There is a full house in the Tullamore Court Hotel tonight – Tuesday, April 9 – for the launch of Phase II of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme.
Speaking at the event, the director of Teagasc, Prof. Gerry Boyle, outlined: “We think there’s a fantastic opportunity here in the rearing of calves from the dairy herd. If farmers put in place some of the basics, they can transform their profitability over the three to four years of the programme.”
Pearse Kelly, head of KT drystock, Teagasc, added: “We have 14 farmers and we’re trying to disseminate as much information as possible about these farmers out to the public.”
He continued: “The big difference in Phase II of the programme is that we have now partnered with AgriLand.
“We want people to get to know these farmers better than the previous ones and really get to know what is happening on these farms – to get people to follow them.
We want other farmers to see what progress they’re making, what changes they’re making on their farms and how that’s impacting on their profitability.
“We are going to bring a lot more groups in on these farms.
“In the previous one, we would have had one open day on each farm over the three years. We plan on bringing discussion groups in to these farms on a much more regular basis.”
Also at the event, former Irish international rugby player John Hayes explained: “I’m a suckler farmer myself at the moment but realise myself the growth of calf-to-beef programmes in recent years. I am here to look and listen – to see if this is for me.”