Olivia Hynes’ successful mixed grazing in Co. Roscommon
For this joint Beef Edge and OviCast podcast with Catherine Egan and Ciaran Lynch, Olivia Hynes, a Future Beef Farmer from Roscommon, discusses how she is managing grass this year and how mixed grazing is working on her farm.
Oliva starts by giving an overview of her system and how this spring has been on the farm. Breeding of the suckler herd using AI and lamb performance are also detailed, with Olivia highlighting the various beef sires she has selected.
Weanlings are targeted for the export sales and Olivia keeps 10-12 heifers as replacements annually. Olivia complements the suckler enterprise with an early-to-mid season ewe flock. Scanning and weaning percentages are excellent with all lambs finished off grass to factory specification.
Mixed grazing, grassland management and investing in grazing infrastructure are all discussed. Over 90% of the farm is free-draining brown acid soil, with moderate-to-good fertility. Olivia has been working on improving fertility for a number of years and liming is a priority to correct pH levels.
Olivia also outlines the paddock system that she has put in and how it is working for her and she discusses her plan for managing grass in the summer, balancing the demand of the different groups of stock as priorities arise.
Listen in below:
For further details on Olivia Hynes’ farm, click here.
For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page.
Click here for more information and episodes from the OviCast podcast.