Billy Gilmore

Address: Cortoon, Tuam, Co.Galway

Teagasc Advisor: Gabriel Trayers

Farm Size:  55ha. approximately 14ha owned and the rest is leased

Farming system: The suckler herd contains 50 cows calving from August to November. The cows are bred to Belgian Blue sires with weanlings targeted for the live export trade. 100% AI is used on the farm. Milkier cows are crossed with Limousin sires to give suitable replacements for the herd. Additional replacement heifers are purchased as yearlings. The farm also carries 100 mid-season lambing ewes and 30 pedigree Charollais ewes which lamb early in the season. Barley is also grown on the farm and used as a feed. It is also used as part of the reseeding programme on the farm.

Farm Plan: The aim is to increase output on the farm from grass. By focusing on grassland management, breeding, herd health and improved animal performance key targets can be achieved. To maximise profit from this system and achieve a gross margin of €1000/ha. The sheep enterprise on the farm combines favourably with the suckler system as it increases farm output and increases stocking rate at grass. This helps improves grass utilisation especially in the spring and autumn