The father and son duo are farming 90ha in partnership and rearing over 200 dairy-beef calves/year, with the majority of these cattle being Friesians finished as steers at 22-24 months-of-age.

The farm is involved in ABP Food Group's Advantage Beef Programme, which offers a sustainability bonus of 20c/kg on all eligible cattle.

At the event, ABP Cahir's procurement manager James Hickey gave a livestock demonstration on drafting cattle for slaughter along with Teagasc's Terry Carroll.

Hickey looked in focus at two Angus heifers and two Friesian steers, and gave farmers in attendance pointers and tips on what to look for when drafting factory-fit cattle for slaughter.

He advised farmers who are unsure about the fat cover on their cattle to contact a factory agent to view their cattle and offer advice on whether their cattle are slaughter-fit or not.

The ABP cattle procurement man also gave a demonstration on how fat cover, grade, and carcass weight impact the prime cuts of beef.

Hickey explained that overfat and over-heavy carcasses result in prime cuts of beef having to be trimmed to fit the retail template, which is sometimes unworkable for the presentation of the steak.

He also said that under-fat carcasses or carcasses with too low of a weight produce smaller steaks, which also will not fit the key market specifications.

At the event, Teagasc's Gordon Peppard and Sean O'Connor gave an overview of the farm performance and Teagasc's Alan Dillon gave farmers tips and advice on grazing infrastructure.

In addition, Teagasc's Fergal Maguire and Tommy Cox discussed herd health planning and winter feeding cattle.