The Beef Edge

Grass10 advisor Niamh Doyle joins Catherine Egan on the latest Beef Edge with grassland management tips for the month ahead.

Niamh discusses closing up paddocks in rotation starting with the paddocks near the farmyard, the sheltered and the driest paddocks that will be grazed in early spring .

She outlines the targets for the month ahead to extend grazing, reduce demand to maximise days at grass and aim to have 60% of the farm closed by the first week of November.

You can subscribe to the Grass10 newsletter here:

https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/grass10-enewsletter/

For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com

Teagasc Financial Specialist Kevin Connolly is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to discuss the main headline items arising from Budget 2025, from tax cuts to increased spending.

Kevin explains that the income tax standard rate bands have been increased by €2,000. The income tax rates (20% & 40%) have not been changed. There has been a €125 increase in the principle tax credits.

The rate applying to the middle USC band has been reduced from 4% to 3%. There has also been a realignment of the bands. The three Stock Relief measures have been further extended

Changes will kick in from 1 Jan 2025 to the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Retirement Relief upper limits with changes to the upper age from age 66 to age 70 where limits are reduced. 

The €10 million limit applying to transfers from parent to child will also carry a longer clawback period to be complied with by the recipient. 

The Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) thresholds have been increased with no change in the rate. A change has been made to Agricultural Relief whereby the Active Farmer conditions will also apply to the donor. 

The VAT flat rate farmer addition rate is to increase from 4.8% to 5.1% from 1st January 2025.  There are also changes to the VAT registration thresholds.

Additional funding allocated for specific measures relating to agriculture are:

·      Sheep Welfare scheme: increase by €5 per ewe to total of €13 per ewe

·      Beef Welfare scheme: increase by €25 per calf to total of €75 per calf

·      Dairy Beef Scheme: increase by €20 per calf to a total of €40/calf

·      Tillage Farming support: new €100/ha scheme supporting farmers to increase their area in tillage crops

·      ACRES: additional €60m bringing total allocation of €260 million for 2025

·      National Forestry Programme: €91 million in funding

·      Multi-Species €1.25m / Red Clover Swards €1.5m — to support the planting of these swards

·      Farm Safety: budget of €2.5 million to support initiatives

·      Soil Sampling Scheme: continued funding of €6 million

For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge

 
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com 

Following the launch of the Beef Budgets for 2024 at the National Ploughing Championships, Teagasc Beef specialist, Aidan Murray, has an update with all the details.

Aidan compares the national kill figures to 2023 and discusses how have the prices changed in comparison to this time last year. 

Aidan also highlights how the Irish supply of beef looks for the rest of the year. 

Prices are good and there is demand around the ring at the moment for heavier type of stock with Aidan comparing changes in prices for different categories of stock.

Plus, for farmers buying cattle at the moment and planning to finish them, he advises that it is important to be aware of the expected costs and price needed to cover it.

The Teagasc Beef Budgets 2024/2025 are available at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/publications/2024/teagasc-beef-budgets-20242025.php 

For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge

 
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com 

Scottish beef and sheep farmer, Graham Lofthouse of Bankhouse Farm, is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to discuss his mixed farming system.

The farm is located 30km south of Edinburgh and is 200-300m above sea level.  The average rainfall is around 1,000mm. There are 470 ewes on the farm and 84 suckler cows. 

Graham discusses how the sucker herd is managed from birth to weaning. Breeding and genetics is very important on the farm and Graham outlines the breeding policy. 

Graham also discusses the cattle performance of the stock that were finished on the farm and compares them to the cattle that were sold as stores in 2023.

Maximising weight gain from grass is essential with Graham describing the paddock system and leader follower system that he operates.

For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge

 
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com 

Galway Future Beef farmer, Aonghusa Fahy, features on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to give an update on his farm system and management at weaning, plus he discusses the cattle from his farm that will be on the Teagasc stand at this year’s Ploughing Championships.

Even though the weather has been challenging the weanlings have still performed well, Aonghusa explains.

Weaning will take place in groups of 10. Concentrates have been fed to the calves for the past six weeks and they have been vaccinated to reduce stress at weaning.

A lot of rain has fallen in the west in the past few weeks, yet grass management on the farm is good although it has been hard to manage quality.

A steer and heifer from Aonghusa’s farm will be on display at the Teagasc stand at the National Ploughing Championships.

The heifer will be kept on the farm and put in calf next year to calve down at 24 months. Over the coming months it will be important to maximise performance over the winter period to ensure they achieve 0.6kg per head per day.  

For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com

It was a very challenging August this year and for the monthly Grass10 update, Niamh discusses how farmers have fed silage out over the past few weeks.

Calves have been creep grazed in front of cows to break the bond and concentrates supplemented earlier as well as calves being weaned earlier in September versus late September. Supplement introduced 4 weeks pre weaning and will be continued 2 weeks post weaning and possibly longer on some farms.

Most of the farmers in the Future Beef programme have scanned and given the difficult spring, overall scanning rates were good so various options are being discussed for empty cows to sell live and, depending on the farm where fodder is available, they will be finished on farm.

Finishing stock have been housed and speaking with farmers they were lighter than cattle this time last year. They will be built up over the coming weeks and the plan is to have them finished before Christmas which will be a challenge on some farms due to the poor weather impacting on performance and late turn out last spring.

Niamh also highlights the management of red clover swards in coming weeks and the key points for managing grass in the coming weeks are:

·      Empty slurry tanks when possible

·      Assess growth on farm versus demand

·      Review fodder budget

·      Visit ploughing stand to meet the Grass10 team and Teagasc staff  

Niamh also advises the last day for spreading chemical fertiliser is 14th September.

For more, you can subscribe to the Grass10 newsletter here:

https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/grass10-enewsletter/

For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge

Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com

Roscommon Future Beef farmer, Shane Keaveney, features on this week’s Beef Edge podcast discussing management of his suckler to beef system and the upcoming National Beef walk taking place on his farm on Wednesday, 11th September at 6pm.

Shane explains that he farms with his wife Gráinne and 3 children and operates a suckling to finishing system with bulls finished under 16 months and heifers that are not kept as replacements sold as stores. Shane aims to finish the bulls at 680-700kgs at under 16 months of age and have a minimum fat class of 2+.

He discusses the breeding performance on the farm and is hitting all the key performance indicators. Shane has targeted to reduce the age of slaughter by pushing the bull weanlings earlier and by feeding a high quality red clover silage over the winter.

Shane will discuss his system, physical & financial performance in detail at the walk on Wednesday 11th September at 6:30pm. The focus of the event will be 'Opportunities in Suckler Farming'. 

Shane will also detail how red clover is helping him meet his winter weight targets. Plus, the new EIP Island River Catchment scheme will be outlined to explain what opportunities there are for local farmers. 

Castlerea Livestock Mart Manager Brendan Egan will discuss the beef market outlook for the coming months along with Anthony O'Dowd from Dawn Meats.

There will be a number of industry stakeholder available to meet and discuss any queries you may have and refreshments will be served. 

Further details at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/beef/demonstration-farms/future-beef-programme/events/

For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge

 
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com

Aidan Maguire, DairyBeef 500 farmer from Navan, Co. Meath, is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to discuss management on his farm and his upcoming National Beef open day taking place on September 5th at 6pm.

Aidan, alongside his son Luke, runs a dairy calf to beef enterprise on their farm, in conjunction with a contracting business. The farm stretches to over 70ha, with 54ha in grass and the remainder in forestry.  

Up until 1999, Aidan operated tillage and suckler cow enterprises. Having initially changed to a calf to store system, Aidan then moved to a dairy calf to beef system through which approximately 100 calves were purchased and finished each year. 

The predominant breeds purchased were Aberdeen Angus, Hereford and Friesian animals. Annual calf purchases have now increased to 150-170, a mixture of autumn and spring-born. Even though the number of calves has increased, there has been no increase in health issues associated with the rearing of these extra calves.

Since joining the Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Campaign, the Maguires source all their calves from four local dairy farmers and finish their heifers at around 18-19 months and bullocks at less than 24 months of age. The target is to have heifers at over 550kgs live weight at the end of the finishing period and for bullocks to be 600kg, leaving a minimum carcass weight of 270kg for heifers and 300kg for bullocks.

On Thursday, September 5th at 6pm, Aidan Maguire will host a DairyBeef 500 farm walk and live forum on his farm. All are welcome to come along and see his dairy calf to beef system in action. On display on the evening will be his 2023 autumn born and 2024 spring born calves, yearling steers and heifers and his finishing animals.

The theme of the event is ‘Making the winter gains‘, which will be of great interest to both dairy farmers and those interested in rearing dairy bred stock. 

Topics on the day will include: Aidan’s current farming system and his financial performance; grassland management tips, including red clover swards; animal health; and winter feeding options for finishing and weanling animals.

The DairyBeef 500 Farm Walk and Live Forum will take place on Aidan Maguire’s farm, Antylstown, Co. Meath, Eircode: C15 W4C2 on September 5th at 6pm and further details on the event are available at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/news--events/national-events/events/db500farmwalkliveforum.php

For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge

 
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com

Billy Gilmore, Grass10 Grassland Farmer of the Year Drystock category winner, is on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to discuss his farm system and grassland management on his farm. In recognition of the award, Billy will host a farm walk on Tuesday, 27th August @ 6.30pm.  

Billy, along with his wife Anne, operates a contract heifer rearing system rearing over 200 heifers a year. The system has changed over the years, from a mixed system, an autumn-calving suckling system, a spring-lambing flock and tillage enterprise.

‘‘I took over the farm at the age of 15,” Billy explains. “And shortly after, I remember I cycled to my first farm walk. The discussion back then was around the principle of growing grass in three weeks and grazing it in three days, setting up paddocks and applying lime. Fast forward 50 years and the principles are still the same that drive the success of any farm system.”

Billy outlines how he has managed grass on the farm this year and is now building covers for the autumn. Quality silage is important to the system as well as the inclusion of clover to reduce fertiliser input.

Pic: Independent.ie

For further details on the upcoming walk go to:

https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grassland-events/

For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge

 
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com 

Margaret Brennan, Assistant Principal Officer for Beef Schemes with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, discusses and explains the 2024 Beef Welfare Scheme on this week’s Beef Edge podcast.

The 2024 Beef Welfare Scheme (BWS) will support farmers in meal feeding suckler calves before and after weaning, and in vaccinating against clostridial diseases and calf pneumonia. Calves eligible to the scheme are those born to eligible suckler cows in the period from July 1st 2023 to 30th June 2024.

While the meal feeding action is mandatory for scheme participants, farmers must indicate that they are selecting the optional vaccination action at application stage if they wish to be considered for payment under this action. 

Farmers can then decide during the implementation phase, where appropriate, in consultation with their veterinary surgeon, which disease they wish to target depending on the health status of their herds.

Action 1 – Meal Feeding (Mandatory): the rate of payment is €35 per eligible calf up to a maximum of 40 eligible calves.

Action 2 – Vaccination (Optional): The rate of payment is €15 per eligible calf up to a maximum of 40 eligible calves.

Applications must be made on agfood.ie

The closing date for applications is 23.59hrs on 24 September 2024.

Further information on the terms and conditions are at: 

https://www.gov.ie/en/service/8c827-beef-welfare-scheme-2024/

For further queries email and contact telephone details are:

Email: [email protected]

Phone number: +353 (0) 57 86 74422

For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge

 
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com