Dairy farmers who are producing the better calves for beef production and beef farmers who are rearing calves, but are seeking assurance that they are buying a calf of a certain quality and genetic beef merit are ‘teaming up’ in a system that is proving to be beneficial to both beef farmers buying, and dairy farmers selling calves.
This initiative is being spearheaded by ABP Food Group’s Advantage Beef Programme farm liaison team. The team leader, Amie Coonan explained that the initiative is proving popular with both beef and dairy farmers this spring.
The aim of the ABP dairy-beef programme is to produce high quality calves on dairy farms that can then be purchased directly from farm by Advantage Beef farmers.
The new ABP initiative linking dairy and beef farmers is being offered as an optional extra of ABP’s Advantage Beef Programme, which offers participating farmers a 20c/kg sustainability bonus for all eligible cattle.
Gortnahoe dairy farm producing better calves for Cahir beef farmer
One calf to beef farmer who is benefitting from the initiative is David Casey, who is farming with his father and young family in Cahir, Co. Tipperary.
The Caseys run a drystock system which involves rearing calves to beef, as well as buying store cattle and weanlings.
David also runs a livestock transport company, and so he spends a lot of time off the farm hauling livestock.
The farm joined the Advantage Beef Programme in 2022 and receives an additional 20c/kg sustainability bonus for all their eligible cattle reared and finished through the scheme.
As part of ABP’s dairy calf to beef programme, the ABP farm liaison team identified a dairy farmer producing good-quality calves just a 40 minute drive from the farm.
The farm producing calves for the Caseys is of Tim, Jamie and Pierre Crowe, who are dairy farming in Co. Tipperary.
Once the dairy farm has a batch of calves ready to be sold, collection is organised.
This system works well, as the dairy farm can free up calf pens once calves are ready and the calf to beef farm can get a group of calves together that are similar age and can be trained to the feeder together.
David has since collected two batches of calves from the Crowes and is is very happy with the quality and health of these.
David is one of a number of beef farmers linked to the Crowes who are supplying good quality, high genetic beef merit calves that are all sire recorded.
One of the calf suppliers
The Crowe family, Tim, Jamie and Pierre are milking 330 cows in Gortnahoe, Co. Tipperary.
They linked up with ABP for the 2023 breeding season where ABP supplied the farm with artificial insemination (AI) straws from high genetic-merit Angus and Hereford bulls.
A total of 2,200 high genetic merit beef AI straws were supplied by ABP to dairy farmers located across the country last year. These calves are now available to farmers participating in the Advantage Beef Programme.
The Progressive Genetics bulls used were:
- AA6682;
- AA2309;
- HE6841;
- AA4640.
The calves supplied are guaranteed to be from good cow types with high carcass and confirmation bulls used. All calves are sire recorded or genotyped and receive adequate colostrum and care.
The cow type on the Crowes farm is predominantly Holstein/British Friesian cross, however the farm originally had Rotbunt breeding, which can still be seen in some of the cows.
All cows are vaccinated with Rotavec Corona which will in turn reduce the risk of a scour outbreak on the beef farm.
Cows receive pre-calver minerals to ensure a lively, healthy calf is produced.
Each calf receives 3.5L of colostrum and are kept in a baby pen under a heat lamp for three days while being trained on a single-teat feeder.
When strong enough, each calf is then moved to larger pens in groups of of 10 where they are fed on 10-teat feeders.
All pens are fitted with canopies to prevent drafts and have deep straw beds.
The Crowes used sexed semen which Tim noted was very successful. They start calving in January which means that early-born beef calves are available to sell in late January/early February.
Calves all range from 2-3-weeks-old when moving off farm.
Any farmers interested in purchasing calves from similar dairy farms across the country can contact the ABP farm liaison team on 086-1653501.