The key drivers of weight gain on Aidan Maguire’s farm

Looking back at the recent DairyBeef 500 farm walk held on the farm on Aidan Maguire, Advisor on the DairyBeef 500 Campaign, Gordon Peppard tells us how cattle weight gain is maximised on the farm in Navan, Co. Meath.

On September 5, a large crowd attended a DairyBeef 500 farm walk and live forum on the farm of Aidan Maguire, Navan, Co. Meath. On the night, an excellently run dairy calf to beef enterprise was seen in its working clothes. What was very clear from the event was the importance of maximising cattle weight gain from grass, and Aidan does this very well. In order to maximise weight gain at grass, Aidan identifies that the grazing infrastructure and grassland management have to be very good. So what does Aidan do?

Grazing infrastructure

Having a good set up allows for easier management of stock. It is more labour efficient and, when required, animals can easily be moved by one person. By having good grazing infrastructure, cattle performance can be improved, animals finished earlier with less concentrate feed, and an economic return gained. On the night, local drystock advisor at Teagasc, Edward Egan identified three key grazing infrastructure areas on Aidan’s farm. These are farm roadways, water troughs and paddocks.

Farm roadways

Aidan has a network of farm roadways on his farm. All roadways lead back to the farmyard, which allows for ease of movement and access to paddocks, farm yard, sheds, crushes etc. The roadways are generally placed on the southern side of hedgerows, allowing them to receive sun and dry earlier. Gentle sweeping bands are important. If there are sharp bends, animals may stop at these points, hindering movement, increasing soiling of the roadways at these points and also the risk of increased lameness.

Water troughs

Aidan has numerous water troughs available for his cattle. The troughs are placed in the centre of each paddock, away from access points to the paddock. This also allows for the option to split paddocks in to two or four with strip wires. Most troughs on the farm are 150 gallons (680 litres) and, as each animal requires approx. 5 – 7 litres, each trough can easily accommodate over 100 animals grazing in a group. With many troughs spread throughout the farm, there are very short distances for cattle to walk to obtain water.

Paddocks

Having approx. 35 paddocks on the holding, there are a minimum of six to seven paddocks available per grazing group. With animals grazing for two to three days per paddock, allowing an 18-21 day rotation, therefore regrowths are never effected. Aidan regularly uses strip wires to split paddocks, therefore maximising grass utilisation and grazing grass at the correct stage. All paddocks have multiple access points, so that stock can easily be put in or taken out of paddocks without causing excessive damage in times of difficult weather conditions.

Table 1: Grazing infrastructure summary

Aidan Maguire's grazing targets

Long grazing season

Ideally Aidan would like to have his cattle out grazing for 300 days each year. This will vary depending on weather, grass growth and ground conditions. Having good infrastructure on the farm allows Aidan the opportunity - particularly early in the year - that if there is any chance to get cattle out, he will open the shed door and run them down the roadway to a suitable paddock even if it means having to bring them back in a couple of days times. Aidan’s motto is to graze when you can, this allows the animals rumen to start adapting to a change in diet and they are then well ready to start thriving when at grass full time.

Produce high quality grass

Animal performance and weight gain is driven by grazing high-quality leafy grass. Optimum soil fertility is key to ensure this. Aidan aims to have his soil fertility at a pH of greater than 6.2 and Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) indexes at index three or four. Slurry is managed to target low P and K soils and is applied after silage is cut. Lime is spread on a rotational basis to cover fields that have a lower pH.

Maximise grass utilised

In 2023, Aidan grew 13 tonnes of grass dry matter (DM) per hectare on his farm. Grass growth has been slower in 2024 and up to the 1^st August, 7 tonnes DM had been grown. With a high stocking rate, reseeding has to be strategically planned with the aim to reseed up to 10% annually. Having introduced red clover swards to the farm over four years ago, Aidan is very happy with its performance to date and this crop has allowed him to reduce his chemical nitrogen fertiliser purchased, whilst also providing high quality, high protein silage for the winter period.

Good animal performance

By managing his grass well, which allows grass swards to be grazed at between 1,300-1,500kg DM per hectare, animal performance can be maximised. Aidan measures his grass on a regular basis, with over 30 measures completed annually and inputted on the PastureBase Ireland system. Measuring grass gives him great confidence to identify periods of surpluses or deficits ahead. Grass can be managed better with high-quality baled silage removed in times of excess grass. Grazing at the correct stage ensures that cattle get maximum thrive, finish earlier, have reduced concentrate input, increased beef output and enhanced profitability.

Take home messages

Having excellent grazing infrastructure in the form of a good network of farm roadways, well placed water troughs and adequate paddock numbers and size to match stocking rate on the farm allows Aidan to get out grazing early in the spring. He is a big advocate of grazing when he can and maximising animal performance and weight gain from grass.

Find out more about Aidan Maguire's farm walk here.

For more information on the DairyBeef 500 Campaign, click here.