Expressions of interest welcomed for dairy-beef course
Are you interested in commencing a dairy calf to beef enterprise or seeking skills and advice to make improvements to your existing enterprise? Fergal Maguire, Advisor on the Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Campaign, writes on an Advanced Dairy Calf to Beef Course, due to commence in December 2024.
Studies carried out at Teagasc Grange and Johnstown Castle have demonstrated that a dairy calf to beef system, under good management, can produce net margins per hectare of over €1,000 before direct payments. Profitability is not limited to a research farm setting. In 2023, the 16 DairyBeef 500 participating farmers generated an average net margin before scheme payments of €542/ha.
However, on a national scale, there is a high attrition rate of farms rearing dairy bred beef calves. In 2015, for every 10 farms that reared dairy beef calves, only four were left by 2019. Poor financial returns, problems with animal health, labour, and dissatisfaction with the beef genetics from calves coming from the dairy herd were a few of the reasons for dropping out of calf to beef production.
New skillsets and areas for improvement
For many new entrants to dairy calf to beef, there is a whole new skillset that needs to be learned in order to run a successful operation. Even for existing calf to beef producers, there are always areas for improvement in calf to beef production.
In order to provide guidance and to develop the skills necessary to run a successful calf to beef enterprise, the DairyBeef 500 team designed a calf to beef course around the key areas of calf to beef production. There are five fundamental principles that all profitable and environmentally sustainable calf to beef enterprises need to follow. Those five principles are as follows:
- Good animal health;
- Good beef genetics;
- Good calf rearing;
- Good grassland management;
- Good quality silage.
The Advanced Teagasc Dairy Calf to Beef Course focuses on these five fundamentals over five full days, to help students plan and implement a successful dairy calf to beef system on their farm.
In October 2022, the first of two Teagasc Dairy Calf to Beef courses commenced, with courses taking place in the south east and south west under the tutelage of members of the Teagasc DairyBeef 500 team. These courses equipped participants with the knowledge, skills and competence to effectively plan and implement a successful dairy calf to beef enterprise.
The course was ran over five full days and students got the opportunity to visit DairyBeef 500 demonstration farms in their region, along with visiting the Dairy calf to beef unit in the Teagasc Grange Research Centre, the Tipperary Dairy Calf to Beef Demonstration Farm, and the Dawn Meats facility in Grannagh, Co. Waterford.
As well as visiting farms, the course covered different topics over the five days, including: choosing the right calf to beef system for your farm; calf rearing; required infrastructure; grassland management; winter nutrition; and assessing animals for slaughter. Throughout the course, specialist speakers from Teagasc, MSD, Volac Milk Replacers Ireland, and Dawn Meats gave lectures on calf to beef production.
Following on from the successful completion of the Advanced Dairy Calf to Beef course in September 2023, another course commenced in December 2023, with 36 students enrolling on the course. This time, the course was split into a Northern region and a Southern region. The only difference between the courses was that the Northern region visited Kepak Meats in Clonee, Co. Meath for their final day and the Southern region visited Dawn Meats in Grannagh, Co. Waterford.
Express your interest
Another course is now planned to commence in December 2024. If you think the course would suit you, you can express interest in this course through the following link and a member of the DairyBeef 500 team will contact you.
Click here to express your interest in the Teagasc Advanced Dairy Calf to Beef Course.
Diary date – Teagasc National Beef Conference
The Teagasc National Beef Conference 2024 takes place on Tuesday, 19 November at 5pm in the Landmark Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim, N41 N9W4.
The theme of the conference is 'Sustainable Beef Farming: Pathways to a greener future'