Advantage Beef Programme
The young Tipperary man has been contract-rearing primarily dairy heifers for the past four years or so.
"I never really had my own stock, I was always rearing other people's stock and I wanted to get into having a bit of my own stock," he explained.
Bowes said that he came across the ABP Young Farmer Academy at the Tullamore Show and FBD National Livestock Show.
He spoke to some of the ABP staff about the young farmer initiative at the event and after a discussion and a farm visit, he was approved by ABP for the initiative.
Before the calves arrived, he set about getting a calf-rearing shed set up and bought a second-hand calf feeder for feeding the calves.
He said: "The calves were provided to me by ABP. They were all of good breeding and from farms where ABP had been providing [Artificial insemination]straws and slaughtering animals from as well.
"I got 60 calves this year through the Young Farmer Academy with ABP. I'm looking forward to next spring now because I've done it for a year already and I know what's ahead of me.
The ABP Young Farmer Academy supplies calves to eligible young farmer participants at no initial cost.
Young farmers in the ABP initiative will also be given an 'interim payment' when the calves are 12 months-of-age to help manage cashflow.
When the cattle reach slaughter age and weight, the young farmer is paid the value of the animal minus the calf price and the interim payment.
As well as this, ABP are also offering these young farmers a guaranteed minimum base price which aims to provide some level of security for these young farmers to financially plan for the year ahead.
While the dairy farmer is paid by ABP for the calves when they are sold, the young beef farmer pays ABP for the calves approximately two years later on the day they are selling them as beef animals.
Bowes explained why the ABP Young Farmer Academy was a suitable initiative for him:
"For me to get into my own stock, it would have been a big challenge to have the money there to buy the stock, feed the stock, and hold them for two years."
Without the initiative, he said: "You would have either had to have the money there, or you'd be out on a big stocking loan for a long time.
Bowes said that the interim payment helps to cover costs like meal, milk replacer and fertiliser.
"Going on into the second year then, the animals would be slaughtered and at the end, then the interim payment is taken away. It's almost like a loan, but you're not dealing with the banks," he added.
The Co. Tipperary farmer said that the initiative also allowed him to spend money on reseeding and grassland management, money which would have been unavailable if tied up in calf purchases.
"It's a great way of working with animals and getting into stock," he said.
The young farmer said that the calves are performing really well and are still on 2kg concentrates/head/day at grass.
"They'll be going in now as soon as the the land starts to get a bit wetter," he added.
Any young farmers who want to find out more about the ABP Young Farmer Academy can contact a member of the ABP farm liaison team.