A Teagasc Future Beef national farm walk due to take place this week in Co. Clare has been rescheduled.

The James Skehan farm walk has been postponed to Friday, September 11 at 5:00p.m.

It was previously due to take place on Friday, September 4 at 6:00p.m.

Farm walk

At the rescheduled farm walk on September 11, farmers will have the opportunity to see a practical and progressive suckler-to-beef system in action.

Based near Bridgetown, Killaloe, Co. Clare, James Skehan along with his wife Joanne, children Nelly and Macarton, and his father Batt, operates a 27 cow/calf pairs spring-calving suckler herd alongside his full-time off-farm employment.

Teagasc said this farm is a good example of how careful planning, efficient grassland management and a focus on labour can help make a beef enterprise work successfully on a part-time basis.

Skehan will explain how he has increased beef output and margins on the farm over the past three years.

As part of the Teagasc Future Beef Programme, Skehan has been working closely with his Teagasc advisor Tom Gleeson and the wider Future Beef team to identify areas where improvements can be made on the farm.

The farm's focus is firmly on producing quality beef efficiently, while also improving the overall profitability and sustainability of the enterprise.

Breeding performance

Breeding performance is another important part of the system.

Teagasc outlined that Skehan is hitting the key performance indicators with a calf/cow/year, over 80% of the cows calving in six weeks, 100% heifers calving 22-26 months and a calving interval of under 365 days.  

Skehan has placed a strong emphasis on using artificial insemination (AI) to improve the genetic merit of the herd while also tightening the calving pattern.

This year, 60% of the calves were born from AI sires, while the herd also achieved a strong first-service conception rate.

He has been using a synchronisation protocol for breeding the last few years for both cows and heifers.

Calving

This year’s calving season started the first week of February and finished the first week of April.

To facilitate this tight calving spread, Skehan has opted to synchronise both cows and heifers for this year’s breeding season.

The cow’s synchronisation plan cost €30 per cow and the heifers plan cost €33 each per heifer.

Eight out of the nine heifers kept to the first round of AI and 15 out of 25 cows kept to the first round of AI.

The Limousin stock bull picked up the repeats in the cows and the heifer that repeated was AI’d a second time.

Finishing cattle

A major area of discussion will be Skehan's approach to finishing cattle.

The farm has traditionally operated a suckler-to-weanling system, but Skehan is now examining the potential to finish more of the cattle produced on the farm.

The performance of the 2025-born steers will be closely examined during the farm walk.

Grassland

Grassland management is another key focus on the farm.

Maximising the amount of high-quality grass utilised by the herd is central to keeping production costs under control, Teagasc noted.

Skehan has invested significantly in grazing infrastructure and roadways to make better utilisation of grass. The farm is broken into three-day paddocks.

Soil fertility, fertiliser use and the incorporation of crops such as red clover will form part of the wider discussion around improving nutrient efficiency and sustainability on the evening.

The farm is located in Killaloe, Co. Clare V94VW1H.