Richard Long - DairyBeef500 Farm Walk

Event booklet from the farm walk of Richard Long, DairyBeef500 demonstration farmer which took place on Thursday, 8 September in Ballymacarbry, Co. Waterford.

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Richard Long operates a calf to beef system on 47ha of grassland in Knockaun, Ballymacarbry, Co. Waterford. Calves are sourced directly off his brothers’ dairy herd and a mixture of continental and earlymaturing sired bulls and heifers are purchased annually.

After initially operating a suckler system, Richard first ventured into calf to beef production in 2014. This also coincided with a period when the dairy herd in Tipperary was about to expand. With an availability of calves from a trusted source, Richard decided to disperse the suckler herd and focus his farming endeavours on calves. The move away from calving and breeding suckler cows was also beneficial to Richard, as the tasks associated with calf rearing were more structured and could be balanced with his off-farm work commitments.

Find out more about the Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Programme