The Co. Tipperary dairy calf-to-beef demonstration farm has opened its gates to the public today (Wednesday, July 22) with all aspects of financial and physical performance up for examination.

One of the many interesting aspects highlighted at the open day was how the farm determines what price it is willing to pay for the over 400 calves it buys in every year.

Health, genetics, and performance are the first three parameters examined on the source farms before purchasing calves.

In 2026, 443 calves were purchased into Ballyvadin Farm, with an average Commercial Beef Value (CBV) of €180. The national average CBV is €77.

The average weight of calves at purchasing was 57kg, while and the average price was €415/head or €7.28/kg.

Calf price payments are made based on weight, sex, and CBV.

Ballyvadin sets a base price based on the ICBF weekly mart data.

Calves will be price adjusted by €1.50 for every €1 increase/decrease in CBV above a set base, and by €8 for every 1kg above and below 55kg.

The table below is a guide on the calf prices paid on the farm this year:

For example, take a 57kg Angus bull calf with a CBV of €140, assuming the mart base price was €402 for a 55kg calf, based on ICBF data.

The calf CBV is €10 above the base CBV used of €130 and the calf is 2kg heavier than the base weight, so:

€10 X €1.50=€15 and 2kg X €8=€16 so €15+€16=€31+€402(base price)=€433.

In this case, €433 is what Ballyvadin would pay for the Angus calf.

Health

The Ballyvadin demo farm also has strict policies around calf health.

Calves from dairy farmers must be from agreed sires, and been given the Pi3 vaccine five days prior to movement to reduce pneumonia risk from stress occurred during transport.

Calves must also weigh 38kg by 14 days-of-age.

The sires used for Ballyvadin-bound calves must have good dairy-beef subindex scores.

Some of the sires of the 2026 calves included:

AA2309 had a calving difficulty of 3.7%, gestation of +0 and a beef subindex score of €101;
AU4683 had a calving difficulty of 3.5%, gestation of +0.6 and a beef subindex score of €170;
CH4321 had a calving difficulty of 5.1%, gestation of +2.0 and a beef subindex score of €218;
LM5433 had a calving difficulty of 4.8%, gestation of +1.5 and a beef subindex score of €200.

The purchasing farm pays for transport and weighs all calves on arrival, and pay based on the agreement.

The take-home message from this discussion point was that the pricing system must stand the test of time, so even in bad years it has to deliver.

It should also move the focus to objective calf pricing, with the farmer only purchasing healthy calves.

Ballyvadin demo farm is run by and founded by Teagasc in conjunction with, and co-funded by, Dawn Meats, and Shinagh Estates Ltd.

The farm has been operating since 2022, with its first batch of calves purchased in 2023.