The farm walk was hosted by Irish Hereford Prime and ABP Food Group on the farm of Nigel Donaldson in Annyalla, Co. Monaghan.

At the event, Tennyson Egar from Irish Hereford Prime explained the details of the new breed bonus payment structure with ABP Ireland that were announced in March and will come into effect from September of this year.

The details of the new Hereford breed bonus structure are available here.

What is AgNav and why is membership part of the new bonus?

Also speaking at the event, agri-sustainability specialist at Bord Bia, Edel McEvoy explained why AgNav is important from an industry perspective.

AgNav is a free online sustainability platform for farmers, created through a partnership between Teagasc, Bord Bia, and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).

AgNav aims to provide secure, accurate, and verifiable data that allows farmers to choose the most appropriate sustainability actions tailored to their farm.

McEvoy said: "Customers today are a lot more aware of where their food is coming from.

"They want to know whether or not there is a sustainability metric behind it. They want more data."

She said that in order to continue to promote Irish beef as a sustainable option for consumers, "we need to get stronger information".

"AgNav is allowing us to have the data in the background to make sure what we're saying can be verified and backed up," McEvoy explained.

Membership of AgNav will also apply to the Certified Irish Angus breed bonus from September 2026, with details on this restructured breed bonus avaliable here.

Other farm walk highlights

The host farmer for the event was Nigel Donaldson.

With the help of his wife Alison and three sons, the family are milking just over 40 cows with a herd of approximately 20 sucklers also on a fragmented farm in Co. Monaghan.

Beef progeny from the dairy and suckler herd are finished through the Advantage Beef Programme, with a target to finish steers at 19 months-of-age and heifers at 18 months-of-age.

The table below details the beef animal performance for the farm in 2025:

Also speaking at the event, Michelle McGrath from Animal Health Ireland (AHI) discussed some key tips and advice for rearing healthy calves.

She emphasised the important role of a good vaccination plan on-farm also also remined farmers to listen out for lungworm symptoms in calves.

She noted that the onset of a cough in a batch of calves at grass can be a clinical sign of lungworm. adding that lungworm incidents are often high when rain arrives after a prolonged dry spell.

Sean Cassidy from the ABP farm liaison team detailed some of the schemes, incentives, and initiatives available to beef farmers supplying prime cattle to ABP, including:

The ABP Advantage Young Farmer Academy;
ABP Bull Improvement Initiative;
20c/kg Advantage Beef Programme sustainability bonus avaliable on all eligible cattle.

Michael Cleary and Tennyson Egar explained the work Irish Hereford Prime is doing to secure the future of the Hereford breed bonus for beef farmers.

Niall Kilrane from the ICBF explained the role of the CBV when buying calves for beef production.

ABP farm liaison officer Jenny Cumiskey detailed supports available to beef farmers through the Farming For Water EIP.

The event drew to a close with Irish Hereford Prime beef burgers served to all in attendance and complimentary ice cream.