Over 80 people attended the first Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme farm of 2020, which took place yesterday, Wednesday, March 11, on the farm of Shane Cranny, just outside Myshall, Co. Carlow.

Shane operates a dairy calf-to-beef system, alongside a suckler enterprise, on 31.5ha of free-draining grassland.

“I got into calf-to-beef in a small way just to try and build numbers as cheaply as possible. I started out with five or six one year and kept building from there,” Shane explained.

“They suit the system here and I have them finished off grass at the end of the second grazing season. On a wet year like this, you can get your calves out before any other cattle – by day anyway,” he added.

After initially purchasing spring-born calves, he switched to autumn-born calves in 2018 and this management decision has continued; approximately 60 Friesian bull calves were purchased in October/November 2019.

Targeting slaughter off grass as steers are at 22-24 months-of-age, excellent grassland management is required. Three mobs of cattle graze rotationally on the platform – the autumn-born calves, yearlings and the suckler cows and calves.

Weaned calves and store cattle are turned out as early as possible to maximise ‘cheap’ weight gain, while suckler cows are turned out post-calving.

Previously, the farm operated a calf-to-store system, with animals sold off grass prior to housing. Last year, the introduction of concentrates at grass facilitated the slaughtering of the majority of the steers produced on the farm. These animals produced an average carcass weight of 340kg at 23.4 months-of-age.

Touching on this, Shane said: “When selling cattle through the mart as stores, the price was too unpredictable; you never knew what you were going to get.

“There seems to be more value going all the way to finish. It was definitely worth going down that route last year – even with a poor beef price.”

What direction is the farm heading?

On the day, both Shane’s dedicated programme advisor, Seán Cummins, and Teagasc’s Eoin Woulfe were on hand to run through the system operated on the farm and outline what direction the farm will take over the coming years.

“Last year, the farms enrolled in the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme generated a net margin of €67/ha on average. That €67/ha is low, but we have to remember that we faced a difficult year on beef price; it dropped 24c/kg,” Seán explained.

“The budget we have worked on for Shane is based off an average calf purchase price of €110/head.

“In addition, we carried out some sensitivity analysis on Shane’s net margin – based on a base price of €3.70/kg, if beef price drops or increases by €0.20/kg, it has a €140 swing on the net price generated on the farm,” Seán added.

In the coming months, additional land is expected to come on board bringing the total area farmed to 40ha. This will allow cattle numbers to jump from 64 in 2019 to 80 in 2021.

Additionally, with the extra numbers purchased, the stocking rate on the farm is expected to reach 2.3LU/ha. By 2021, output (kg/ha) is targeted to hit 1,310kg/ha, while gross output is expected to rise to €2,384/ha.

Variable costs – which include feed, fertiliser, vet and contractor costs – are targeted at €1,192/ha.

Touching on variable costs, Eoin said: “Bought in feed is expensive. Therefore, the main driver on this farm is grass – because grass is the cheapest thing we can produce.

“If you don’t have grass driving your farm, it’s very hard to have a margin. Shane puts in meal when he needs to put in meal, but he gets out early and grazes good-quality swards.

“However, if you have good animals and good grass, but bad animal health – the animals won’t perform; you need to have a health programme for your farm,” he added.

Gross margin is expected to rise across the three years of the programme from €856/ha in 2018 to €1,192/ha in 2021.

Additionally, fixed costs are expected to increase from €433/ha in 2018 to €562/ha in 2021; this will be driven by on-farm developments, but will remain in the typical range for non-breeding farms at €450-650/ha.

Finally, the net margin on the farm in 2019 was €417/ha, which is quite good given the poor year in terms of beef price; the target for 2021 is €630/ha.

Concluding, Eoin said: “Shane is conscious of calf price. If you are playing a match, you don’t want to start off two or three points down; you want to start off giving yourself a fair chance.”