The Irish Beef Industry and Grassland Management Dr The Irish Beef Industry and Grassland Management Dr. Michael Egan, Teagasc Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Programme

Teagasc The Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority

Teagasc Role TEAGASC - Supporting Innovation in the Irish Bio-Economy

Cascade model - operational version of Teagasc AKIS Component research 14,000 Discussion Group members BETTER farms Beef – 37 Sheep – 10 Dairy – 37 Research Farms Curtin’s Derrypatrick Athenry 45,000 Clients 140,000 Farmers

Irish Beef Industry

Irish Beef Industry Suckler beef production in Ireland is predominantly based on spring-calving cows 70% calving in Spring Pastoral system The core of the diet is grazed grass and grass silage Average 60-80% Competitive advantage of Irish livestock systems Affords the opportunity of a lower cost system Compared with many European counterparts

Irish Beef Industry Ireland largest exporter of beef in the northern hemisphere 4th largest beef exporter in the world - 502,000 tonnes Valued at €2.06 billion 10% of production consumed on domestic market Major live exporter - 160,000 head live Valued at €205 million Beef exports valued at €2.2 billion

Irish Beef Industry Dominant type of farming in Ireland accounting for more than half of all farm enterprises “Big industry- built on many small blocks” ~100,000 farms have a beef enterprise Suckler industry based on small herd size Mostly Part-time (c.50% of beef farmers) Very positive image Herd size 15 beef Breeds Beef  Limousin, Charolais, Simmental (mostly terminal breeds) Dairy cross cows (Aberdeen Angus and Herford)

Irish Beef Industry

Genetic trends - beef cattle

Beef Data and genomics scheme €300 million scheme launched recently by department of agriculture Financial incentive: Genotype 60% of cows each year Purchase/breed high index cows Objective To develop and implement a multi-breed beef genomic evaluation for (purebred and crossbred) cattle Must be across all breeds (big and small)

Maternal index

Terminal index Revenue Cost

Less days on feed and less feed per day! Terminal index Low index Average index High index Less days on feed and less feed per day!

Grassland

Grassland in Ireland 4.6 m ha utilised agriculture land 55% of grassland under drystock Current herbage production 8.1 t DM/ha/year Utilizing 5.5 t DM/ha/year Some farmers growing 14-15 t DM Proportion needs to be increased in diet

Grassland a Natural Resource “Grass is two times cheaper than the cost of silage and three times cheaper the cost of barley concentrate”

Emissions per kg beef produced in different EU countries Ireland has one of the lowest carbon footprints Irish agriculture highly carbon efficient

Grass Supply and Utilisation/Nutritive value Objective: Increase Grass DM utilized/ha to 11 tonne

Stock the Farm Appropriately Profitability of grazing is closely linked to grass utilisation (tons DM/ha) Increasing SR will only be profitable when grass utilisation increases Each additional tonne of DM/ha is worth €105/ha

National Grass Growth Curve

DM Production 2016 on Irish Farms Average DM Production 13.9 t DM/ha

Grazing management Understanding the perennial ryegrass plant Manage plant accordingly Rotation length Seasonal Management Each of these will be dealt with in the following slides.

Grazing management goals Productive pastures Persistent pastures High quality pastures High utilisation of pasture by grazing stock Similar management can optimise all four goals

The Perennial Ryegrass Plant Tillers maintain ~3 live leaves, as each additional leaf after this emerges the oldest dies Time between appearances driven by temperature and moisture

Number of days for leaf to appear

Grazing infrastructure Setting your farm up to grow grass is a fundamental in grassland farming Rotational paddock grazing system 7 – 9 paddocks per grazing group Roadways Paddock access points – minimum of 2 access points per paddock Water troughs Paddock size adequate for grazing group size 1 ha paddock for 40 suckler cows or 55 1-2 yr olds Paddock shape 2:1 (length: width) Too large of paddocks results in long residency times – reduces growth

Fencing types Two strand electric fence – creosote posts Single strand electric fence –posts Temporary pig tail and polywire Most expensive Very high quality Low maintenance costs Long term Harder changed High quality Medium maintenance costs Cheapest Temporary/easily moved Higher maintenance required

Paddock system – 20 ha farm 5+ day paddocks 3-4 day paddocks 2-3 day paddocks Being grazed +25% Being grazed Being grazed Re-growths affected Difficult to graze out Reduced grass growth Reduced animal performance Hard to manage Re-growths somewhat protected Difficult to manage in wet weather Moderate animal performance Average pasture utilisation Re-growths protected Increased grass growth Increased grass utilisation Higher quality grass Increased animal performance Easy to manage surplus

Leaf stage

Leaf stage and yield 2000 1500 1000 500 7 14 21 28

Grazing guidelines and tools

Grass supply and feed demand Ireland has a temperate climate with a long grass growing season Milk (and meat) production systems in Ireland are predominantly grass based Long grazing season February to November Grass supply and herd feed demand are not synchronised Periods of surplus and deficit Management tools help to identify and deal with these issues Surplus Deficit Deficit

Importance of grassland management Grassland management is critical to Ensure adequate grass supply all year Good quality feed to meet cow requirements Spring and autumn grass availability

Weekly grass measurement Provides valuable information on how much grass is available for grazing Identifies surpluses and deficits Methods Plate meter – height Cut and weigh ‘eye ball’

The grass growing season begins in autumn - Grassland management The grass growing season begins in autumn - This has a big influence on grass production in the following spring and early summer!!

Autumn grassland management If we want grass in spring Must set it up to have grass the previous autumn How? Graze swards in rotation Create a wedge shape Late Sept – early Oct – close paddocks Once paddock closed don’t graze again

Autumn grassland management Maintain pre-grazing herbage mass below 2,500 kg DM/cow Follow the 60:40 rule Week end date % of farm grazed and closed 10 October Start closing the farm in rotation 7 November 60% grazed and closed 1 December 100% closed; livestock housed

Spring grassland management The best way to manage grass in spring is to graze a set area each day The Spring Rotation Planner is a tool which will assist with this The planner incorporates turnout date, weekly calving pattern, grazing area and target finish date of the first rotation Spring rotation planner available at; http://www.agresearch.teagasc.ie/moorepark/Articles/springr otationcalculator.xls

Spring grassland management Spring grazing area allocation Week end date % of farm grazed at week end 1 February Start grazing 1 March 30% grazed 17 March 60% grazed 7 April Start 2nd rotation

Main grazing season management April to mid-August Target pre-grazing herbage mass 1400 – 1600 kg DM/ha Post grazing sward height 4 cm Approx. 21 day rotation Walk farm weekly to monitor paddocks

Main grazing season management An ‘ideal’ wedge

Deficit wedge Dealing with a deficit Supplement with concentrate or good quality grass silage Increase grazing area if possible, i.e. bring in land used for heifers/beef animals if it is available

Surplus wedge Dealing with a surplus Identify surplus as soon as possible Remove surplus grass as baled silage immediately so that the paddock remains in the rotation or harvest with main cut silage Exercise some caution so that you do not create a deficit in the next rotation

Soil fertility Farmers aiming to grow the maximum amount of DM/ha, one of the most important components that must be correct is soil fertility Soil pH – 6.3 Phosphorous - Index 3 for P (5.1 – 8.1 mg/l) Potassium - Index 3 (101 – 150 mg/l) The most limiting factor in soil fertility will limit overall grass production Managing soil fertility is as important as managing your herd of cattle for grassland farmers

Effect of soil pH on fertiliser uptake Nitrogen utilisation Phosphorous utilisation Potassium utilisation % of fertiliser wasted 5.0-5.5 77% 48% 32% 5.5-6.0 85% 52% 100% 21% 6.0-6.5 0% Applying 5 t/ha of lime to a soil pH of 5.3 resulted in; increased DM production by 1.5 t DM/ha 20% increase in stocking carrying capacity Additional 60 units/ac of N available

Why do farmers reseed ? Improve sward quality Increase spring/autumn growth Weed control Repair poached/damaged paddocks

Over-sowing Over-sowing Best practice - after a cut of surplus silage or tight grazing < 4 cm Sow with a fertiliser that contains P Good seed:soil contact – roll or apply watery slurry (2000 gal/acre) Seeding rate – 66% of full reseed If pasture is old, high weed infestation or low perennial ryegrass content a full reseed may be required

Tight grazing/post silage: <4cm Over-sowing Tight grazing/post silage: <4cm

Over-sowing

Management post-sowing April/May - best time - adequate soil moisture Grazing management post-sowing is critical Pre-grazing herbage mass ≤ 1200 kg/ha for next 3 grazings Post-grazing sward height ≤ 4 cm Light penetration to the base of the sward

Thank you for your attention! Questions!