DairyBeef 500 and what it hopes to achieve in the next five years

DairyBeef 500 campaign manager, Alan Dillon, joins Catherine Egan on this week’s Beef Edge podcast to review the key messages from Beef2022 for dairy beef farmers. He discusses the lessons learned from the Green Acres Programme and outlines the new five year DairyBeef 500 campaign launched recently

Alan first explained how building a sustainable dairy-beef system was highlighted at Beef2022 by incorporating grass, genetics and herd health to support an economic and environmentally sustainable system.

The Green Acres programme has now drawn to a close and analysis of the past three years’ data showed a net margin increase from €100/ha to €650/ha (excluding subsidies). Live weight output increased from 994 kg/ha in 2019 to 1,427 kg/ha in 2021.

Over the course of the programme, grass production increased by 19%, while there was a huge focus on silage and DMD increased by 4% units, helping achieve an ADG of 0.6 kg over first winter.  The indoor winter periods were identified as being the main area for improvement on farms. 

The average number of source herds reduced from 10 farms to 6, resulting in improved calf health, while the genetic merit improved slightly across calves purchased, it is the most difficult area to improve.

The DairyBeef 500 campaign was launched recently with a target of €500/ha net profit and Alan outlines all that is to be achieved over the next five years. 

The Ballyvadin demonstration farm will be a key component of the campaign located in Fethard Co. Tipperary. 300 calves will be purchased and a heifer and steer finishing system will be operated comprising of a number of breeds.

Farmers will get an opportunity to visit the farm and see the progress being made. The DairyBeef 500 farmers are located across the country and there will be four new farms added in addition to the rollover of farmers from the Green acres programme.

There will be a number of courses arranged over the campaign for farmers to attend along with regional discussion groups and further details will be available on the Teagasc website and social media channels.

For more information, go to: DairyBeef 500 

For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at: www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge   
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com