Transcript Maximising the fertiliser value of slurry

NORTHERN IRELAND
SUCKLER BEEF
PROGRAMME
International Beef Cattle workers Group
Wednesday 30 October
Kieran Mailey
Irish Farmers Journal
& Francis Breen
Programme adviser, CAFRE
BACKGROUND
• Programme launched in March 2011 to run
for 3 years
• 8 suckler farms selected from across
Northern Ireland plus CAFRE farms
• 3 year plans drawn up for the farms
• Programme will focus on
• Breeding / fertility
• Grassland management
• Increasing output
• Following on from Teagasc/IFJ BETTER
Farm Programme
BETTER Farm
Programme
• Programme established in 2009
• 16 farms through-out the country and 2
agricultural colleges
• 3 year farm plans developed
• Output, grassland management and
breeding and fertility -3 key areas for
improvement
• Breeding/fertility has huge effect on
management of other areas in plan
BETTER Farm
Programme
BETTER Farm
Programme
• Phase 1 GM/ha moved from €367/ha to
€879/ha.
• 66% of the increase in gross margin
achieved in Phase 1 derived from
improvements in technical efficiency
• aim to carry this through to Phase 2
• Phase 2 launched in July 2012.
• 35 farms in total.
PROGRAMME FARMS
Programme Targets
NISBP
GM / ha
£750
Calving Index (days)
365
Calving Spread
(weeks)
12
Stocking rate (LU/ha)
2
Calves/cow/yr
weaned
0.95
Progress to date
2012
2011
2010
98
99
95
Av Cow herd
110
99
91
Av Stocking
rate (LU/ha)
1.97
1.82
1.65
Av GM/ha
£674
£534
£402
Av Kg LWT/ha
629
632
567
Av farm size
(Ha adj Grassland /
cow herd)
Variable costs
Importance of Fertility
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Improved grassland = more cattle needed
More calves born = increased output
Reduce cost of carrying empty cows
Easier to batch manage groups of stock
Reduce labour demand
More Kg beef from grass
• Which is better:
A cow calving every year or calving every
365days?
Breeding Calendar for
2-3 cycles to get Beef Cow
cow back in calf
55 days
30 days
Cow sucking calf
– non cycling
280 days
Approx. gestation
Grassland
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Biggest resource
Cheapest feed available
Most abundant feed on farm
Has to be properly managed – lime, P & K
Reseed annually
Cost of grazing - £0.25 to £0.40/day
• £300/t @ 5 bags @ 200 days = £0.37
• €50/tonne DM grass (Teagasc)
Simple paddock system
Grassland
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Paddocks system will grow more grass
“In at your shin, go at your toe”
Walk swards weekly
Well managed grass
– Energy = 11.5-12.5 Mj ME
– Protein = 18% - 24%
Comparison of Grass Growth 2011 v 2012
140
120
Kg DM/ha/day
100
80
GR
2011
60
GR
2012
40
20
04
/0
5
/
11 2 0
/0 12
5
/
18 2 0
/0 12
5
/
25 2 0
/0 12
5
/
01 2 01
/0 2
6
/
08 2 0
/0 12
6
/
15 2 0
/0 12
6
/
22 2 0
/0 12
6
/
29 2 0
/0 12
6
/
06 2 0
/0 12
7
/
13 2 0
/0 12
7
/
20 2 0
/0 12
7
/
27 2 0
/0 12
7
/
03 2 0
/0 12
8
/
10 2 01
/0 2
8
/
17 2 0
/0 12
8
/
24 2 0
/0 12
8
/
31 2 0
/0 12
8
/2
01
2
0
• 2011 – 24.7ha set stocked
– Av grass growth - 49kg DM/ha/day
– Seasonal yield - 6.2t DM/ha
• 2012 – 24.7ha rotationally grazed
– Av grass growth - 59kg DM/ha/day
– Seasonal yield - 7.2t DM/ha