Grazing the pastures on the outskirts of Ballinalee, Co. Longford, is the 2022 All-Ireland Beef Bullock champion which resides on the farm of John Kane.
John is a beef and sheep farmer based in Co. Longford and is also a factory agent for the Donegal-based beef processor Foyle Meats.
Agriland paid a visit to John Kane’s farm recently to find out more about his impressive year in the commercial cattle show ring and his beef and sheep enterprise.
He said: “I’m farming full time and also work as a factory agent for Foyle Meats. I would be covering the whole midlands, I’m buying cattle as far away as Co. Offaly.”
As a factory agent, he looks for prime in-spec cattle that are under 30 months of age with a carcass weight of 300-400kg, saying: “There is a good premium for [that] type of stock and a substantial premium for Angus between 300kg and 400kg.”
His home farm consists of a flock of breeding ewes and a range of cattle for both breeding and beef.
“We finish some bulls but we primarily finish heifers under 30 months with a carcass weight of between 330kg and 400kg deadweight, averaging 375kg.
“We finish all R- and U-grade heifers and are beginning to move into the higher end quality Angus too. The 20-30c/kg factory bonus has definitely brought the quality of Angus cattle up. There’s no breed of animals that have improved in the last five years like the Angus. People have taken a great interest in them again.”
John also has a selection of commercial breeding heifers which he plans to sell later in the year. Last year, he won first prize in the Carrick-On-Shannon fatstock show and sold heifers “with relatively good prospects at €2,500-€3,000”.
Cattle are finished all year round on John’s farm. They are let out to grass in March, and John believes the secret to success on any farm operation is good grazing and paddock management as well as making silage early with a high dry matter digestibility (DMD).
Finding the future champion
John explained how he came into possession of the champion bullock which he bought in November 2021 from Declan McKenna, Clogher, Co. Tyrone.
The Limousin-cross bullock is two years old and comes from a Belgian Blue cow. The steer is sired by the renowned Limousin bull known as Ballinloan Jaegerbomb. The steer has won over €3,000 in prize money for John this summer.
“Early last year, I began looking for an animal for shows that would compete at the higher-level and would be a strong contender in the commercial cattle show rings.
“A friend of mine, Gareth Corry from Newtownards, Co. Down, spotted the bullock first and told me I needed to see him.
“As soon as I saw him, I knew I had to buy him. He had the potential. He was a real south of Ireland bullock and I knew he would have a good chance of winning the Liffey Meats competition in Virginia and the Strokestown classes.
“When I first saw him, he had the natural look and great, square feet with a superior top loin. He was in store condition and was looking very natural.
“The stance, the length, the character, this bullock had it all. I knew he had great prospects and thankfully, he has matured into what we expected.”
“It’s like a raw footballer; if it’s in him, it will come out in the character,” John remarked.
The bullock currently stands weighing in at 900kg and many factory agents have agreed the bullock will grade an E= or E+ and a 3 in flesh.
“He was 566kg when we bought him in November and on July 10 at the Mullingar Show, he was 836kg. He went to eight or nine shows from July 10 – September 10 and still gained 1kg a day in liveweight. We weighed him at the Strokestown Show on Saturday, September 10, and he was 898kg.”
The impressive bullock won a number of significant titles this summer, including:
- The Sweeney Family All-Ireland Beef Bullock Championship at Strokestown Show 2022;
- The 31st Liffey Meats Champion Super Beef Bullock at the Virginia Show 2022;
- Champion bullock at Tullamore Show 2022.
John explained that it wasn’t all plain sailing and, and that the first four shows the bullock went to, he was beaten on every occasion.
“The bullock has just turned two but he put up his teeth in June, so he was competing with the big boys and he wasn’t just big enough at the start of the season but that’s the bounce of luck in the show business.
Returning to the show business
John told Agriland that he has been showing cattle from a very young age, saying “We were always showing livestock with my late grandfather since we were small gossons.”
“I took a break from it for a few years, and instead of a big number of cattle, we had only a handful of cattle. In the last 10-12 years, we have got back into it and taken the livestock thing very serious. We’re feeding more cattle and sheep now than ever before.
In 2014, John was asked to judge a class in the Tullamore Show, saying it went well. Then, in 2016, he was asked to judge the whole commercial cattle section.
“From that I started back into it.”
Commenting on the plans for the champion bullock, John said that he has had a large volume of high-profile buyers express an interest in buying the animal.
Views on the beef sector
John believes to be successful at beef farming, farmers have to have an understanding of the importance of genetics on a beef animals’ ability to thrive.
He believes grassland management is very important and stressed that a good finishing diet is essential to bring the beef animal “the full way”. He added that “a little does a lot” when it comes to the finishing stage of cattle.
“It is important to turn the animal out with a good finish and then you have something to sell that the processor wants.”
He believes there is a need for improvement in the quality of the calves coming from the dairy herd, but said “some dairy farmers who are taking their beef operation serious are getting a high-level of performance and are finishing very impressive cattle”.
“I’m dealing with some dairy farmers finishing 24-month Angus steers that averaged €1,900 in February this year, before the real price rise came.
“There are some Friesian cows that are well capable of breeding a good beef animal but the progeny of a small 450-550kg sharp, extreme dairy cow unfortunately is going to be a liability to the beef industry because the farmers buying those calves cannot make anything off them.
“No one is asking the dairy industry to produce superstar beef cattle but they’re going to have to go a step better because they will finish up with an unsellable calf.”
He noted, from his experience as a factory agent, that the “clever calf to beef farmers are keeping away from these smaller-type calves even at small money. It’s in everyone’s best interest to improve the quality of beef calves from the dairy herd.”
“Feed costs are getting phenomenal and something that’s not pulling its weight on beef performance will be unfeasible this year”.
John plans to continue with his beef and sheep enterprise and after his successful year showing in 2022, he will no doubt be planning to make a big return to the show ring next year.