DairyBeef500 participant James O’Sullivan will be hosting a farm walk at his farm located at Myross, near Union Hall, Co. Cork on September 3 at 5:30p.m.

James has increased profitability and labour efficiency on his farm over the past four years, reaching a high of over €2,600/ha net profit when beef prices rose in 2025.

The farm is running around 95 Angus steers and heifers from thee weeks-of-age to slaughter at an average age of 22 months-of-age on 31ha of mostly free-draining coastal land.

James works off-farm as an artificial insemination (AI) technician so calves are purchased early in the year to coincide with being reared by the time AI season gets into full swing.

With four young children and a spouse working off farm also, James needs the farm to be as labour efficient as possible.

To assist with this, James has invested in the past 12 months in newer equipment and a new shed and maize pit to make daily tasks run as smoothly as possible.

The main block of land is located along the south-west coast and can be exposed to salt burn in mid-season and early in the year at times.

This year has proven challenging with drought and reduced grass growth, meaning cattle are housed earlier than planned.

It also means additional silage will need to be purchased to ensure the farm does not run short in early spring.

Calf-to-beef

Calves are purchased locally from a small group of dairy farmers whom James carries out AI services for.

James buys in batches with a focus on aiming to keep the CBV as high as possible.

Higher CBV calves have proven to produce heavier carcasses on the farm.

Health of the calves has improved in recent years with small improvements made to ventilation of the calf shed along with a vaccination policy on calves on arrival for pneumonia also.

The farm is highly stocked and is in derogation, meaning a high level of grass utilisation has to happen to avoid large quantities of purchased feed.

Having a dry coastal farm means James can get out in early February and achieve up to 10 grazings per paddock per year.

A large amount of the farm has been reseeded in recent years and some red clover and multi-species swards have been sown.

While red clover has generally performed well, issues have arose with weed control on multi species swards with docks in particular causing large infestations.

Farm walk

At the farm walk on September 3, James' profitability will be discussed along with options for winter fodder and autumn grass shortages on farm.

Grasstec will be demonstrating their new SKAI sprayer which uses cameras to identify weeds in the field thus targeting weeds only and avoiding spraying grass.

ABP will be carrying out a demonstration to assess stock for finishing. James supplies ABP through their Advantage Scheme and ensuring his Angus cattle hit the spec is essential in securing up to 60c/kg in bonuses when all are included.

The farm is supplying around 27t of beef annually so the animal bonuses add up to a potential €16,000 annually.

James is also in the process of building a new slatted shed and feed store under Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes (TAMS), and Teagasc personnel will be available to talk to people on the day about what is involved in this process.

The event will have free burgers kindly provided by ABP and is free for all to attend.