each year, 50 Friesian bull calves will be purchased at a cost of €150 each and finished at 26-30 months from grass.
These cattle are expected to produce 330kg carcasses and at a budget beef price of 370c/kg they should return just over €1,200 each.
50 Angus and Hereford heifer calves will also be slaughtered on the farm on an annual basis. These calves will be purchased at €240 each, he said.
Lalor expects these heifers to kill out at between 51-52%, producing 250-260kg carcasses and at a budgeted beef price of €4.00-4.10/kg, they should make in the region of €1,030 each.
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- Hereford calves
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- New paddocks on John Lalor’s farm
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- Cattle winter housing facilities
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- Calf housing facilities on Lalor’s farm
Grassland management
Last year, Lalor installed over 20 paddocks on the farm to make it easier to manage grass and to ensure that his animals perform to their full capacity.
So far, I have found that the paddock system is working really well, but grazing this spring has been difficult and the cattle have been brought back in three times.
In future years, the majority of the animals on the farm will be finished from grass, while only the lighter Angus heifers will be housed for a second winter for finishing.
To ensure that the animals reach their target slaughter date, their weight gains will have to be closely monitored.
The Angus heifers need to gain 0.7kg/day from grass, while the Friesian steers need to gain close on 1kg at grass to meet their slaughter target weights.
The paddock system gives Lalor greater control over grazing management along with improving the grass quality available to the animals.