Farmers Journal Scotland Issue 1

FARMERS JOURNAL Scotland

Farmers target top-quality silage Livestock >> 28

3 June 2017 Vol 1 No 1

Beef prices surge as demand grows ÂŁ200/head boost on 2016 levels JOHN SLEIGH SCOTLAND EDITOR jsleigh@farmersjournal.co.uk

S

cottish beef farmers are seeing an increase in prices driven by strong consumer demand as well as a shortage of throughput A recent smaller kill and continued consumer demand has resulted in the beef sector looking positive this summer. Average prices are up 50p/kg on last year, putting ÂŁ200 on to a 400kg R grade steer.

The price spike has been put down to the falling kill numbers, which were back 4.5% year-on-year in May. Supply has also been reduced through lighter carcases coming to slaughter, steers were down by 2.5%, heifers 0.5% and bulls 1%.

The fall in steer weight amounts to 10kg less per carcase. An abattoir killing 1,000 clean cattle a week (50% steers, 40% heifers and 10% bulls) needs an extra 17 cattle to maintain beef throughput at present.

Ă„ Continued on page 4

$QGUHZ *DPPLH ZLWK KLV KHUG RI /LPRXVLQ FDWWOH RQ KLV IDUP DW 'UXPIRUEHU /DXUHQFHNLUN $EHUGHHQVKLUH $QGUHZ LV SDUW RI RXU )DUP 3URoW Programme and has saved ÂŁ2,000 on feed with early turnout this spring. Read more about the programme on page 28. \ Craig Stephen

Farmers Journal

Scotch premium: envy of the world

A high sale price will do little to increase proďŹ t if the farm is not producing enough kilogrammes of beef or lamb

Industry Insight >> 19

Farm proďŹ t programme >> 28

Scottish meat plants set to merge News >> 6

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

2 NEWS

Fresh thinking

Introducing Farmers Editorial

W

elcome to Farmers Meanwhile, our technical speJournal Scotland. cialists will look inside the farmThe Farmers Jourgate at what farmers can do to nal group has a drive profit. We have a strong long and successtrack record of delivery in this ful history in supporting Irish area through the range of techagriculture. We have delivered this nical programmes we operate by investing in a team of industry both in northern and southern specialists that can analyse markets, Ireland with the support of the deliver technical advice directly industry and Government adviJUSTIN linked to driving farm profit and can sory bodies. We have shown that provide expert and insightful comMcCARTHY technical efficiency alone can mentary – all tailored to ensure farmadd over £500/ha on to the botEDITOR ers’ interests are protected both at tom line. market and policy level in order to We are delighted to be in partmaximise profitability. Our business nership with ANM marts and the extends beyond merely reporting the news.

Scottish Government, to bring Scottish The unique structure of the Irish Farmers farmers on a similar journey with the Journal is core to delivering this type of serlaunch of our Scottish Farm Profit Provice. With a non-executive board receiving gramme. It is an ambitious programme no dividends from the company, we invest focused on driving efficiencies inside the our profits back into supporting farmers by farm gate to improve profitability. We investing in our range of services, technical would like to sincerely thank the farmers capacity and industry-good projects – the who are participating. Dr Declan Marren most recent of which has been to take a and Robert Gilchrist, based in our office in 15-year lease on a 200ac farm in Co Offaly to Aberdeen, will provide weekly updates on establish a suckler and sheep demonstrawhat steps these farmers are taking to imtion unit. This sits alongside our grassprove profitability. based dairy farm in Co Kilkenny.

We are delighted to have secured John We are very clear that our commitment to Sleigh as our Scottish editor. Along with his be “fearlessly on the farmer’s side” does not team, John shares the passion of all of us provide us with the comfort of telling our working in the Farmers Journal group to readers what they want to hear. We have to deliver for farmers. This is an exciting time continually challenge and show leadership. for our business and we are delighted to be We are committed to the principle of 4Ps expanding into Scotland at such an important time for the agricultural sector. It is a in profit – price, policy, production costs privilege to have the opportunity to act as and performance. No one part of the jigsaw platform for Scottish and Irish farmers to can be ignored if we are to have a profitable share technical information and key learnfarming system. With our market specialist ings. We thank you for your support and are Phelim O’Neill having a weekly presence in delighted to receive feedback, particularly Brussels, we are ideally positioned to ensure you have the most up-to-date developments on what we can do better.

Email me jmccarthy@farmersjournal.ie on EU agricultural policy and world market with suggestions. prices. With a deep understanding of farm politics, Phelim will be providing regular analysis and commentary on UK farm policy as it develops in the years ahead.

W

e are delighted to Joining the team in Scotland, we be bringing out have news reporters Sarah AnderFarmers Journal son and Lorrie Kyle. Sarah has Scotland. This is worked in the Scottish farming an ideal time to sector for years; her experience bring our technical advice, news with the National Farmers Union and market analysis to help farm and in the European Parliament businesses succeed. gives her a key understanding into The industry is at a critical point, the breadth and depth of our induswith big challenges and opportutry. Trained journalist Lorrie is a JOHN nities fast approaching. The decipartner on a dairy farm in Dumfries sion to leave the European Union with her husband Michael. She SLEIGH will have a lasting impact on eveknows what makes a family farm SCOTTISH ry farm business. Whether it is tick and will be writing from the EDITOR international trade relations, farm table every week. farm support or the regulatory Each Friday, we will bring you burden, we have the expertise news on what matters to your farm, and experience to give farmers what they what you need to know in the markets and need to know. Furthermore, our tried-andhow you can improve your business. tested technical advice offers guidance on what can be done to improve farm profitability.

Meet the team Meet the people who will provide comprehensive weekly coverage in our news, machinery, pedigree and livestock sections

Dr Jack Kennedy

Phelim O’Neill

Andy Doyle

Specialist area

 Cereal husbandry.  Education: M Agr Sc degree, University College Dubln.

Specialist area

 Meat markets, Brexit, CAP and general EU affairs.  Former CEO of NIMEA.  Education: graduated in law from Queen’s Univesity, Masters in Business Strategy from the University of Ulster.

The aim is to keep farmers’ money in farmers’ pockets

Getting the best price is about finding what the best paying market wants and delivering it consistently

Peter Varley Specialist area

 Environment and farm buildings.  Education: BAgrSc, MSc (Agr).

I love helping to provide farmers with the latest innovations in shed design

Aidan Brennan

Specialist area

 Dairy and grassland management.  Education: hons degree in agriculture from WIT and a higher diploma in economics from UCC.

It’s hugely rewarding to work with farmers to help them achieve their goals

Ciarán Lenehan Specialist area

 Operates a sucklerto-beef herd in Ireland – 100% AI, young bull beef, breeding replacements.  Education: BAgrSc from Uiversity College Dublin; MSc: beef cattle nutrition and production systems (UCD/Teagasc).

There are few things more rewarding than witnessing a family farm business grow from a low baseline to reach its potential and flourish

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

NEWS 3

Journal Scotland Specialist area Specialist area Ă‚ Interpret, analyse, and comment Focus on your on dairy farm farm resources management and dairy market and what you analysis for the can control EHQHo W RI IDUPHUV and the industry. Ă‚ Education: Bachelor of Agricultural Science and PhD in dairy herd fertility and feeding.

Kieran Mailey

Declan Marren

Justin McCarthy

Specialist area

Education

Ă‚ Maximising grazed grass in suckler beef and sheep enterprises; farm adviser for the )DUP 3URo W Programme. Ă‚ Education: Agricultural Science Degree from UCD, 2011; PhD in beef production systems, 2016.

Specialist area  Livestock specialist working predominantly with suckler beef farmers.  Education: graduated with a degree in agriculture from Queen’s University, Belfast.

Keep your system simple and do the basics well. Know your market and build your farming system around it

Shane Murphy Specialist area

Ă‚ Pedigree. Ă‚ Education: graduated in Animal Science, University College Dublin, 2016.

Lorrie Kyle

Ă‚ BSc Hons Degree in Agricultural Science from Harper Adams University. Ă‚ 1XIo HOG IDUPLQJ VFKRODUVKLS LQWR SURo WDEOH EHHI SURGXF tion from the beef cow herd. Ă‚ International and national awards for investigative work into world beef production standards and for techQLFDO HIo FLHQF\ DUWLFOHV

What makes this job special is the ability to make a dierence to the livelihoods of farm families

Background

Ă‚ Diploma in Horticulture and Countryside and Environment. Ă‚ Bachelor of Arts with a minor in Communication Studies and Media.

I am out on the road speaking to farmers about the challenges they face and how they succeed

John Sleigh Background

Ă‚ MA Hons Degree in Economics and Social History.

I am excited to show farmers what they can do with their farm to improve their proďŹ t, not just what they would like to do

 Developing insights into the needs of rapidly changing consumers and their food demands to help drive forward the agrifood sector.  Former managing director of one of Ireland’s leading fertiliser companies.  Education: M Agr Sc UCD; 0%$ 6PXUo W 6FKRRO RI %XVLQHVV

I cover the big events and announcements across Scotland. We are going through the biggest constitutional change in a generation and I will be bringing farmers the facts that matter to them, every step of the way

Ă‚ News and parliament. Ă‚ Education: MA Hons in modern languages.

Darren Carty

Adam Woods

Specialist area

Specialist area

There is always something that can be adopted to improve farm eďŹƒciency

Why the Farmers Journal Scotland is different: Ă‚ Track record of delivering tried-and-tested technical advice, which puts money into your farm business. Ă‚ Experienced Scottish and Irish team offering expert market and policy analysis to inform your farm businesses. Ă‚ 2XU 6FRWWLVK )DUP 3URo W Programme across six farms will demonstrate how readers can improve their businesses. Ă‚ Reporters in Scotland, Dublin and Brussels covering all angles of Brexit.

Specialist area

Sarah Anderson

Ă‚ Sheep and beef production, market performance and industry collaboration. Ă‚ Education: BSc in Animal Science, UCD.

Ă Key points

Eoin Lowry

Specialist area Without the pedigree breeder, genetic improvement would be at a standstill

Ă‚ EU policy, global market analysis and on-farm WHFKQLFDO HIo FLHQF\

 Beef farming analysis, currently heading up the Irish Farmers Journal’s new 200ac beef and sheep demonstration farm, located in Tullamore, Co Offaly.  Education: B Agr Sc. 2004; M Agr Sc 2006; H Dip 2015.

Huge potential exists inside the farmgate to increase proďŹ tability. It’s my job to help beef farmers realise this potential

Our news doesn’t stop here The Farmers Journal website is constantly updated from 7am each morning with news and technical advice. See www.farmersjournal.co.uk

Follow us on social media @FJ_Scotland FarmersJournalScotland

WATCH ONLINE Our YouTube channel has been viewed nearly 14m times so make sure to tune in:

www.farmersjournal.tv

Your view

 We want to know what you think of the Farmers Journal Scotland. If you have any comments or suggestions that you’d like to share with us, email jsleigh@farmersjournal.co.uk or write to us at: Farmers Journal Scottish Edition, Rural Centre, West Mains, Ingliston, Newbridge, Edinburgh, EH28 8LT.

FARMERS JOURNAL 3 June 2017 Saturday 2

4 NEWS

Comment John Sleigh Scott ish editor jsleigh@farmersjournal.co.uk

Politicians must deďŹ ne ‘active farmer’

B

y the end of next week we will have a new UK Government with more freedom than any other Government since 1973 to design a rural policy ďŹ t for purpose.

We have an opportunity, in leaving the EU, to get to grips with the support system, putting the emphasis on the person doing the farming.

While the Conservative manifesto promises to keep the same amount of cash going to the farming sector until 2022, the critical point for farmers is how the money will be spent.

Though the Single Farm Payment has undoubtedly oered an anchor

of support, for too long we have seen historic and area payments stie innovation and lock out fresh blood.

We need a clear deďŹ nition of “active farmingâ€?, which take the brakes o our sector. Giving support to the wrong person can leave the sector in a worse place than with no support at all.

Leaving the EU oers the opportunity to put all the options on the table for building a working rural policy. This needs to include an element of coupled support to ensure critical mass is maintained.

There is an attractive simplicity to the beef calf scheme, which delivers

for the farmer in the ďŹ eld.

The incredibly low threshold for active farming is not applicable for the vast majority of Scottish farmers.

Leaving the EU, we have the opportunity to build a more dynamic system, which ensures that farms who run a handful of livestock over a hillside do not get equal reward to their fully stocked neighbour. Furthermore, a working deďŹ nition of active farmer would do away with the need for the hogg scheme.

Sadly, the value of entitlements can lock out new entrants and expanding farmers from a level footing within the industry. We cannot keep running sweeping national reserves every few years to make amends for farmers in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Politicians need to take the bold decision to create a dynamic system that allows farmers to claim the area of land they farm in any given year.

Politicians are talking about a more targeted approach for rural farm policy, which could be a move toward competitive grants for capital spend. Land improvements and building better sheds is one way the Scottish farm sector could take production to the next level.

However, market prices will need to rocket to replace the revenue support currently delivered through the direct payments. Over the next parliament this will not happen. So if farming is to remain viable, direct support needs to play a part.

All the political parties are calling for improved welfare and environ-

Though the Single Farm Payment has undoubtedly oered an anchor of support, for too long we have seen historic and area payments stie innovation and lock out fresh blood. We need a clear deďŹ nition of “active farmingâ€?, which take the brakes o our sector mental outcomes from the farming sector. This can be an added burden on the farmer but one that is not going away.

Welfare is already world-leading in Scotland, and we cannot allow rising welfare standards to result in producers ďŹ ghting with one hand

behind their back. We remember too well the damage caused by the UK’s early embrace of the stall and tether ban. Plus countries producing to lower standards cannot be allowed import to the UK and damage our market.

Environmental improvement is something farmers do without thinking. Over the next ďŹ ve years, we have the chance to ensure the environmental improvement and farm development do not work at cross purposes. We cannot allow anything like the shambles of the CAP greening to occur in the UK. Keep it simple and make sure any loss in farm efďŹ ciency is appropriately compensated.

It is sad that so much time is spent debating farm support, but until consumers pay the proper price for food, the farm sector needs to make its voice heard. While trade negotiations – with the EU in particular – will have an influence on rural policy, we cannot allow this as an excuse to make a du system.

For the ďŹ rst time in a generation we are starting with a blank page. In this election we are looking for politicians to oer some ideas on how to ďŹ ll it, in a way that will result in the active farmer being rewarded.

Beef prices surge as demand grows FROM PAGE 1

Domestic demand is holding up with Kantar Worldpanel reporting strong household beef purchases throughout the spring.

Evidence shows sales up by around 3.5% year-on-year. Sales of steaks were particularly strong, underpinning the overall increase.

There has also been a spike in manufactured beef products, such as

burgers, beef-based ready meals and steak pies.

All of this paints a positive picture for beef farmers this summer which is flowing through into the store trade, showing high prices.

Ă„ See back page for more on the beef trade

Inside this week 03.06.2017 Contents News

A farmer writes Overseas

Viewpoints Matt Dempsey

AGRIBUSINESS Feature

Technical

Dairying Dairylink Beef Sheep Pedigree Arable Machinery Focus Business of Farming

28 Livestock

38 Pedigree There’s something just that bit special about the Dunlouise Angus hy herd in Angus County

8 9 21

IRISH FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

FOCUS 43

FOCUS

INTRODUCTION Farm buildings should be built to last

F

arm building work is currently undergoing a resurgence driven primarily by the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) II, which provides grant aid for on-farm infrastructure.

The abolition of milk quotas in 2015 has also played a part in the rise in agricultural developments with dairy farmers investing in animal housing and new facilities for their expanding herds. Building a new shed through TAMS II requires even more attention to detail. All sheds built through TAMS II must meet the Department of Agriculture speciďŹ cations. These speciďŹ cations are available on the Department’s website and farmers should read the speciďŹ cations relevant to their planned development to make sure the work is carried out properly.

On pages 46 and 47, we look at the stipulations in place for concrete used on agriculPeter tural buildings.

Varley Some farmers ďŹ nd that these speciďŹ cations add signiďŹ cantly to the cost but they are in place to extend the life of the buildings. There is no reason why these buildings cannot be used in 40 years’ time or longer. There are haysheds, for example, that were built at the turn of the last century still in use on farms today because the quality of the materials used was top-notch. By not taking shortcuts to save money in the short term you should be able to extend the usable life of the buildings which will pay dividends ďŹ nancially.

In the Focus, Sean Mullooly and Andy Doyle look at two impressive developments on dairy and tillage farms that will no doubt stand the test of time because they were built to such a high standard.

FARM BUILDINGS

16

FEATURE

22 24 30 34 37 42 43 51 70

Farm proďŹ t programme How compact calving is helping to ERRVW SURo WV RQ WKH %LIIHQ IDPLO\ farm near Ellon in Aberdeenshire

We pay a visit to beef trail-blazer Kevin Gilbert’s farm in Kintore Ä Page 10

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Farmers Journal Scottish Edition, Rural Centre, West Mains, Ingliston, Newbridge, Edinburgh, EH28 8LT Editorial Tel: 01-4199500 edit@farmersjournal.ie Advertising Tel: 00 353 14199555 ads@farmersjournal.ie Subscriptions Tel: 00 353 14199500 subs@farmersjournal.ie

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51 Focus Don’t forfeit long-term gains for short-term savings on farm buildings

DC Thomson, Dundee, Scotland. Published and RULJLQDWHG E\ 7KH $JUL cultural Trust, Irish Farm &HQWUH %OXHEHOO 'XEOLQ Registered at the GPO as a newspaper.

FARMERS JOURNAL Friday 2 June 2017 2017 Saturday 28 January 2017 25 March

NEWS 5

Post-Brexit support for landowners The Scottish Land and Estates (SLE) held its annual general meeting this week, where it called for increased support Rural businesses must demonstrate extraordinary creativity if they are to survive Brexit and possible constitutional change.

This was the message from Scottish Land and Estates (SLE) chair David Johnstone at its AGM in Edinburgh on Tuesday 30 May. However, the Scottish and UK governments must also commit to shaping legislative as well as support structures post-Brexit to allow the sector to evolve.

Johnstone, who owns and manages Annandale Estates in Dumfriesshire, called on

the Scottish Government to recognise Scotland’s estates and rural businesses as key partners and not barriers to enabling rural Scotland to thrive post-Brexit.

Johnstone said his members have their own challenges, including the improving of profitability and demonstrating that land-based business deliver good for wider society.

Population growth and technological advances present global opportunities for agriculture, but the sector could not afford an “aye been” mentality, as future direct support is likely to hinge increasingly on the provision of public goods.

“We are living in an era of huge volatility, and whatever the outcome of Brexit and the constitutional situation, change is inevitable. Rural businesses themselves will have to lead the way as gov-

Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing.

ernment cannot do it all,” Johnstone said.

He added that the Scottish Government could assist rural businesses by working closely with them, other devolved administrations and the UK Government, to deliver practical policies within its remit,

notably better broadband.

While land reform was not the main theme of the day, Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing, emphasised his willingness to work with landowners after Westminster elections on 8 June.

“Trust in relationships allows us – as in any good business relationship – to encourage more investment,” he said.

The Scottish Government remains committed to providing rural broad to every home and business by 2021.

The cabinet secretary also

stressed the potential for businesses to explore forestry opportunities, otherwise the UK will need to import 80% of its timber by 2025. Scotland’s Forestry Commission operates a successful scheme offering on-farm advice about whether and where to plant trees.

Fife water levels at their lowest in the last 20 years Steering rural PATRICK DONOHOE NEWS EDITOR pdonohoe@farmersjournal.ie

Farmers in Fife are having to contend with the lowest water levels in decades. The unseasonably dry spring has resulted in fears that there will

be shortage as we hit the peak dry period. Peter Pollard from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said the agency is having to monitor the situation closely, with fears that the shortage will continue into the back end.

He added that SEPA is al-

ready working on contingency plans to deal with a continued shortage. “The levels in reservoirs and groundwater in the east of Scotland are lower than normal for this time of year, with some a lot lower than average. At one of our monitoring sites in central

Fife, we are seeing the lowest groundwater level for May in 20 years. SEPA is advising farmers to “only irrigate when, and only as much as, absolutely necessary”, to “make sure irrigation equipment isn’t leaking” and “to irrigate at night to reduce evaporation losses”.

Rain may be too little, too late for southern crops Farmers in southern Scotland are warning of straw shortages and poorer crops due to a lack of moisture this spring.

While the recent rainfall may have been too late for some, it has turned around crops in the north of the country. Many parts of Scotland received just 10% of the average rainfall this spring.

Up until two weeks ago, fields were looking poor, but the moisture came at the right time. Winter crops have been challenged by few frosts over winter, so harvest may start early in 2017.

NFU Scotland combinable crops chair Ian Sands explained growth rates are variable.

“It is a mixed picture across Scotland. Farmers who got their spring crop in early look to be in the best place. Barley sown late just did not get the moisture to kick start growth and get the fertiliser into the ground. Some barely has only come through in the last 10 days.

Sands continues: “2017 is

unlikely to bring a bumper crop of straw, but it is impossible to say if there will be a shortage at this stage. Winter crops are certainly shorter as they start to fill out.

“How spring barley will develop will depend on the rain over summer,” concludes Sands.

– JOHN SLEIGH

Scotland post-Brexit

Where Scottish rural policy lies was debated at the Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) seminar in Edinburgh this week.

Steven Thomson, SRUC’s senior agriculture economist, highlighted Scottish farm businesses’ dependency on CAP. “The clock is ticking,” Thomson said. “We have spent a year and we have no idea what Brexit will look like.”

SAC consultant Kev Bevan identified a soft Brexit and continuation of CAP 2019 as the best outcome, warning that we need to come up with answers – tested against WTO compliance, consumer and farm impact – pretty quickly.

Independent consultant

Andrew Moxley shifted the scope to wider rural policy, asserting that “few people have universally good things to say about the CAP so collectively we must be able to come up with something better”.

Concern Speakers and delegates alike were also concerned about civil service capacity to handle Brexit.

The Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe Mike Russell said: “We need to influence the process with knowledge and imagination in order to make a difference.

“It is helpful to know people’s concerns.”

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017 Saturday 28 January

6 NEWS

Scottish meat plants set to merge

T Highland Meats and Dunbia’s Elgin and Ayr factories will merge, writes Phelim O’Neill

he Highland meats factory in Salcoats and Dunbia’s Elgin and Ayr factories are to merge as part of the deal between Dawn Meats and Dunbia that was announced last week. In this Dawn Meats will take over all Dunbia’s business in Ireland while the Dawn Meats UK business will merge with Dunbia and continue trading as Dunbia. Jim Dobson, who is chief executive of Dunbia, will take this role in the new joint venture while Niall Browne, who is CEO of Dawn, will assume the role of executive chairman in the UK joint venture.

Highland Meats is one of Scotland’s largest abattoirs whereas Dunbia’s factory in Elgin was among the smaller ones in their group, though it handled all species including pigs until recently. The Dunbia factory in Ayr is a retail packing facility, and its closeness to Dawn’s Highland Meats factory in Sacloats will be

particularly convenient. Currently this factory buys in a considerable amount of beef from other Scottish plants as Elgin doesn’t produce sufficient product to keep it supplied.

It will be interesting to see if this continues or will Highland Meats itself fully exploit the capacity of the Ayr factory in the new merged Dunbia business. Farmers in the northeast of Scotland will also be watching if the joint venture continues to operate the Elgin factory or will they seek to concentrate their entire Scottish slaughter business in Salcoats.

Dawn Meats in Ireland has USDA approval to supply beef to the US and is active in that market though with small volumes.

It is also in Canada, which was a main export market for the company in the early 1980s and it was one of the beef suppliers for the Scotland stand at the recent SIAL food show in Toronto.

Figure 1

Dunbia and Dawn Meats operations across Europe Elgin

Dunbia facilities Dawn Meats facilities Ayrshire Dungannon Ballyhaunis Kilbeggan Rathdowney Charleville Kilmacthomas

Slane Maganey Granagh

Carmarthenshire

Preston

Nantmel

Elgin and Ayr facilities in Scotland.

The Farmers Journal estimates that the joint venture will have around 20% of the UK kill while ABP will remain the largest with just under a quarter of the total kill. Like in Ireland, Dawn’s beef business was focused on the manufacturing end, and while Dunbia had retail listings ABP was the key player with total supply arrangements with some supermarkets.

Overall, it is thought the Dawn / Dunbia combination will have just over 20% of the UK supermarket business whereas ABP is thought to have 30% or perhaps higher.

Trading position This means that while the joint venture will be in a better negotiating position with retailers, it won’t have the strength that comes with being a 100% supplier, and ABP will have the stronger position

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Birmingham Cardington Llanybydder Bishop’s Stortford

West Devon Cornwall

Elivia JV Montbazon

Second-largest red-meat group created The announcement of the joint venture between Dawn and Dunbia to combine their UK business creates the secondlargest red meat group in the industry, behind ABP. While Dunbia, like Dawn, is spread across the UK regions, the volume of its business is concentrated in two areas of Britain, cattle in the northwest of England and sheep in Wales, where they have the largest sheepmeat processing facility in Europe.

Dunbia would be considered the leading lamb processor, with huge UK retail business in addition to its export trade.

In addition to its factory in Scotland, Dawn has other facilities, primarily in the southern and southwestern half of England though it also has locations in Cumbria in the north and Wales.

Dunbia has an abattoir, cutting plant and the first major retail packing facility in Northern Ireland as well as their

Duerden Sawley

in retail. On lamb, with Dunbia’s stateof-the-art facility in Wales and access to top markets for lamb, Dawn’s Irish lamb business will have additional options.

Access to supermarkets is an important element of a factory’s ability to maximise the value of beef cattle. If we imagine that meat processing is the reverse of a normal assembly line process, the carcase is broken up into several component parts.

The most successful meat processors will place each component in the most valuable market. That means offal and ribs to France, steak meat on the home market, occasionally the continent and hindquarter cuts in particular to supermarkets along with diced beef and mince.

Lower-value parts of the animal are usually best placed in Asian or African markets. Having a supermarket, ideally exclusively, is a benefit to any meat processor.

What the merger will mean for farmers In the Farmers Journal factory league tables for 2016, which were published in January this year, Dunbia was a consistent top half of the table performer in steers, heifers and cows with the Slane factory achieving one top position, one second position and one third position.

Dawn didn’t feature at the top for prime beef but was consistently among the top cow buyers. Between its four factories, it achieved two table-topping positions and one third place, all at its Ballyhaunis factory. Similar individual factory data isn’t available for UK factories. The Dawn business model in Ireland has been based on cow beef, supplying primarily its huge burger-making business.

It also has a huge joint venture with Eliva in France, consistently among the top cow markets in Europe. Farmers in Ireland will be looking to see how the Slane factory performs as a buyer of steers and heifers under the new ownership.

Sheep farmers must deliver what the consumer wants DECLAN MARREN LIVESTOCK SPECIALIST dmarren@farmersjournal.ie

Farmers need to deliver the product that consumers want, not what they think they want, a sheep event was told.

The National Sheep Association (NSA) held the event on the Kinnahaird Farm, Strathpeffer.

Scottish sheep farmer of the year in 2015 Joyce Campbell called on farmers

to listen to shoppers to drive consumption.

She highlighted the fact that Scottish consumers on average eat just 2kg of sheepmeat each compared with 7kg per head in England.

It was stressed that one bad dining experience can be enough to prevent people from picking lamb off the supermarket shelf.

Continuing the theme of eating experience, meat wholesalers, John Munro

and son of Dingwall displayed three lamb carcases.

One carcase was under-finished, one was overfat and one was correctly presented for slaughter.

Munro explained the lack of intramuscular fat on the under-finished lamb would leave a poor taste experience for the consumer.

Similarly, the meat wholesaler explained that the over-finished lamb would require further trimming and processing

to be suitable for sale. This, ultimately, would hurt the farmer both directly and indirectly.

It was explained that the correctly presented carcase requires no extra work from the slaughterhouse and with correct fat levels, the consumer would benefit also. This would aid greatly in the push to improve consumption.

Farmers were in good spirits at the event as it was the first day out for many since lambing.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

NEWS 7

Big party promises Ahead of the people going to the polls on 8 June, John Sleigh examines what the main political parties are promising to do for farmers and the agri sector All the main parties want to protect our high welfare standards and most go so far as to seek improving them.

How this will be done remains to be seen, as we already have very high welfare standards.

Theresa May, The Conservative Party.

The Conservative Party The Conservative manifesto offers the headline promise of continuing to channel the same budget of support currently paid to the farming sector.

The manifesto offers little detail on the promised new agri-environment system. It has been over six month since Andrea Leadsom announced the two green papers on the environment and food and farming at the Oxford farming conference.

The party also mentions the need for compulsory CCTV in abattoirs.

SPRAYING IN THE SUNSHINE: Spraying cereals at Rashiehall Farm, Balbeggie. \ Craig Stephen Nicola Sturgeon, The SNP.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) The party says it wants to “have full control of EU agricultural funding following Brexit”.

The SNP manifesto focuses in on convergence money, which is the fight for repatriation of UK support payments to Scotland, due to our lower-than-average area payment.

The party also goes on to reaffirm its stance against the use of genetically modified plants.

Tim Farron, The Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats wants to refocus support towards producing healthy food and public benefits and away from direct support.

It sites countryside protection, flood prevention, food production and climatechange mitigation.

It would appear that the party wants to support smaller farms and move support away from large landowners.

This looks like it wants increased capping of support payments.

Jeremy Corbyn, The Labour Party.

The Labour Party The Labour party is championing production standards in food quality and welfare, promising to prevent imports of cheap and, oftentimes, inferior produce.

This may be a challenge with the World Trade Organisation.

It also want to “reconfigure funds for farming” to support smaller traders and communities.

PPPs ban kills greening simplification Plans to ban Plant Protection Products (PPPs) in Ecological Focus Areas have scuppered the EU’s greening simplification agenda.

The proposals were voted down by the EU Parliament’s Agriculture committee, which is likely to influence the full parliament’s vote next month.

The simplification proposals consisted of 14 measures intended to make greening more farmer friendly.

However, the measure to prevent PPPs on crops in Ecological Focus Areas (EFS) has caused wide condemnation from farmers.

NFU Scotland’s Combinable Crops chair Ian Sands said: “It is an indication of how damaging the proposals on PPPs would have been that we had to call for the rejection of the whole proposal as it stands.”

EU Commission view The Commission’s position is that 13 of the 14 proposals are widely accepted and the issue with PPPs applies only to the eight weeks when crops are flowering.

It states that this concession is necessary to keep environmental NGOs and DG Environment on board with the wider greening agenda.

– PHELIM O’NEILL

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

8 VIEWPOINTS

A Farmer Writes Some key lessons from calving as breeding begins

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are finding these cows coming into e calved over 900 heat every day so we are now going to cows this year, and we leave the checks until after day 21. If were pleased with the this is successful, we may do no precalving speed of half checks next year at all and just start of all cows having serving day one. calved in 14 days from the planned Cows are milking well having start date, 85% by six weeks from the peaked at 22.5 litres at or planned start date and all by MS per day. At the mo10.5 weeks. We had gone to MICHAEL & 1.92kg ment we have passed peak (it great lengths last year to tackle condition scoring and LORRIE KYLE never lasts long enough!) and we had the vast majority of own Linn’s they are doing 20.5 litres, but the protein and butterfat are cows calving down in CS 3.25 Farm near rising (4.62 fat and 3.74 proplus;however, having solved this problem, we managed Dumfries tein) making this 1.72kg MS per cow per day – this being proto give ourselves the headduced on 1kg cake. We reckon ache of a lot of milk fever and some tetany earlier than normal. It we are getting 0.8l of milk for every 1kg cake fed. This is marginal stuff, but it was mainly in the older cows, so we keeps cows flowing well and will see countered this by giving all these cows them through blips in the weather etc. a calcium bolus following calving. We We have nearly weaned all our calves do see this as a sticking plaster, for this season, a good six weeks earlier though. We made a couple of errors, than previous years. We made some the first of which was not having the changes this year. For example, we magnesium in the water by 1 January started to test colostrum. We noticed a in preparation for calving mid-Februhuge variation between cows and the ary (we put it in on 24 January). The length of time calved, etc. Also, we second was not putting in some straw started to pasteurise the transition or haylage in a week or two before milk for the first time as well as the calving. Anyway, we live and learn. colostrum itself. We have been battling Johne’s disease for a number of years Target now and are starting to make progress We are now two weeks into breeding at last. The pasteurisation is part of and we are seeing to date about a 90% this programme and, while there are submission rate, a little low but there some scientific questions over its effecare still another 10 days to hit our 24tiveness, we have spoken to a few farmday target of 95% plus. This year we ers who have got Johne’s under control tail-painted on day minus 10 and we with these methods, so we are taking had planned to check anything that the view, if it is working on the ground hadn’t cycled by day 11. However, we

Michael and Lorrie Kyle farm 1,000 acres, running a block spring-calving herd of Friesian/ Jersey cross cows, taking as much from grazed grass as SRVVLEOH à

The selection criteria for a new combine ARABLE Gerald Potterton farms tillage and some beef at Kildalkey, Co Meath

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had certain criteria when looking for a replacement for our New Holland combine. I’ve always had this thing about tracks – not as in tracks and trails, think Caterpil-

lar.

Never able to justify a tracked tractor, I bought a recreational vintage Fowler tracked tractor years ago. I sit up on her and daydream when I’ve nothing better to do. And I don’t like admitting it as it’s very anoraky, but I have a collection of toy tracked tractors that I keep quiet about.

Tracks offer both greatly increased traction and reduced ground pressure over tyres. A tracked combine reduces compaction by 65%.

This means that a large tracked New Holland 9080 combine weighing perhaps 30t laden should only damage the field as much as did our old 1976 10ft New Holland 1540S. No-brainer Now I still got stuck with the 1540S in 1985, but you know what I mean. But tracks are a no-brainer, be it on big

for other farmers this will do us. I will elaborate next month on our overall programme.

We are really fortunate to have a great team here at The Linn’s: cows are milking well, we’ve had a good calving, we’re dealing successfully with milk fever issues, have good submission rates and alack of lameness. So many good things – too numerous to mention – only come about by a great team who all are focused on making The Linn’s farm work really well. I’m never quite sure when we come back from

being away for a bit and find the place hasn’t skipped a beat whether I should be extremely happy about it or that I just may not be indispensable!

Grass has started to grow in earnest after the usual slowish growth period that this area endures during March, however it has been a fairly normal spring. Growth rates are now 90-100kg DM/ha per day, after the recent rain, so with demand at around 46 kg per ha per day we are starting to see real surplus happening and we are closing ground up for silage. We decided to do

tractors, combines or root harvesters.

And all the more so for someone like me who’s paranoid about compaction.

It’s not only because we are min-tilling, I just hate voluntary compaction.

It’s a firing offence in my book if the grain trailers wander off the tramlines.

So when it came to changing our 12-year-old combine, it had really had to be a tracked combine or, at the very least, one with tyres so wide that Bord na Móna would have their tongue hanging out. Which is fine on an Offaly bog, but awkward with field gates.

We do little road work, but overall width is still an issue.

However, new tracked combines are big and very expensive and unjustifiable on our acreage. That firmly ruled out a new one and so the number one requirement in a replacement combine would have to be met with a good second-hand model.

The second criteria is related to the first. A wide header is very desirable to reduce the amount of passes in the field. Going from a 17ft cut to a 25ft cut reduces the combine passes by a colossal 50%.

While controlled traffic farming (CTF) is very much the ideal, it’s not possible at our relatively narrow drill width of 4m. But with every machine, the wider the better. Your precious earthworms and literally billions of micro flora and fauna will thank you for it. And not only that; compaction costs you money as well. Everything you can do to minimise compaction is rewarded. Tracks and a wide header were two essential criteria in a replacement combine.

Maker The third selection criteria is the maker. We’ve had an orange Fahr combine

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

VIEWPOINTS 9

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The choice of grass seed – who should you believe?

DEREK ROBINSON farms in Co Down, Northern Ireland

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his farm has a wide variety of grass swards; there are ďŹ elds that haven’t been reseeded in my lifetime managed alongside other ďŹ elds with young swards containing plenty of clover and modern perennial ryegrasses. Fields that were reseeded during 2015 and 2016 were sown out to varieties that are designed for a longer-term and more extensive plan.

This may well conjure up an image of a farmer who is on top of his game and knows exactly what is best for each and every area on his farm. This would be incorrect, and a more accurate assessment would point to someone that can never quite make his mind up regarding the most suitable mixture for an individual ďŹ eld.

I envy those farmers who know exactly which seed mixtures will work best for a given situation, and especially dairy cow operators, where it’s often a simple choice of any variety that will produce huge yields for a relatively short number of years. My situation is dierent, and the nature of red meat production (ie limited proďŹ tability) tends to require a mixture where longterm persistence is the most important priority. Indeed, the deďŹ nition of “long-termâ€? in recommended lists doesn’t really tick all the boxes in my situation, because after spending about ÂŁ200 per acre to reseed a ďŹ eld, I’d like to think it’ll last about 30 years!

some of the rolling ourselves, but felt it was getting away from us a bit, so we brought in the contractor to speed things up a bit. Well, he did more between 9am and 3pm than we completed in a week of messing about! I think you either need all the equipment or none of it. We operate with one tractor and three quads and that’s just the way we like it: leave it to the professionals.   It is shaping up to be a good year with milk price stabilised, grass growing well and cows looking good. Long may it last.

(awful), two Case combines (one a star, one a disaster, so that’s a no) and two New Hollands (both brilliant, deďŹ nite yes).

I’ve always liked New Hollands, but we mustn’t forget the four green machines, namely Claas, Fendt, DeutzFahr and John Deere.

I’d possibly entertain a Claas and certainly a Fendt, but the latter two have zero appeal to me.

That said, my ideal machine would be a tracked 25ft New Holland. But such a second-hand machine is incredibly rare and you’d be better buying lotto tickets.

So I’ve decided to go with the wisdom of Meat Loaf, who sings “two out of threeâ€? ain’t bad. I’ve opted for a tracked 25ft 2012 Claas 670, which ticks two out of the three boxes. But she’s a cracker to look at. But looks aren’t everything‌

But with every machine, the wider the better. Your precious earthworms and literally billions of micro ora and fauna will thank you for it

Conundrum Another conundrum when it comes to choice of grass mixture is choosing whose advice to heed. Unlike me, some of my farming friends have absolutely no doubts that certain companies are selling grasses that are “useless�, while other mixtures seem to possess some sort of magical properties.

Again, I wish I shared some of their convictions, because it would make life so much easier than wondering (or assuming) the wrong choice had been made.

Equally, it should be pointed out that cast-iron opinions are sometimes completely misleading, and if anyone tells me to use mixture X or Y because it is fantastic, it makes me want to ask

The dry conditions at sowing, followed by rain ten days later, have contributed to a slightly staggered germination. The most advanced seedlings are at the twoleaf stage, with some of the rows still just beginning to appear.

Ă Stubble back to grass In the middle of the drought in early May, I converted 6 acres of stubble back to grass. Sure enough, I deliberated over choice of mixture, and eventually opted for a grass-clover blend that is mostly comprised of Aber grasses.

In truth, curiosity may have been the main driver, because these Welshbred seeds tend to divide opinion like no other. Some say they have poor persistence, many claim their supposed high sugar content makes them special (others claim this is no more than a marketing ploy), while the more open nature (also under dispute) of the sward has put people off too. I checked out the varieties on the label, made sure they were on the recommended NI list of grasses, and went ahead with my decision.

My main requirement is a sward suitable for sheep grazing, possibly some light cattle, and maybe a bit of out-wintering of pregnant ewes (it is fairly likely that a cut of silage might RFFXU WRR ,W LV RQH RI P\ GULHU oHOGV so the chance of severe poaching

a few relevant questions.

What actual varieties are contained within? How does it score for persistence in NI trials? Were these impossible yields of silage recorded over a weighbridge? And conversely, when some company’s blend is written o as being less than useless, it’s always on the tip of my tongue to enquire about a soil analysis prior to reseeding.

Hideous The best example of this form of agricultural certainty concerns a farmer

during wet weather is less likely than some heavy areas.

Partly due to the dry soil, and also due to previous success, we drilled the seed using a Lemken/Accord RQH SDVV RXWoW 7KH WHUP kRQH SDVVy is a bit misleading, because it was ploughed, power-harrowed, rolled, power-harrowed again, sown, and then rolled twice. I was determined that what small amount of moisture was available would not escape.

Operational costings have been deferred for the meantime: at this stage I prefer to focus on the lovely sward of young grasses, and pretend that all this heavy metal usage won’t amount to too much.

Seed mixture used Aberavon 5.0kg (late diploid).

Aberbite 2.0kg (late tetraploid).

Aberwolf 3.0kg (intermediate diploid).

Astonenergy 2.0kg (intermediate tetraploid).

5-way clover blend 1.0kg (Buddy, Galway, Iona, Rivendel, Violin).

not so far from here who told everyone he wouldn’t use Barenbrug grasses if he were given them for free.

Indeed, if he mistakenly sowed out a ďŹ eld to these hideous species, he would plough it up again and use some ‘proper grass’.

He then speciďŹ ed the exact company whose grasses he could place his trust in. The trouble with his theory, of course, was that close examination of the stated mixture revealed a predominant reliance on, you’ve guessed it, Barenbrug-bred varieties!

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

10 FEATURE

Cows that work for Kevin in Kintore Beef specialist CiarĂĄn Lenehan paid a visit to beef trail-blazer Kevin Gilbert, in Kintore

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n Garioch Aberdeenshire, is grain and beef cow country. Good-quality farms, big cattle herds and big cows. Cattle get turned out in May and winters tend to be long. Heifers calve at three and progeny are generally finished on an intensive barely diet.

Homegrown cereals and silage form the basis of winter diets.

Labour is seen as a key limiting factor for beef cow herds in the region. But is the burly continental cow that predominates the best model for maximum labour eďŹƒciency?

Kevin Gilbert is a suckler and pig farmer at Kintore, north of Aberdeen. Pig farming brings with it a ruthless nature that, for me, is always a good thing on a beef farm. Kevin farms 1,000 acres, 400 of which are in grass, and runs 230 beef cows.

His cow type raises an eyebrow as we drive toward his farm. My tour of the northeast meant I was looking at colossal continentals for two days, Kevin tells me I’m about to see a Stabiliser cow herd. “In 2007 I bought two young Stabiliser bulls. They were year old bulls – all of the seller’s older bulls had been sold.

I brought them home and just gave them 20 heifers each. A local guy, who coincidentally managed the biggest cow herd in this area, looked at my bulls and said that they wouldn’t be able to even reach to serve the big Angus heifers I had. How wrong he was – 39 out of the 40 were incalf. The next year I bought in 50 Stabiliser heifers from Wales and we’ve built from there. My cow herd is now 70% Stabiliser and as of last year I’m 100% using Stabiliser sires. I try to calve around 50 heifers a year so that I can cull quite hard elsewhere,� Kevin said.

Having run a continental cow traditionally, Kevin is the ďŹ rst to admit that his output per cow was hit with the move toward Stabiliser. Three years ago he tried to address this by moving back towards Charolais sires. The following year came carcase weight limits and he found himself with cattle that were too heavy and not eshed enough.

However, the merit of the Stabiliser cow lies in her temperament, ruggedness and work ethic. For most of the year, one labour unit – Kevin’s long-time colleague Brian Watt – manages the cow herd and their progeny, including any ďŹ nishing stock, on his own. Output per head might be down, but there are more heads now. “It’s very much an easy-care philosophy on cow type here. I want a docile cow who’ll calve herself, be able to stay out all year round, produce a small calf that will be looking up at the teats and ďŹ nd them himself, yet I still want to be wean-

A selection of Kevin Gilbert’s slaughter-ready bulls, aged 14 months

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ing a good calf at the end of the year. I feel the Stabiliser gives me all of these.

Kevin ďŹ nishes all males and any heifers not destined for his breeding herd.

Hence, he is not under pressure with calving date to the same extent that a live seller would be. Heifers calve ahead of the cow herd in February and March.

The main herd calves in April and May. All calving takes place outdoors in a wellsheltered paddock next to the yard. No night-checking is done during calving season. In 2016, 3% of mature cows received assistance at calving and 10% of heifers – frustratingly high, Kevin admits.

This two-month calving pattern is extremely tight relative to the average herd in the region and Kevin is ruthless when it comes to any animals that slip outside this window. He also culls for structural issues, udder issues, poor weaning weights and bad temperament. “When you’re ďŹ nishing stock you need uniformity and when you’re managing relatively big numbers like this things must be kept tight. We don’t tolerate open cows and 50 heifers coming through means that we don’t have to. The heifers calve at 21-24 months and because we calve them ahead of the main herd it gives them an extra few weeks to get back into their groove after lactation one.

last year. Reseeding through the arable rotation is a big help.

Kevin on Brexit To be honest I’m more worried about Brexit from a pig than a beef point of view. If pig meat trade between the Netherlands and Scotland breaks down the USA could swoop in and undercut us.

On CAP I think if CAP shrinks then the days of the big show cow are over. She’s MXVW QRW HIoFLHQW DQG IDUPHUV DUH too nice to her. I like to think our model is not far off the ideal one in terms of a suckler cow paying her way.

On Stabiliser beef We’ve had feedback to say that there’s good marbling in Stabiliser beef and that it’s possibly a slightly grainier eating experience. I know that there are efforts ongoing to establish a Stabiliser brand – C*LYHQGDOH )DUP , WKLQN LW V called. It would be marvellous if something like the Angus scheme got going within the breed.

Heifers are selected based on their bloodlines, structural soundness and, crucially, docility. If Kevin or herdsman Brian notice an animal is excitable as a calf or prior to breeding, she won’t be kept.

Any heifers that don’t make the cut for the breeding herd are slaughtered o grass prior to a second wintering period.

Bulls are slaughtered on the grid under-16 months of age. “In reality it’s closer to 13/14 months when our bulls go. We get carcase weights of 360-370kg on the bulls and 280-300kg on the heifers and the vast majority will grade U. Our carcase weight limits are very strict. At times if you go over 400kg you don’t get paid on the kilos above and even get discounted on the ďŹ rst 400kg.

These are on the back of weaning weights of 300kg for bulls and 270kg for heifers.

Kevin is self-suďŹƒcient for all of his cattle feed except mineral and protein. Bulls are ďŹ nished a simple diet of dried bruised (rolled) barley, grass silage, straw, a protein blend and a small inclusion of mineral mixture. “The grass is something we need to look at more here in Scotland – many see it as a weed. I know the top farmers are pushing it hard and getting good results.

I suppose our grazing season is shorter than other areas but the guys in the Farm ProďŹ t Programme are beginning to already to show what can be done here with earlier turnouts. Silage quality has been a big one for me and I’m trying to cut mine good and early – it was June 10

Ă Comment One the key points I took away from visiting Kevin is getting the cow type right.

A lot of our beef cows are like spoiled children: fed too well and given the benHoW RI WKH GRXEW DOO WRR RIWHQ +RZHYHU the advent of subsidies linked to breeding indices has got Irish farmers’ minds focused RQ SDVVHQJHU LGHQWLoFDWLRQ DQG UHPRYDO LQ

UHFHQW \HDUV )URP D 6FRWWLVK SRLQW RI YLHZ the discussion on whether healthy direct SD\PHQWV DUH PDVNLQJ WKH LQHIoFLHQFLHV RI beef cows needs to happen sooner rather than later. This is not a call to jump on a bandwagon as extreme as Kevin’s stabiliser model. All of the traits we pursue as beef IDUPHUV q PLON IHUWLOLW\ JURZWK SRWHQWLDO

DQG GRFLOLW\ q DUH WKHUH ZLWKLQ HYHU\ EUHHG ZH MXVW QHHG WR oQG WKHP The BETTER farm beef programme in Ireland – a similar project to the Scottish )DUP 3URoW 3URJUDPPH q KDV MXVW HQWHUHG LWV WKLUG SKDVH LQ ZKLFK IDUPV DUH WDNLQJ SDUW :KDW WKH oUVW WZR SKDVHV KDYH VKRZQ is that adding value is key to improving

SURoWDELOLW\ q WKH PRUH PDWXUH DQ DQLPDO LV OHDYLQJ WKH IDUP WKH EHWWHU WKDW IDUP JHQHUDOO\ SHUIRUPV oQDQFLDOO\ .HYLQ *LOEHUW ZRXOG EH WKH oUVW WR DGPLW WKDW KLV VWRFN wouldn’t set the sales ring alight were they WR EH PDUNHWHG DV \HDUOLQJV %XW FRPH oQLVKLQJ WLPH D FRQWLQHQWDO SURGXFHU ZRXOG be happy with Kevin’s performance.

FARMERS JOURNAL Friday 2 June 2017 2017 Saturday 28 January 2017 25 March

NEWS 11

Irish view Justin McCarthy, editor jmccarthy@farmersjournal.ie

Sustainable food supply critical for security

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fter the visit by US President Donald Trump last week, it was clear the chemistry between the leader of the free world and Europe wasn’t there.

This was verbalised by German Chancellor Angela Merkel when she said: “Europe must take our fate into our own hands.”

This is widely interpreted as being a reference in the main to defence and President Trump’s less than enthusiastic support for NATO. This, combined with the UK’s decision to leave the EU, means the EU 27 is looking towards selfreliance, built on a strong FrenchGerman core.

Defence is a key element of security, but there is an even greater priority that is often overlooked in this debate – a sustainable supply of food.

Thanks to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the EU has en-

joyed an abundant food supply for over half a century. This is a contrast to the 1950s when food rationing was in place in many European countries. While it is far from perfect, the CAP has achieved the objective of sustained food supply from a network of family-based farms across Europe.

As the EU ventures into the latest CAP reform, it would do well to reflect Chancellor Merkel’s comments on “taking our fate into our own hands”.

Just as it makes sense that the EU shouldn’t sub-contract its military defence to others such as the US, we should also not sub-contract our sustainable supply of food to other areas of the world.

Given what happened in Brazil in March, and subsequent investigations into JBS, the case for taking responsibility for our food supply in-house to the EU couldn’t be clearer.

FARM DEBT

New leader must not forget about farmers

Irish farmers must maintain fiscal prudence

By next week either Simon Coveney or Leo Varadkar will take over the leadership of Ireland from Enda Kenny. Last week, Simon Coveney outlined his vision for the country while Leo Varadkar on p16 talks about his leadership credentials. :KLOH ERWK PHQ KDYH DIo UPHG their commitment to farmers, this will have to be borne out in their policies and actions.

The challenge of protecting our sector from the consequences of Brexit is the most pressing and obvious, but the ongoing challenge of protecting low- and middle-income farmers is real.

More supports need to be made available to help the self-employed and farmers who bore the brunt of the pain during the economic recovery.

The agri sector underpinned the economy during the bad times and a more streamlined taxation system should be a fundamental policy of the new Taoiseach now that the recovery takes hold in certain parts of the country.

This will ensure the recovery is not two-tiered.

have bank debt of any kind. Farmers are prudent and responsible with debt, but this figure must be kept under control.

Our competitive advantage on the global stage lies in our low debt.

In comparison with New Zealand or the Netherlands, our debt per cow ratio is minuscule. We must continue to operate in this manner.

The Teagasc National Farm Survey shows that in the bad milk and grain year of 2016, investments were down almost €100m.

In that period, debt levels on farms carrying existing debt was up 3% to an average of €63,000 with dairy farms carrying an average of €99,058 and tillage farms carrying an average debt of €80,590.

However, just one in three farms

FARMERS JOURNAL SCOTLAND

Exciting venture for Agricultural Trust This week sees the Agricultural Trust launch the Farmers Journal into Scotland. It is an exciting time for the business as we grow our audience both in print and digitally.

The Farmers Journal Scotland will be edited by former NFU livestock director John Sleigh. Through the regular syndication of content between the Irish and Scottish

titles we are confident that key learnings from farms on either side of the Irish Sea can be shared.

This project builds on our Farm Profit Programme partnership with ANM Marts and the Scottish government which was launched earlier this year.

This programme aims to drive technical efficiency on beef and sheep farms.

NI comment

David Wright, Northern Ireland editor dwright@farmersjournal.ie

Mixed-up messages from beef processors

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ith cattle numbers tight, and demand for beef remaining strong, it is probably no great surprise that some factories have relaxed penalties on out-of-spec cattle. A regular supplier, or anyone with cattle ready in the weeks ahead, probably won’t have any problem slipping in the odd animal with more than four farm residencies, or the odd nomad, into a batch of finished prime animals.

In one regard it sends the wrong message to farmers, but perhaps we all have to accept that at times of rising prices and tight numbers, it is easier to find a wholesale or butcher customer for an animal that might be considered out-of-spec at other times of the year.

As highlighted on page 6 last week, what is probably of more concern to the suckler industry is an increasing focus within factory specifications on carcase weight at slaughter. A 300kg to 320kg animal produces a loin that is ideal for the British supermarket trade, and post-Brexit, if we

are solely reliant on that market, options for heavy cattle over 400kg become very limited.

Yet, perhaps as an industry, we need to carefully consider what this focus on 300kg to 320kg carcases means. Where does it leave the specialist suckler producer, already under threat if there is a significant reduction in direct payments? Killing cattle younger, at lighter weights, probably means a switch towards more traditional breeds. It also means keeping more cows to maintain output at current levels, not something many farmers are willing to do.

But, fundamentally, killing at lighter weights means less beef for meat plants to process. We have already seen this year how taking 10kg off average carcase weights in the first quarter of 2017 has been key in driving up prices this spring.

The continual push to lighter carcases will only make the situation worse. It is an interesting conundrum for the beef industry – processors want lighter carcases, but they also need beef.

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I think the higher ground is good enough to support Lleyn crosses and the hill sheep should also benefit from the hybrid vigour of a first cross Feature>> 8

Two Schmallenberg cases in Scotland

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JOHN SLEIGH SCOTTISH EDITOR jsleigh@farmersjournal.co.uk

EXCLUSIVE

Aberdeen 01 224 426 001 Glasgow 01 413 011 044

Two Scottish sheep flocks near the English border have had confirmed diagnosis of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) in malformed lambs. This follows on from a rise in numbers of affected lambs across England and Wales this winter.

Cases of Schmallenberg being discovered now will have been infected last year. The Schmallenberg virus is spread by midges. For the virus to have a high impact in cattle herds and sheep flocks the midge must infect pregnant mothers at key stages of pregnancy. For sheep this is the second month and slightly beyond of pregnancy, and for cattle they must be bitten in the month’s three to five of pregnancy, but can have issues slightly after this period too. This is when damage to the developing central nervous system occurs. This results in brain and limb deformities in the newborn lambs and calves.

The disease can spread sporadically, with previous outbreaks being very close to areas which have no cases of Schmallenberg. SAC Consulting vets expect the higher risk will be to cattle mated in the summer of 2017 and at the edge of the northward progression of infected midges. Fortunately the Scottish weather has prevented the disease from having the same effect on animals to the extent in England and on the continent.

Ä Continued on page 2 Farmers Journal

Brazil overshadows latest trade talks Industry insight >> 4

Keeping records of liveweights can allow underlying health issues to be identified as early as possible >> 19

NFU Scotland warns on cattle ID failures News >> 3

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017 Saturday 28 January

12 NEWS

Northern Ireland

Scope to review kill charges in NI PETER MCCANN NORTHERN CORRESPONDENT pmccann@farmersjournal.ie

The reduction in the parts of a beef carcase that will be classified as Specified Risk Material (SRM), and therefore no longer require rendering, could be the first benefit coming to livestock farmers as a result of Northern Ireland (along with Scotland) being approved for BSE negligible risk status.

That change was confirmed last week, and will reduce disposal costs in factories, and allow processors to utilise and add value to more parts of the carcass. Ultimately, it should also lead to a review of kill charges paid by farmers.

Previous estimates suggested that moving from controlled risk to negligible risk BSE status would see a 60% reduction in the volume of material that requires rendering or incineration, with estimated savings of £1.2m per year.

However, at present farmers are paying out around £3m per year for waste disposal at slaughter, at a cost that averages over £7 per head. The estimated savings would be worth around £3 per head.

But before these savings can be realised, Conall Donnelly, chief executive of the NI Meat Exporters’ Association (NIMEA) maintains that the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in NI (DAERA) need to firstly set out specifications for processors.

These should detail exactly what is required for product that was previously rendered, to allow it now to be classed as animal by-product (and used for example, in pet food).

“There are potential quick wins for disposal volumes, but in several respects, our members’ ability to maximise the opportunity depends on a proportionate approach from the department,” he said.

He also maintained that the overall impact on disposal

costs will be up to individual processors and will depend on the effect that negligible risk status has on the rendering market in NI (Linergy and Foyle Proteins).

With substantially less SRM to be disposed, rendering costs for material still classified as SRM could increase on a per unit basis.

Under BSE controls, parts of the skull and spinal cord still require rendering in negligible risk regions, whereas the tonsils, spinal column, intestine and tissues around the intestine are no longer SRM. Although NI was approved for negligible risk status by the World Organisation for Animal Health last week, it will not officially change its

our members’ ability to maximise the opportunity depends on a proportionate approach from the department BSE status until European Commission officials meet and a standing committee of member states rubber stamp the decision.

“This could be as far away as September, but the Commission will hopefully meet in July,” Donnelly said.

The longer-term benefit of receiving the lowest risk BSE status is the improved reputation of NI beef in international markets and the potential boost to trade, previously estimated at £12m per year.

There is opportunity to develop existing markets in countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore which limit beef cuts to cattle under 30 months and it could allow further progress in target markets such as China, South Korea and Japan.

“It has major potential for the sector here, but it is up to the government and industry to now make the most of it,” Donnelly said.

A BREED APART: Judge Tom Patterson from Perthshire making his decision in the North-type Blackface shearling ram class at the Ballymena Show. \ Houston Green

Two challenging years for Fane Valley DAVID WRIGHT NORTHERN EDITOR dwright@farmersjournal.ie

The last two years have seen significant challenges and changes within Fane Valley Group, which are reflected in their latest annual report covering the year up to the end of September 2016.

During that period the Northern Ireland farmer owned co-op recorded losses of £1.91m, down from the loss of £4.96m for the period to September 2015. However, that 2015 figure is not what was reported in the accounts last year, which actually showed a profit of £2.15m. The difference is due to a new financial accounting standard, FRS102, being applied to 2015 and 2016, which brings with it some changes in how financial information is reported, including to the figures for 2015.

While the losses were reduced in the last financial year, the accounts cover the period when Fane Valley Group sold a significant part of their busi-

ness, Armaghdown Creameries (a milk drying plant)in Banbridge, Co Down, to Lakeland Dairies. In its most recent set of accounts, Lakeland indicated that it paid an initial cash price of €11.24m (around £8m at the time)for Armaghdown in May 2016.

However, the Fane Valley results record the profit on disposal of the business at £1.79m. In his report, chief executive Trevor Lockhart makes reference to the “positive performance of continuing operations offset by a significant trading loss at Armaghdown Creameries”.

With the dairy business gone, it means that the overall group turnover will be significantly less than it was in the past. Turnover at Armaghdown was £106m in 2014, and historically milk drying generated a lot of cash for the wider business.

In 2014, total group turnover (not including the 50% share in Slaney Foods in the Republic of Ireland) was £429.6m, falling to £357.3m in 2015 and

down another 10% to £321m in 2016, which included £37.3m of dairy product sales (7 months of Armaghdown Creameries). Take that out, it leaves turnover below £300m.

A significant chunk of that (around £182m) is from meat processing at Linden Foods in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, of which Fane Valley is the major shareholder.

Joint Venture Not included in the Group turnover is the Linden Foods joint venture in beef processor, Slaney Foods in the Republic of Ireland, which would add around £123.7m to turnover. It also brings about £2m of profit (which is included in the overall Fane Valley group performance).

Since 2000 that joint venture in Slaney has been with the Allen family, but in December 2015 they decided to sell to ABP Food Group, leaving Linden / Fane Valley with a new partner.

That deal, plus the decision to sell the dairy business to

Lakeland, resulted in a significant hike in administration costs for Fane Valley, which increased £3.5m to £24.26m to September 2016.

Assuming those costs return to more typical levels in 2017, and with the loss making dairy business gone, and net debt down from £50.5m to £33.3m, Fane Valley should be in a better position to record a profit to September 2017.

While the meat business traditionally delivers high turnover, but small profit margins, the Fane Valley Feeds and Stores business, are much smaller, but generally with higher percentage margins.

Other businesses within the Fane Valley Group include Whites, Duncrue Food Processors and Hilton Meat Products.

In this report, Fane Valley chairman William McConnell acknowledged that while financial performance declined during the year, the final position should still be regarded as a “credible result” given market challenges and changes within the business.

Prices rising for UK Dairy products KIERAN MAILEY NORTHERN DEPUTY EDITOR kmailey@farmersjournal.ie

UK dairy commodity prices have been following recent EU and global trends with an upward move in prices.

Market analysts at ADHB report that UK butter prices have risen from £3,750/t at 30 April to £4,800/t by the end

of May. Low butterfat stocks, growing product demand and lower milk production levels than initially forecast have altered buying patterns by key customers.

Cream prices have also strengthened over May, rising from £1,730 to £2,000/t by the end of the month.

The value of cream to liquid milk processors has risen by

1.31p/litre during May and now stands at 11.45p/litre. In May 2016, cream prices were only worth 4.92p/litre to a processor.

Skim milk Skim milk powder prices have increased from £1,450 to £1,650/t. Market analysts indicate that Actual Milk Price Equivalent (AMPE) for the UK

now stands at 31p/litre, before transport and processing costs. With UK dairy commodity prices strengthening and the value of sterling weakening, there is growing pressure for processors to increase NI milk prices.

Prices here have held steady so far in 2017, but there has been some downward price moves in Britain for June.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 20172017 28June January

NEWS 13

NI farm leaders ‘asleep at the wheel’ on Brexit

LacPatrick moving to 100% Red Tractor milk KIERAN MAILEY NORTHERN DEPUTY EDITOR kmailey@farmersjournal.ie

DAVID WRIGHT NORTHERN EDITOR dwright@farmersjournal.ie

Whatever about the resumption of local government at Stormont post the general election on 8 June, it is difficult to imagine how the two main political parties in Northern Ireland (NI) can come to an agreed position around Brexit.

At a launch of their campaign for NI to have special status within the EU after the UK leaves, Sinn Fein politicians were openly critical of the position taken by some unionist politicians, particularly the DUP. While the largest unionist party took a pro-Brexit stance, and remains committed to the principle, Sinn Fein want NI to remain within the EU, the customs union, the single market and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The two positions are poles apart.

However, Sinn Fein criticism also extends to NI farming leaders. Recent documents and statements from the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) that have used terminology such as “making a success of Brexit” or describing it as “a once in-a-lifetime opportunity” have touched a few raw nerves.

“Some farm organisations are asleep at the wheel. They have not been addressing the issues of concern in the way they should. This argument about making a success of Brexit is negligent. The vast majority of farmers in the north will be worse off post Brexit” maintained Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy.

He believes that other farm organisations in the Republic of Ireland, such as the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) have been “more honest” with their members about what lies ahead.

Matt Carthy and Michelle Gildernew launched the Sinn Fein policy document on Brexit and the agri-food industry, at Enniskillen Mart

Across all sections of society, Carthy believes that farmers in NI will be hardest hit by Brexit, followed by farmers in the Republic of Ireland. “It is a disaster for the island” he said.

The main basis for his argument is that farmers in NI will

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lose EU direct payments, currently worth an average of over £10,000 per farm in NI, to be replaced by something which will deliver one third of current payments, at best.

He doesn’t hold out any hope that farmers here will be able to retain their 9% share of UK

CAP money (on the basis of the Barnett formula, used to allocate NI’s block grant, we would receive 3%). He also believes that Britain will pursue various trade deals post Brexit, leaving the door open for imports of cheap food from around the world.

On trade across the Irish border, Carthy warns that there could be tariffs (if the UK and EU fail to do a free trade deal), origin checks on goods, physical border checks and more paperwork for companies.

“Brexit will signal the end of the small family farm as we know it” he warns.

The Sinn Fein solution to the problem of Brexit is for NI to remain part of the EU, and then negotiate with other EU partners a “free and fair trade agreement” with Britain, to

include transitional arrangements until a deal is finally agreed. Carthy points out that the majority of people here voted to remain. He also believes that the majority of farmers wanted to stay part of the EU. But what about the significant number of farmers who wanted to leave? Carthy maintains that some voted out for ideological reasons while some were misguided. He accepts that some were also fed up with EU bureaucracy, and argues that this is something Sinn Fein will continue to try to change from within.

Market Perhaps Sinn Fein’s biggest challenge will be to convince the wider agri-food industry that being within the EU is

better than being within the UK. Britain is, by far, the largest market outlet for NI food and drink, accounting for over 44% of all sales. In sectors such as beef, around twothirds of product is sold in Britain, which continues to be one of the best paying markets in the world.

Surely then relying on an EU trade deal to get product into Britain would be a huge negative for NI? “Part of the Irish government negotiation strategy must be that we have full access to the British market on an island of Ireland basis. No-one is saying it is going to be easy. But we are too small an island to be competing against each other. We need to work together. We need to have an all-Ireland system” responded Carthy.

ÁSinn Fein ignore reality – Dodds Responding to the Brexit document produced by Sinn Fein, DUP MEP Diane Dodds accused the party of lacking any vision, ignoring economic reality and general scaremongering.

She maintained that the prospect of a hard border post Brexit is something only being raised

by Sinn Fein as an issue, pointing out that government in London, Dublin and wider EU leaders, do not want a hard border and are working to ensure that is not the case.

She also referred to the recent commitment from the Conservative party that, if elected, it would maintain current cash going to agriculture to the end of the next parliament (2022). “That is more certainty than Europe is currently offering” said Dodds, who highlighted that without the UK contribution, EU Farm Commissioner Phil Hogan has suggested there could be a €3bn black hole in the EU CAP budget.

On access to the market in Britain for produce

from across the island, Dodds maintained that anything which jeopardises that access should be rejected.

She also dismissed the idea of “special status” for NI, pointing out that it was not something raised with her by farmers at Balmoral Show.

Instead she suggested that agriculture was being used by Sinn Fein “as a political football to drive forward the notion of a united Ireland via the back door”.

A letter from LacPatrick Co-op chief executive, Gabriel D’Arcy sent to Northern Ireland suppliers last week has confirmed that the province’s third largest milk buyer will no longer pay a 0.2p/litre bonus for milk coming from Red Tractor assured farms.

The change will come into effect on 1 January 2018, giving non Red Tractor assured suppliers seven months to apply for, and become, quality assured.

After this date, milk from non-Red Tractor assured farms will incur a 0.5p/litre penalty.

But effective from 1 January 2019, the letter also confirmed that LacPatrick will require that all milk they process comes from Red Tractor assured farms.

Those not Red Tractor Assured by this date, potentially will not have their milk collected by the co-op.

While the announcement has caused frustration among some suppliers, a spokesperson for the co-op confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal

72% of LacPatrick’s milk pool is currently Red Tractor

that they are facing growing pressure from larger customers, demanding that milk is sourced from Red Tractor assured farms.

Approximately 72% of LacPatrick’s milk pool is now from Red Tractor assured farms.

Keeping assured and non-assured milk separate during collection is becoming an increasing logistical problem, especially given that customers will not accept Red Tractor and non-Red Tractor milk being collected by the same tanker.

To help producers, the coop has designated field staff to assist suppliers applying to the scheme, and also help prepare farm records for a Red Tractor quality assurance inspection.

Currently, there is a three to four-week period from applying to the scheme until a farm is inspected, and finally becomes accredited.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017 Saturday 28 January

14 NEWS

Republic of Ireland

Farm incomes down 9%, dairy incomes suffer most THOMAS HUBERT NEWS CORRESPONDENT thubert@farmersjournal.ie

Irish farm incomes fell by 9% in 2016 to £20,901 (€24,060) with dairy and arable farmers feeling the pinch the most.

This is the lowest figure in six years.

The figures were released on Wednesday as part of the National Farm Survey by the country’s semi-state agricul-

ture reasearch and education body, Teagasc.The milk price crash affecting peak production months last year meant dairy farmers suffered the heaviest loss, with incomes down 17%. Almost £9,000 was wiped off the income of the average Irish dairy farm last year.

“Increases in milk volume and production efficiency further reduced production costs in 2016, but lower milk price

meant dairy farmers were unable to maintain their incomes,” said Teagasc economist Trevor Donnellan.

Arable farmers saw profits decline by 10% to £26,835 (€30,816) on average, which Teagasc attributes to the combination of decreases in yields and prices.

Despite low cattle prices in 2016, Teagasc says the rollout of the GLAS agri-environment scheme and the suckler cow

support scheme, the BDGP, led to a modest net income increase of 2% to 4% for suckler and beef farmers.

This left the average cattle f a r m i n c o m e a t £ 1 1 , 24 1 (€12,908). “Cattle farmers are still very reliant on direct payments, which comprise a large proportion of their income,” said Brian Moran of Teagasc.

Sheep farming returned a stable income, averaging

£13,932 (€16,011) last year, as increased payments compensated for lower lamb prices.

The average direct payment per farm was nearly £15,663 (€18,000) in 2016. This contributes to 75% of farm income on average and almost 100% for drystock farmers.

On-farm investment fell by nearly £87m to £600m (€690m) last year.

The largest capital investors were dairy farmers, with a

£217m (€245m) spend – this was a massive slowdown compared with the £261m (€300m) they invested the previous year.

Teagasc’s outlook for this year as far as dairying is concerned is “very positive, with a dramatic recovery in incomes forecast”. Income from drystock farming is expected to remain stable. The survey found that the average age of Irish farmers is 56.

Top 10 Irish CAP payment recipients THOMAS HUBERT NEWS CORRESPONDENT thubert@farmersjournal.ie

Two farms operated as companies in which Larry Goodman and members of his family are directors appear among the top 10. Branganstown Farms and Glydee Farms, both in the Ardee area, collected €217,153 and €214,275 respectively.

The single largest direct payment recipient in 2016 with €244,693 was O’Shea Farms, a 1,500ac farm in Piltown, Co Kilkenny, producing primarily carrots and potatoes. The farm also grows cereals and has a herd of spring calving Jersey-cross dairy cows.

Terence Coughlan, with a mixed tillage and livestock farm registered in Rathcormac, Co Cork, came next with €227,469 of CAP payments last year. Greenhills Windfarm, a company with an address in Killeagh, Co Cork, received €225,681. Its registered directors are Thomas Browne and Elizabeth Mary Browne.

Co-founders of Dawn Meats, John and Peter Quealley, collected €225,165 for their farm near Tramore. Patrick Reynolds of Navan, Co Meath received €224,496. Walter Furlong, managing director of Cooney Furlong grain merchants in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford received €220,736 through a limited company.

Cyril Goode of Arklow, Co Wicklow collected €220,110 in direct payments while the Louis A. McAuley company behind McAuley’s animal feeds in Balrath, Co Meath

ROVING BALERS: Tractors and balers in operation as part of the 32-County Bale Challenge for farmer Michael Callan, Paughanstown, Co Louth. The Active Agri Association is aiming to make 100 bales in every county of Ireland to raise money for Ronald McDonald House and Daisy Lodge. On Thursday they are in Cork, Kerry, Clare and Galway. \ Ramona Farrelly

Farmers win against Department AMY FORDE NEWS CORRESPONDENT aforde@farmersjournal.ie

The Irish Department of Agriculture was forced to make a number of U-turns on payment decisions involving farmers who complained to the Ombudsman.

In 2016, farmers brought

129 complaints to the Office of the Ombudsman against the Department.

In one such case, a farmer complained to the Ombudsman when the Department failed to approve his and his wife’s 2007 applications under the Farm Improvement Scheme (FIS).

The Department claimed

that it received the applications after the closing date of 21 October 2007, but the man said he had evidence that they were made in time.

Following examination, the Ombudsman felt there was compelling evidence to support his claim and the Department agreed to pay the farme r a n d h i s w i f e £ 23 , 620

(€27,100) in respect of their applications.

In another case, the Department sought repayment of £21,788 (€25,000) from a man after his land became flooded.

The man had received a grant under the Department’s Afforestation Scheme to establish a forest on his land, but the land was flooded in 2009.

It maintained that the man knew that his land was prone to flooding when he made the application and that he was partially responsible for damage to the forest.

The Ombudsman decided that the Department had acted unfairly in seeking recovery of the money and it agreed not to pursue the repayment.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 20172017 28June January

NEWS 15

Cattle boat sailing for Turkey DARREN CARTY dcarty@farmersjournal.ie

5,199 to Belgium and 5,945 extra to countries outside the EU, namely Turkey and Libya.

Three thousand young Irish bulls were loaded by export company Purcell Brothers last Thursday and are now sailing for Mercin in Turkey to arrive on 8 June.

Cattle bought for export are subject to inspection here by visiting Turkish vets and at the port by Department of Agriculture vets. Big numbers continue to be rejected due to horn stubs and ringworm infection. Exporter agents are not bidding at marts for cattle with horn regrowths - knocking about €80/head off prices.

Exports surge The total number of Irish cattle exported live up until week ending 21 May 2017 stands at 116,225.

This compares very favourably with the same period in 2016, with exports running 34,961 head or 43% above last year’s levels.

The drivers of this change are 14,289 extra cattle exported to the Netherlands (39,991), 10,458 more to Spain (35,863),

Export performance However, it is important when reviewing export performance in the year to date to take a wider view. Live exports are performing relatively steady to 2015 and 2013 levels but have fallen behind 2014 levels in recent weeks by nature of calf exports holding stronger for later into the season in 2014.

Live exports are running almost 35,000 ahead of last year.

The latest Department figure of 5,636 head for week ending 21 May 2017 is made up of 1,830 animals to Libya, as already mentioned, 1,597 head to Spain (1,529 calves), 727 calves to the Netherlands, 677 head to Italy (of which 544 are calves), 548 to Northern Ireland and 147 to France.

Export volumes are likely to dip for last week with the absence of cattle travelling to Libya, but will be boosted in the coming days by another shipment of bulls to Turkey.

LIVESTOCK SPECIALIST

Michael Jones bringing in his cows for evening milking at Cappagh, Ballyhooly, Co Cork. Michael runs 110 Holstein Friesian cows along with his father Joe and the herd is presently producing 28.5 litres at 3.57% protein and 3.9% butterfat on 2kg of meal and 1,600kg grass covers. \ Donal O’Leary

Audit finds fault with knackeries AMY FORDE NEWS CORRESPONDENT aforde@farmersjournal.ie

The Food Safety Authority in IrEeland has raised a range of non-compliance issues in an audit of 11 knackeries which deal with fallen animals.

Strict regulation surrounds the disposal of dead animals from farms to knackeries.

Knackeries and rendering plants are tightly regulated to ensure no animal byproduct can enter the human food

chain. Byproduct is not intended for human consumption.

Only seven of the 11 knackeries were found to be compliant with basic structure and hygiene requirements, with significant non-compliance in relation to one knackery.

In one facility, which was physically attached to both a dog breeding establishment and a haulage business, concerns were expressed about the separation of the various businesses.

No record of the stock held on site was available at this premises.

It also found that only two knackeries fully complied with rules on meat staining and denaturing.

In one knackery, significant volumes of tripe was stored in a large refrigerated container with no traceability documentation.

In seven establishments feeding meat from fallen animals to dogs, bones and carcase sides/quarters were fed

to greyhounds, which is not allowed, while another was storing unstained bovine legs and equine sides.

Records In all establishments, the auditors found that “efforts were being made by the businesses to maintain records, nevertheless, reconciliation of records was not possible”.

The Department of Agriculture has recommended new conditions for knackeries to meet in order to be approved.

‘GM-free’ German butter label Kerrygold quandry PAT O’TOOLE NEWS CORRESPONDENT

GM-free status labelling is becoming an established trend among German dairy product, where even some low-cost own-brand butter is

now GM-free.

According to Gisbert Kugler, Ornua’s CEO in Germany, Kerrygold’s elite status may be challenged by this development. He wants Irish co-ops to consider producing GM-free butter for the German market.

The majority of imported soya used in Ireland is from genetically modified seed.

Kerrygold has built its market dominance on the taste, colour, and spreadability of Irish butter, Kugler explained.

But the debate surrounding

GM “is over” in Germany, Kugler told IFA county chairs on a visit to Ornua’s German plant.

However, their view was that while the Kerrygold brand must be protected, GM-free status would be difficult to attain and maintain.

Eight farmers set up 420ac dairy farm

W

hat do you do when you run out of space to expand your farm? Why you pitch in with seven other farmers to set up one of the biggest farms in Ireland.

Anyway, The Dealer understands that a lease has been signed by eight farmers in the west of Ireland for a 420ac dairy farm, with a 300ac milk-

Bull attack at Irish mart leaves three hurt CAITRÍONA MURPHY DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR cmurphy@farmersjournal.ie

Three people injured in a bull attack in Ennis, Co Clare in the southwest of Ireland last week are expected to make a full recovery.

Three men were injured in the incident involving a bull in the unloading area of the Clare Marts premises at around 10am last Thursday morning.

All three were treated at the scene by ambulance paramedics and hospitalised, with one

Scourge of blackgrass ANDY DOYLE TILLAGE EDITOR

THE DEALER ing platform.

The ink is barely dry on the agreement.

It was a long night last Friday in the solicitor’s office, with the parties involved go-

ing in at 5pm and not leaving until 9pm, I heard.

I’ve spoken to a few in the group and they tell me planning permission has also been lodged for the buildings but there’s nothing official on any county council database just yet. The group hopes to start supplying milk next year to Aurivo.

I understand that one of Ireland cross border processors Aurivo will collect and

process the milk.

It is understood that a crossbred, high-EBI herd is to be established and progress has already started on the ground, with the whole farm being reseeded at the moment.

The terms of entry were saucy enough.

Each farmer is understood to have had to put forward either £139,000 (€160,000) or £69,498 (€80,000) plus 80 heifers.

man being released on the same day. The second man was released from hospital on Tuesday, while the third man remains in hospital.

“He is expected to make a full recovery, thankfully,” mart manager Martin McNamara told the Farmers Journal, adding that an investigation by the Health and Safety Authority has been completed.

The three injured men were all farmers attending the mart, but none of them owned the bull. The animal is believed to be an aged Charolais bull.

adoyle@farmersjournal.ie

Arable farmers continue to find fields infested with the scourge of blackgrass nationwide.

Farmers on land which had no history of blackgrass are having to destroy sections of their crop and take fields out of cropping to halt its spread.

It remains a mystery as to how the problem is arriving on these farms and assess-

ments have shown that these plants show resistance to all current herbicide chemistry.

One grower in the east of Ireland is about to remove a section from his winter wheat crop for the second year in a row in order to destroy a swath of dense blackgrass. Blackgrass is flowering at the moment so this action prevents it producing seeds.

Virtually nothing is being brought on to this farm so it is a mystery as to where these infestations are coming from.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

16 AGRIBUSINESS

AgriBusiness

Eoin Lowry (01) 4199500 elowry@farmersjournal.ie @FJAgribiz

JBS sends Brazil into turmoil Revelations of million dollar bribes, a secret tape and the world’s largest meat processor have created upheaval in Brazil, writes Lorcan Allen It’s less than a year since Dilma Rousseff was formally impeached as President of Brazil and already the country is once again mired in another corruption scandal. However, even by Brazilian standards the series of events that has unfolded over recent weeks is jaw-dropping.

The latest crisis in Brazil kicked off when seven senior executives at JBS, the world’s largest meat processor, entered into a plea bargain with Brazilian prosecutors relating to bribery and corruption charges. Brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista, who are the controlling shareholders in JBS, admitted to paying up to €165m in bribes in recent years to Brazilian politicians and officials.

The initial agreement between both sides saw the seven executives at JBS pay €62m in fines and agree to co-operate with Brazilian prosecutors in their corruption investigation, known as Operation Car Wash.

Cooperation It’s unclear how long JBS executives have been cooperating with Brazilian prosecutors but in the last number of weeks the fruits of this cooperation have come to light and have sent shockwaves through Brazilian political circles and financial markets.

At first, photos were leaked of a Brazilian lawmaker allegedly handling almost €135,000 in cash that he had received from one of the JBS executives now working with the Operation Car Wash investigation. The following day, Brazil’s Supreme Court released a video of Wesley and Joesley Batista in which the brothers are seen giving detailed evidence as to how they had paid millions of dollars in bribes to politicians, lawmakers and finance executives, including former pres-

Ibovespa index Wesley Batista, chief executive of JBS

Brazilian real v US dollar

0.32

It emerged Joesley Batista, chair of JBS, had secretly recorded on tape a conversation between himself and Brazil’s current President

JBS share price

0.308

9.9

ident’s Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva.

While these revelations were alarming, nothing was to compare to the firestorm created when it emerged Joesley Batista, chair of JBS, had secretly recorded on tape a conversation between himself and Brazil’s current President Michel Temer.

Secret recording In the recorded conversation from March this year, Temer is alleged to have endorsed the payment of bribes to a former lawmaker who is now jailed. The emergence of this tape has sent shockwaves through Brazilian politics, prompting calls for Temer to resign as President.

The revelations have also sent a shudder through financial markets with the Brazilian stock exchange, Ibovespa, giving up major losses last week, while Bra-

zil’s currency (real) plunged to its weakest point since December.

Shares in JBS also declined by more than a third on the back of the news.

JBS moved to stem losses this week as it announced the resignation of Joesley Batista as chair of the company. Batista will be replaced by Tarek Farahat, a former executive at Proctor & Gamble.

His brother Wesley Batista will continue as chief executive at JBS despite the plea agreement with prosecutors.

Negotiations While the seven executives at JBS have already agreed a plea bargain, a corporate fine remains to be agreed between JBS and investigators, with negotiations ongoing. J&F Investments, the holding company owned by Wesley and Joesley

6.3

Batista that controls JBS, has agreed to pay a fine close to €3bn.

Brazilian authorities say the fine would represent 6% of JBS revenues in 2016 and almost two-thirds (64%) of operating profits. Prosecutors argue they are entitled to seek fines up to 10% of revenues, but in light of “effective collaboration” in the investigation by JBS executives it had reduced the fine on offer.

Aside from the endemic corruption, the events over the last fortnight have given some insight into how JBS has engineered its meteoric rise to become the world’s largest meat processor.

It is now clear that the Batista brothers have paid millions in bribes to receive loans from Brazil’s state-run economic bank (BNDES) at rock bottom interest rates.

Fivefold increase in profits for North Cork co-op LORCAN ALLEN IRISH FARMERS JOURNAL lallen@farmersjournal.ie

North Cork co-op has reported a fivefold increase in operating profits for its 2016 financial year to €290,000.

Operating margins remain tight at just 0.4% but, with zero bank debt to repay, the co-op remains in a comfortable position. It made a loss before tax of €502,000, which

was mainly related to a paper loss of €826,000 on share revaluations. The biggest part of these share revaluations was down to a €600,000 decline in the value of shares in Aryzta held by North Cork.

Revenues for the year increased 12% to close to €68m, which was predominantly driven by increased product volumes. Sales were also boosted by healthy returns for butter and casein throughout

2016. Chris Caulfield, chief financial officer with North Cork, said the co-op’s two biggest customers are Ornua and Musgraves. Ornua accounted for about 35% of its sales in 2016 and Caulfield said he expects this to increase significantly in 2017, with the co-op now able to sell whey powders through Ornua.

On Brexit, Caulfield said North Cork remains vigilant but given that the UK market

represents less than 5% of the co-op’s turnover, it’s not as great a threat as it might be for other processors in Ireland.

The group has continued to invest in the business, completing €3m in capital projects last year.

Milk price supported North Cork paid an average milk price of 28.6c/l throughout 2016, which was supplemented by a 1c/l bonus paid

on all milk. This price support hit the co-op’s bottom line to the tune of €447,000.

In total, the co-op processed 111m litres of milk in 2016, with about 43m litres coming directly from its 140 farmer suppliers. The balance is brought in from other processors including, Dairygold, Glanbia, Carbery, Tipperary, Fealsbridge, Newtownsands and the Limerick Liquid Milk Producers Group. Almost a

fifth (19%) of North Cork’s milk volumes from direct suppliers is tied up in fixed milk prices schemes.

For the remainder of the year, Caulfield said North Cork is hopful of maintaining its base milk price of 32c/l. He said butter prices are trading strongly so far this year. Casein markets have fallen back in the first quarter of 2017 but are now starting to show signs of recovery, he added.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

MAIN MOVERS

AGRIBUSINESS 17

+6%

+4%

+2%

Butter â‚Ź5,370/t

SMP â‚Ź1,970/t

Glanbia â‚Ź18.01

Origin Ent â‚Ź6.68

-3%

Brent crude oil $50.63

-7%

Aryzta â‚Ź28.25

-11%

â‚Ź1= on 31/05/2017

A year of transition at Farmer Business Developments EOIN LOWRY AGRIBUSINESS EDITOR elowry@farmersjournal.ie

Farmer Business Developments plc, the founding company of FBD Holdings plc, which holds a 25% stake in the insurer and now also includes the FBD Hotels business, saw its proďŹ ts before tax fall 46% to â‚Ź6.2m in 2016.

The fall in proďŹ ts was driven by the continued suspension of the FBD Holdings dividend and the cost of servicing the loans relating to the acquisition of the hotels business from FBD Holdings.

Despite the fall in proďŹ ts, the investment company’s balance sheet, which is an important indicator of performance, grew â‚Ź5m to â‚Ź183m at the end of 2016. Farmer Business Developments took full control of FBD Hotels after it purchased the remaining 50% stake from FBD Holdings for â‚Ź48.5m at the end of 2015. As such, this is the company’s ďŹ rst year including this business.

â‚Ź46m bank borrowings

â‚Ź6m SURoW EHIRUH WD[

It is its largest single investment at â‚Ź86m, representing 47% of the balance sheet. This business had a strong year, with earnings (EBITDA) of â‚Ź9.9m, and contributed â‚Ź8.4m to profits. This included a â‚Ź1.6m proďŹ t from the sale of the Tower Hotel, which sold for â‚Ź11m during the year.

Its joint venture with Taylor Wimpey to develop lands at La Cala, Spain, is currently in its third round where phase one has sold out, phase two is 42% sold and phase three is launching. During the year, the company received â‚Ź5.8m from its share of development sales, which realised a proďŹ t of â‚Ź2.2m. The company also

sold its investment in a shopping centre in Geneva which realised a proďŹ t of â‚Ź1m.

The board remains conďŹ dent that patience on lands adjacent to a new airport in Berlin, valued at almost â‚Ź20m will pay o. While it holds some lands for sale currently, it aims to retain the most valuable land for when the airport opens, which now looks set to be mid-2018.

Investment The company’s investment in FBD Holdings was valued at â‚Ź61m at year end when the share price was â‚Ź6.89. FBD Holdings’ share price has since improved 20%, valuing the investment in FBD at â‚Ź73m today. The company said “the board’s policy is to maintain its stake in the insurer as a long-term investment in the expectation of both a return to dividend income and capital appreciationâ€?. Dividend income from this investment fell from â‚Ź2.9m in 2015 to â‚Ź72,000 in 2016 following the suspension of FBD’s dividend.

Ă Comment With the hotels business now fully owned and the lack of a dividend from the insurance company, the hotels are providing the main income stream to Farmer Business Developments.

Given the additional debt taken on to fund the hotels acquisition, which leaves net debt at year end at â‚Ź38m, the biggest question for shareholders is where the cash will come from to service these loans.

Firstly, the hotels performance is strong and improving driven by the growing economy, increasing room rates and occupancy levels. Secondly, the property development at LaCala is providing welcome additional income streams that are growing as each phase rolls out and DGGLQJ WR SURoWV 7KH 6SDQish property market is also recovering.

While the dividend from

FBD Holdings, which was in the region of â‚Ź3-4m in the past would be welcome, Farmer Business Developments has been able to continue to pay a dividend to its shareholders of â‚Ź2.7m per year. Given the value of its investments and development lands, and the income from the hotels, the level of debt is manageable while patience will reap the reward of its development assets over time.

Get your copy of the AgriBusiness report Following on from requests for the Irish Farmers Journal AgriBusiness Report 2017 in association with KPMG we’ve reprinted a limited quantity of the hard back edition of the report which can be ordered by calling Mary at 01-4199525 or emailing mdunphy@farmersjournal.ie. Priced at ₏25 including P&P. Multiple copy purchases also available - price on request.

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

18 AGRIBUSINESS

20 minutes with Gary Healy, IWEA

It appears as though people, government and resources are in retreat from rural communities Why are Ireland’s renewable energy targets important?

Ireland has targets for 2020 under our EU obligations which require us to have met 16% of our energy being sourced from renewables. I fear we are not going to meet those targets, meaning Ireland faces the unfortunate and avoidable prospect of having to pay fines for non-compliance.

How would you describe the relationship between rural Ireland and the wind industry?

To be honest, my assessment would be that it has been mixed. There is a disconnect I believe. When you look at the policy landscape and issues arising in rural Ireland, so much of it appears as though people, government and resources are in retreat from rural communities, which in turn rightly feel increasingly isolated. As an industry, we’ve invested €4.5bn in rural communities. We believe we have more to offer, more to invest and more to achieve – together with those communities. Farmers, landowners and people living in rural communities are the custodians of our landscape and they are central to progress which is why they must be recognised as such.

How do you see wind energy evolving LQ WKH QH[W o YH \HDUV" Turbines on many of Ireland’s earlier windfarms will need to be replaced over the next five to 10 years. I think there may be scope to reduce the size of some of these windfarms but that would only be possible if the turbines can be replaced by ones capable of generating more energy. That may mean replacing older turbines with new, taller turbines. Because of technology advances, these taller turbines emit less sound. In reality, smaller turbines in the future will require there to be more of them on a windfarm. But I think, as an industry,

Á3URo OH Title: CEO of Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA).

Percent of Irish electricity from wind: 23%.

Wind energy capacity currently installed: 2,851MW. Capacity target: c. 4,100MW by end2020.

Business briefing

Lorcan Allen

Strong farm activity in spring boosts Origin sales

Aryzta warns of headwinds and margin pressures

Improved weather conditions this spring saw greater activity on farms, which helped boost sales for Origin Enterprises in its important third quarter. The company reported underlying sales growth of 4% to €549m for the three months to the end of April.

This was driven by a 6% increase in sales volumes as farmer demand for agronomy services and crop inputs increased due to settled weather which allowed for “excellent” crop planting conditions, according to Origin.

The group said the results are set against the comparative period last year when weather conditions were much more inclement, leading to reduced farm activity and lower demand from farmers.

Origin is guiding full-year earnings of 44c to 46c per share, which would be in line with last year’s earnings of 44.5c per share. Origin is forecasting underlying growth in operating profits of between 8% and 11% to a range between €72m and €75m. Origin typically earns all of its profits in the second half of its financial year when cereal farmers are more active.

Aryzta has warned that increased headwinds relating to labour issues and negative operating leverage in its North American business continues to put pressure on margins. The announcement came this week as Aryzta reported close to 3% growth in revenues to €975m for its third quarter to the end of April.

However, underlying sales in the business were flat over the last three months as the company’s business in North America continues to drag performance. Underlying revenues in Aryzta’s North American division declined 4.3% in this latest quarter to €474m, primarily due to a 6.7% decline in volumes. This is the biggest decline in sales volume for 18 months and was only partially offset by a 2.4% increase in pricing.

In its European division, Aryzta reported underlying sales growth of 4.3% to €437m. This was driven by a 1.3% growth in volumes and a 3% increase in pricing.

The company said demand in Europe “remains strong” and that some progress had been made in commissioning new capacity.

The bottom line We start the season with some confidence that supply and demand are more balanced – Synlait chief executive John Penno on global dairy markets

ÁChart of the week EU-28 butter stocks vs Dutch weekly butter price (12 months) 120,000

5,000

Butter price

100,000 80,000

we need to have a wider and meaningful discussion around the idea of taller turbines and what that would mean for our host communities.

What impact does wind industry investment have on a community?

On average, every 30MW windfarm (12 turbines with a generating capacity of 2.5MW each) requires an infrastructure spend of €45m, creating engineering skillset jobs in construction and maintenance.

Such a windfarm delivers €300,000 in development contributions and up to €250,000 in annual commercial rates to the local authority. Once connected, the windfarm generates enough energy to power 19,000 homes.

Do the many legal challenges to windfarms threaten the future of wind energy in Ireland?

Too much of what we do in Ireland by way of development is ending up in the court system. By its very nature, anything that ends up in a legal action will be fractious, expensive and there will ultimately be bad feeling on both sides. We need to fundamentally rethink our planning system and change how we engage with communities that ultimately have to host development.

And onshore wind energy needs to be part of that discussion.

4,000

60,000

Stocks 3,000

40,000 20,000 0

May 2016

World news Rising pig prices take months to pass on – Danish Crown Danish Crown, the Denmark-based pork processor, has said it has taken some months to pass on rising pigmeat costs to its retail customers. Jais Valeur, chief executive of Danish Crown said that pig prices paid to primary producers had risen rapidly over the last six months but that retailers were slow to pass this increase on to consumers.

Valeur made the comments as Danish Crown revealed a 4% increase in sales to €4.1bn for the first six months of its fi-

May 2017

Since early February, weekly butter prices recorded by the Dutch dairy board have soared by 33%, or €1,300/t. In the same period, butter stocks across Europe have all but disappeared.

2,000

nancial year to the end of March. The company said this was the first time in its history that half-year sales had surpassed the €4bn mark.

However, rising pig prices saw the company’s raw material costs increase during the six-month period which negatively affected margins. Half-year operating profits declined 7% to €138m, as margins narrowed 40 basis points to 3.3%. Danish Crown said it paid an extra 15%, or €81m, to pig producers during the year for pork.

European pig prices have risen sharply over the last year as a result of strong demand from Asia, primarily China, coupled with tightening pig numbers in Europe. Danish Crown processed 630m kilos of pigmeat in the first half of the year, a 3% decline on last year.

Danish Crown reported a solid performance in its beef operations as market prices remained stable since October.

The company processes in excess of 500,000 head per annum and controls 67% of all cattle slaughtering in Denmark.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 28 January 2017

AGRIBUSINESS 19

Scotch premium: envy of the world

S INDUSTRY INSIGHT Phelim O’Neill

The success of having Scotch Beef recognised throughout Europe as the premium meat brand is sustained by the combination of an excellent product and the story of its tradition and heritage well told

cotch Beef is the longestablished premium beef brand of Europe, commanding the highest farmgate price of all the UK regions and Ireland.

Of course Scotland’s northerly location means farmer production costs are higher, so securing every extra penny is essential. Lamb and pigmeat don’t have the same brand recognition internationally, though they have a strong presence in the home market.

Lamb is complimentary to the beef trade ,and quite often it piggybacks on beef in markets.

Managing the brand reputation and promotion of it is the responsibility of Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) the industry levy board established in 2000 as a product of devolved Government.

It took over some of the functions of the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC), who were the UK levy board, the Scottish Quality Beef and Lamb Association and the Scottish Pig Industry Initiative.

It became a nondepartmental public body (NDPB) in 2008, collecting the levy that was previously paid to the MLC. Levy organisations never buy an animal or kilogramme of meat, and farmers often question what benefit they offer.

After all, the value of livestock is realised by the factory, or selling to another farmer through a livestock mart.

QMS collects a levy of £5.50 on beef cattle, £0.80 on sheep and £1.26 on pigs, paid between farmers and factories.

Value for money The fact that QMS was originated by a combination of farming and factory representatives suggests that there is a general recognition that the £2.1bn industry – that involves around 50,000 people in farming and processing plus support services – has to market and promote its products.

Any brand of significance invests a sizeable budget in promoting and selling its product. When the product is sold by thousands of farmers, in-

dividually promoting their beef, lamb or pork isn’t a runner.

Farmers do not like to see any deductions on their kill sheet, but the real question should be: does QMS deliver value for their money?

They collect approximately £2.5m in beef levies, £1m on sheepmeat and £0.5m from the pigmeat sector in a combination of farmer- and factory-paid levies.

This is spent under three broad headings of consumer communication (which accounts for 70% of the budget), industry development takes 20% and 10% is used for other activities including economic services.

Match funding The success of having Scotch Beef recognised throughout Europe as the premium meat brand is sustained by the combination of an excellent product and the story of its tradition and heritage well told.

There are two particular contributions that QMS has made to this, one of which has had the benefit of being a revenue generator as well.

Achieving status as a verifiable product of geographical

£2.1bn Size of Scotland’s meat industry

indication (PGI) for Scotch Beef and Lamb is significant, as it is awarded sparingly by the EU to food products with particular characteristics linking a food to a particular region.

They are especially common in Mediterranean countries and usually apply to smaller, more tightly defined regions.

Getting it for all of Scotland was a particular accomplishment, as a PGI designation is thought of as the intellectual property for food of an area.

PGI allows a NDPB to market the label from levy funds and also qualifies them to apply for EU match funding to do so. QMS has successfully drawn

Scotch beef supplied by Highland Meats (Dawn) sampled by from left Laurent Vernet and Uel Morton QMS, with Niall Browne of Dawn Meats.

down £5m of EU funds over the past decade for campaigns.

The other element that gives Scotch Beef an edge is the fact that 90% of beef and lamb – plus virtually all pigs – are Quality Assured (QA).

While QA is often an irritation for farmers, it is what underpins the brand integrity of the meat and really comes into its own at times of crisis, which never seem far away in the industry.

A further positive aspect of Scotland’s beef reputation is the fact that three quarters of the Scottish cow herd is suckler-bred, meaning that beef is much more than a byproduct of the dairy industry.

More to do The job of promoting Scotch Beef, Lamb and Pork is never done, with Brexit presenting a particular challenge for securing export markets for the parts of the beef carcase not used in the UK and lambs to the continent, in particular.

QMS recognises the need to develop international markets beyond Europe, hence its participation in events like the recent SIAL show in Toronto where Scotch Beef and Lamb were sampled.

Laurent Vernet, head of mar-

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keting in QMS, is of the view that there is potential there, particularly for lamb. Currently, Australia is the biggest supplier, but Europe is on a different season cycle, and there is a strong Canadian affinity with Scotland.

He is frustrated by the slow pace of opening internation-

al markets. This is not a devolved issue and is carried out

by DEFRA on behalf of the whole UK. He is anxious that they fully use the recently achieved negligible risk BSE status for Scotland and Northern Ireland in negotiations to hasten the process.

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

20 AGRIBUSINESS

Global Focus Farming under communism and capitalism The communist government still controls land in Vietnam, but is this sustainable?

Aisling Hussey reports

S

ocialist messages and red ags are displayed prominently across the roadsides in cities and towns, while the country is woken up by daily announcements from the government blaring from speakers early each morning. There is no mistaking that Vietnam is a communist state.

However, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s business capital, you can also see state propaganda and billboards for beauty products displayed side by side.

Back in 2014, the city became home to the country’s ďŹ rst McDonald’s – the ultimate symbol of capitalism.

From the golden arches to the hammer and sickle, the juxtaposition between communism and commercialism is visible and also exists within its agricultural industry.

Vietnam is ruled by a single party communist government, though the Ä?Ă”i mĂ“i reforms introduced in 1986 started the process of creating a “socialist orientatedâ€? economy.

Restrictions on the private sector were abolished and the process to decollectivise farming began, with subsequent land laws introducing long-term leases for agricultural land.

Farmers can lease land for up to 50 years and pass on rights to family members and sub-let to neighbours. However, the communal spirit still reigns, with the government ultimately still in control of Vietnam’s land resource.

Representation Meanwhile, unlike its equivalent in Ireland, the Vietnamese Farmers Union (VNFU) is state owned – leaving farmers without an independent lobbying body.

Unsurprisingly, the organisation supports the government line on land ownership. “In Vietnam we have a dierent land policy than other countries because the land belongs to the people but is managed by government. The government gives the right of the land to the people, VNFU’s ďŹ rst vice chairman Leu Vu Dieu told the Irish Farmers Journal. “They have the right to transfer land to the next generation, they have the right of access and the people who have the land have transfer rights.â€?

At five times the size of Ireland, the average farm size in Vietnam remains small at just 3ha-6ha. Given the structure of farming in the country, it is impossible for the country’s agricultural sector to even begin to feed the country’s population of 95m.

Indeed, as part of the government’s dairy development plan, the country’s dairy herd saw decent growth over the years as farmers were encouraged to purchase cattle. However, lacking advisory services, the country is barely 30%

The bustling Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s business capital. (Inset): the hammer and sickle is a ubiquitous symbol of communism.

self-suďŹƒcient in dairy, while farmers earn an average of just â‚Ź900 per annum.

However, head of the Irish Business Association in Vietnam, John Marron, thinks Vietnam has the potential to become a net exporter if it was easier for farmers to expand their enterprises and access information. “Compared to its neighbours Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines, Vietnam’s agricultural sector has the highest potential,â€? he said. “They have the potential to feed southeast Asia. The highlands are great dairy country. If you had eďŹƒcient dairy farms there, you could export to all of Asia. “The social system has handicapped agriculture in Vietnam. The central planning proponents will always promote the collective spirit of farming, but they do that to the detriment of the long-term sustainability. They support practices that don’t make sense,â€? he adds.

Marron draws parallels with Ireland and Vietnam. “There is this transition from small farmers to economically viable farming units. The transition that Ireland went through 40 years ago, Vietnam now has to go through,� he said. “Getting the Irish dairy story through to Vietnam is important and some of the dairy companies are promoting that. They see that as a blueprint.�

These dairy companies, which operate their own large-scale farms and process milk from farmers, are leading change in agriculture and supporting smallholders. Despite this, Marron thinks that the private sector recognises that farmers need to expand. “The dairy companies are regulating the market, but they can only do so much,�

/HX 9X 'LHX o UVW vice chair of the Vietnam Farmers Union

DalatMilk CEO HĂŁi Ngo Minh.

WATCH ONLINE watch the video on farmersjournal.tv

Ă‚ This article was supported through the Simon Cumbers Media Fund.

he says. “No matter what they do, industrial farms are a short-term ďŹ x.â€?

In return, we can create jobs for the local people there.�

Dairy sector Vinamilk is Vietnam’s largest dairy company, with 10 farms and 13 processing facilities throughout Vietnam.

This month, the company shipped 2,000 dairy cows from the US to its farm in the Tay Ninh Province, and it also recently opened an EU certiďŹ ed organic dairy farm with 500 cows imported from Australia. They also have contracts with approximately 8,000 farmers to supply milk – some of these farms will have 1020 cows, others have a bigger capacity with 50 cows.

Between its own farms and suppliers, it has 120,000 cows providing a cumulative daily output of over 727,500 litres per day. Guaranteeing good standards across all farms is a priority and challenge for Vinamilk. “First of all, we sign a contract to guarantee we will collect milk for the whole year as long as they follow all of our instructions and guidance for breeding and so on,� said Hanh Pham, a representative for Vinamilk.

Like farmers, Vinamilk also faces difficulties when it comes to expansion, especially given that some parts of Vietnam are not suitable for dairy farming due to inclement weather conditions. “The most challenging thing is the access to land. The land has to be in an appropriate location and needs easy access to the traďŹƒc and the best weather,â€? she said. “Whenever we want to expand, we always work with the government of a speciďŹ c province to see if they have the land capacity so we can develop a farm.

DalatMilk The majority of milk you see in supermarkets in Vietnam is UHT. DalatMilk diers as it is a premium brand of fresh, pasteurised milk.

The company has its own dairy farm with 500 cows in Da Lat, Lâm Ä?Ă•ng Province, which supplies 50% of the company’s milk pool. The rest comes from local suppliers, who are paid 49c/l. However, due to ineďŹƒcient practices on farm, the cost of production is 45c/l.

HĂŁi Ngo Minh is the CEO of DalatMilk and also serves as vice-president of TH Group, which is the second-largest dairy company in Vietnam. He is keen to see farmers improve and expand, and is looking closely at the co-operative model in Ireland, but cites lack of access to information and markets as an issue. “The scale of farms is very small. But the farmer can develop to become more eďŹƒcient and productive. They want to develop the farm but they don’t know where they can sell their milk and how they can improve their operation to become more productive,â€? he says. “With local authorities...together we can support the farmer to develop.â€?

With growing demand for quality dairy, HĂŁi Ngo Minh is calling on the government to support the agricultural industry with subsidies for fresh milk and machinery grants. “They have no support or subsidies for the local farmer. The government must do that. “I think the important thing the government has to do is to support the dairy industry in Vietnam.â€?

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

VIEWPOINTS 21

Viewpoints The squeeze on food

T

I have no doubt that this is he last year sums up true but we are seeing the the problem. In the added value in food sticking latest summaries of with the manufacturers and price charges across supermarkets rather than the world, the price trickling down to farmers. of food is down 5% while The We have seen no recent analEconomist magazine’s allysis on where the farmers’ items index is up 5.7%.

There has been a recovery in DEMPSEY AT share of the retail price for key food goods has gone over all kinds of commodities over LARGE the last decades. the last year with metals up Matt China has become our bigalmost 25% and oil up over 6%.

What is the sensible way for Dempsey gest market for milk powder and our second biggest for policymakers to reverse this pigmeat. The encouraging seeming unending squeeze on signs on beef mean that it farmers and food producers? will become important for us in that As we approach this harvest, the sector as well. prospects are for prices to farmers to I have no doubt that one of the reabe roughly the same as in the early to sons Glanbia’s shareholders voted so mid-1980s, less than in some years, overwhelmingly for the recent strucmore than in others but when we look tural changes was that they gave farmat wage levels and costs across the ers direct access to plc shares and divieconomy, we are on a dierent planet dends, as well as retaining a large compared with 30 years ago. co-op share in the overall business.

The ironic part is that the EU has But this single example does not get swung from them being a major imover the central dilemma of how Irish porter of food commodities to where and EU farmers can share in the overit is now – a dynamic, high-quality all wellbeing of the agribusiness secfood and beverage exporter with an tor. The direct payments we have seen agri-trade surplus of over â‚Ź18bn and over the last 17 years go some way toagri exports have grown 29% since wards trying to get money into farm2011. ers’ pockets over and above what the What hasn’t been analysed is how present market system will pay. Commuch extra of the revenue earned by missioner Hogan has asked for ideas these high-end, quality-assured exthat might shape his proposals for the ports is ending back with the producforthcoming review of the CAP. ing farmers. We are told that tightenWe should hope that some sensible ing quality assurance standards are options are submitted to him. necessary to “stay in the marketâ€?.

Fertility, Performance & Health

à THE HOME FARM: silage delayed – caught by rain With my late perennial reseeds I was comfortable enough leaving the silage for this week. However, we KDYH GHoQLWHO\ EHHQ FDXJKW RXW E\ the weather. It may have been a dry spring but after continuous rain all day on Saturday, and on and off heavy showers since then, the grass is too wet and some of the land, especially the reclaimed areas, needs a few days to dry out to take the heavy machinery. In addition, my contractor is seeing a backlog building up which is further pushing the date back and the quality down.

7KH TXDOLW\ RI oUVW FXW VLODJH LV VR important that I am now realising that maybe the northern farmers who took light cuts during the dry spell were right.

While there is no point in panicking at this stage, I would like to have our oUVW FURS LQ WKH SLW Meanwhile, on the day-to-day business, we are getting excellent utilisation of the grass using zero grazing – it would seem from the weighings we have done that we are getting greater weight gains than from normal grazing but zero grazing comes at a cost and I am still not sure if there is an extra margin achieved.

Nevertheless, I am surprised at the amount of people I am bumping into

who are carrying out some degree of zero grazing both in dairying and in beef, especially bull beef production.

We will know more clearly when the bulls reach 500kg to 550kg OLYHZHLJKW DQG FRPH LQ IRU WKHLU oQDO fattening period.

Income difference The difference between dairy farm incomes and those from every other mainstream farming enterprise is stark and the latest Teagasc Farm ,QFRPH 6XUYH\ oJXUHV GHPRQVWUDWH it clearly.

Over the last while, I have received two proposals for arrangements that would involve us leasing out the entire farm and seeing a large dairy farm emerge.

7KH RYHUDOO RXWSXW DQG SURoW SRtential increase from the land looks compelling and if I were at a differHQW VWDJH LQ OLIH LW ZRXOG EH GLIoFXOW to ignore the outlook for increased SURoWDELOLW\ Taking these factors into account, I was not that surprised when I saw two prominent tillage farming families in the general Wexford area deciding to go into dairying.

At this stage, we have simply given the latest proposal to our accountant and solicitor for an informed view.

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

22 LIVESTOCK

Livestock

(01) 419 9530 livestock@farmersjournal.ie @FJdairy @FJbeef @FJsheep

Quality May grass driving production DW *UHHQo HOG On average the herd at the Greenfield dairy farm in Co Kilkenny is delivering about two kilogrammes of milk solids per cow per day for the last two weeks, reports Jack Kennedy

G

VIDEO ONLINE

watch the video on farmersjournal.tv

rass quality is holding well so far at Greenfield Farm Kilkenny, with a nice mix of clover and grass in swards.

The recent rains have boosted growth rates, which reached a peak this week of 110kg DM/ha. No paddocks have been topped. A decision was taken to skip over three paddocks as covers were too high. In years gone by on a lot of well-run dairy farms all paddocks would have been topped once already and maybe a second time. Growth rates and quality suffered.

The April milk statement for Greenfield Farm that arrived last week showed a bottom line of €74,400. For the same month last year it was

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Farm cover is up to 738kg (180kg/cow) at a stocking rate of 4.1 cows/ha.

€53,750. That’s a difference of €20,650.

Now this year we are milking more cows and sold more litres (210,600 v 196,200). Herd fat percentage was poorer but protein was improved. Fat percentage this year was 4.40% versus 4.62% last year while protein percentage was 3.60% versus 3.52% last year. So when you total it all up given the extra litres we sold 17,300 kg milk solids this year compared with 16,440 kg of milk solids in 2016. The other big change is milk price – Glanbia average price per kilo milk solids for the same month last year was €3.04 versus €4.34/kg MS this year – a 30% shift up in milk price.

At the moment 353 cows are being milked with about 40 of them on oncea-day in the second herd.

When we compare the Greenfield figures for the last month to the Glanbia average composition percentages there is a significant difference. The

Silage

There are only 26ha (65 acres) stopped for main-crop first-cut silage. So far, about 150 round bales of surplus grass have been taken out and there are bales left from last year but all that is still well short of what is needed. We know from past experience that the best time to bulk up winter feed for this farm is in the first cut so the pressure will be on to have enough winter feed.

Some silage was fed out in early May when the dry weather pinched growth rates. For two weeks about 4kg of silage dry matter per head was fed - in

farm delivered a fat percentage of 4.40% compared with the Glanbia average of 3.93%. The farm protein percentage delivered was 3.60% versus the Glanbia group average of 3.41%. Total both up and multiply by the April volume and there is a difference of €6,000 in the milk cheque for the same volume.

Last month we had a difference of €7,700 for the same calculation. Over two months that’s €13,700 in the additional value of milk solids alone when we compare the Greenfield percentages to the Glanbia average figures for the same volume.

Reseeds The reseeds are beginning to really move (see video) now that they have got a good drop of rain. Seedling weeds (docks etc) are also beginning to emerge and a spray will be used

total about 60 round bales of high-quality silage from last year. Also, when the silage was going in 4kg of meal was fed per cow. Over the period about 70kg of meal was fed per cow bringing the total meal fed to 150kg per cow for the year to date. Feeding allowed the grass requirement to fall from 17kg per day down to less than 9kg per day on aver-

in the next two weeks as we have repeatedly got the best response from spraying at this early stage. As soon as the weeds reach the size of a €2 coin they are ready for spraying. The grass should also be strong enough at that stage. Nitrogen (at a bag/acre) went out this week to give the young grass a boost and keep it moving above the weeds.

Breeding On average about seven or eight cows are repeating every day at the moment.

One day I called last week there were 11 cows in heat – that was the most there had been for any day of the second round. Other days it was five, six and seven returning in heat. By the end of this week we will be six weeks into breeding. The vasectomised bulls are working away in the herd. One did get a slight knock leaving the parlour and

age, allowing time for the farm to fill up with grass again when the rains arrived.

Now farm cover is up to 738kg (180kg/ cow) at a stocking rate of 4.1 cows/ha. The last three growth rates recorded were 80kg, 80kg and 110kg per day. See video of the cows performing well now at grass and in good condition despite the early May grass shortage.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

LIVESTOCK 23

Care when spraying rushes with MCPA PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS UPDATE: Issue 13 – Pesticide control and regulation division, DAFM The detection of MCPA residues in drinking water supplies continues to give rise for concern.

Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Drinking Water Report for Public Water Supplies 2015, which reported 61 schemes aected by pesticide excess in 2015, compared with 28 in 2014. Residues of MCPA were detected in 41 of these supplies. None of the breaches gave rise to any health concerns but they exceeded legal limits.

The legally permissible limit for MCPA and other pesticides is eectively zero (1 part in 10bn), and is so low that a single drop or foil seal from a pesticide container could potentially cause an excess along a small stream for a distance of 30km. While the increased trend of detections in recent years may be partly due to the more thorough monitoring that is now required, the data reflects the extensive use of pesticides in circumstances where they can get into watercourses. has been lame since but the rest are performing alright. Remember breeding started 22 April and 88% (298/337) were submitted in the ďŹ rst 22 or 23 days.

7KH 7HDJDVF *UHHQoHOG 'DLU\ 3URJUDPPH ZDV FUHDWHG LQ SDUWQHUVKLS ZLWK NH\ LQGXVWU\ VWDNHKROGHUV LQFOXGLQJ WKH 'HSDUWPHQW RI $JULFXOWXUH )LVKHULHV DQG )RRG *ODQELD SOF )%' 7UXVW ,ULVK )DUPHUV -RXUQDO DQG $,%

Plan protection products Farmers are not exclusive users of plant protection products (consider gardeners, amenity/landscape users, golf clubs etc), but information from the catchments which ďŹ gured prominently in follow-up investigations in 2015 and 2016 suggests that use by farmers was the most likely source, in particular with respect to detections of MCPA. MCPA is the active substance in a number of herbicides predominantly used by grassland farmers to control rushes.

Brussels insights Need to know what’s going on in the corridors of power? Read Phelim O’Neill’s weekly analysis.

Ă Guidelines Ă‚ Always read and follow label instructions. Ă‚ Be aware of the location of nearby water bodies and their proximity to the intended treatment area. A buffer zone of 5m from watercourses must be maintained when spraying MCPA-based products. Ă‚ Find out the location of any nearby drinking water abstraction points and ensure compliance with safeguard zones. Ă‚ Ensure application equipment is properly maintained and calibrated. Ă‚ 1HYHU oOO VSUD\HUV GLUHFWO\ from a watercourse. Ă‚ Perform chemical handling operations well away from watercourses and drains. Ă‚ Take great care to avoid spills. Ă‚ Minimise water volumes (rain

and washings) on handling area. Ă‚ Do not spray if the grass is wet or if heavy rain is forecast within 48 hours after application. Ă‚ Do not spray during windy conditions.

In many locations the problem with rushes will have been exacerbated by the recent sequence of wet summers which has further restricted control opportunities. Given the very low level of contamination which can result in a breach, it is essential that the very highest of stand-

Ă‚ Clean and wash down sprayer after use.

Farmers should be aware that if they fail to adhere to the code of Good Plant Protection Practice (GPPP), in many cases it is their own drinking water supply they are contaminating.

ards are employed by all individuals applying MCPA products. The above guidelines should be noted and acted upon by all users of plant protection products in order to ensure the quality of Irish water courses and to reduce, in particular, the levels of MCPA detected.

SAVE THE DATE EXPANDING FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS Thurs 13 July 11am - 2pm

LIC Monitor Farm Open Day Joe & Kathleen Kirwan, Laurel Lodge, Horse & Jockey, Thurles, Co. Tipperary

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

24 LIVESTOCK

Dairylink Ireland

Mid-year update from Co Tyrone

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Conail Keown visits Robin Clements to get an update on how his year is going

R

obin Clements currently has 165 cows milking on the farm; 115 are grazing the home farm block of 100 acres and 50 cows are indoors on zero-grazed grass 24/7, which is coming in from the outfarm 2.5 miles away. The stocking rate on the home block is 2.8 cow/ha and can be increased as grass growth continues to move up. In the short term, however, a TB test has meant that young stock are also grazing the 40ha home block.

Zero grazing started in March this year with one load brought in each day for the cows indoors. Cows are now 200 days into lactation and average daily production is 22 litres/cow at 4.3% fat and 3.45% protein, with an average concentrate feeding rate of 2kg/day. This performance is an average of all cows in the herd – both zero-grazed and out in paddocks.

Estimated performance from the two groups is based on milk recording information and manual calculation during milking as the parlour is not equipped with auto identiďŹ cation. The high-yielding, indoor, zero-grazed cows are producing 28 litres on 2.5kg meal at 4.15% fat and 3.36% protein. Paddock-grazing cows are doing 19.3 litres on 1kg meal at 4.95% fat and 3.65% protein.

You can’t compare between indoors and outdoors – they are dierent genetics, at a dierent stage of lactation, on dierent feed and outdoor cows obviously have more walking to do.

Robin Clements Trillick, Co Tyrone &DOYLQJ o QLVKHG WKLV \HDU RQ -DQX DU\ ZLWK RI WKH KHUG FDOYHG E\ 1RYHPEHU :H KDYH UHSODFH PHQW KHLIHU FDOYHV QRZ RQ WKH JURXQG $ 7% WHVW FORVHG WKH KHUG GRZQ EDFN LQ -DQXDU\ EXW DOO EXOO FDOYHV KDG EHHQ VROG EHIRUH WKH 7% WHVW %UHHGLQJ VWDUWHG RQ 'HFHPEHU 7KH SUH EUHHGLQJ ZRUN FRPSOHWHG EH IRUH WKLV KDV LPSURYHG WKH SURSRUWLRQ RI WKH KHUG EUHG LQ WKH o UVW VL[ ZHHNV UHVXOWLQJ LQ PRUH UHSODFHPHQWV RQ WKH JURXQG QH[W \HDU DQG D PRUH FRPSDFW FDOYLQJ SURo OH 7KH ODVW VFDQ ZDV DW WKH HQG RI 0DUFK ZLWK FRZV DQG KHLIHUV VFDQQHG LQ FDOI DQG GXH LQ WKH o UVW ZHHNV RI FDOYLQJ :H KDYH DOZD\V EHHQ SXWWLQJ D ORW RI HPSKDVLV RQ IHUWLOLW\ DQG ZKDW ZH WHQG WR o QG LV WKDW WKH SRRUHU IHUWLOLW\ FRZV HQG XS FXOOLQJ WKHPVHOYHV )URP D PDQDJHPHQW SRLQW RI YLHZ KHDW GHWHF WLRQ KDV EHHQ UDPSHG XS ZLWK PRUH XVH RI WKH FRZ KHDW PRQLWRU IURP 105 DQG P\ VRQ 6WHSKHQ LV QRZ GRLQJ DOO WKH LQVHPLQDWLQJ 7KH EUHHGLQJ SROLF\ RQ WKH IDUP LV FHQWUHG RQ VLUHV ZLWK KLJK IHUWLOLW\ WUDLWV DQG LPSURYLQJ WKH PLON VROLGV FRPSRQHQWV RI WKH KHUG 7KH FRZ W\SH LV FULWLFDO IRU WKH IXWXUH RI WKH IDUP

Kevin McGrade, Dromore, Co Tyrone

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Bill Brown, Millisle, Co Down

Charles Clarke, Bailieborough, Co Cavan

IRISH

FARMERS JOURNAL farmersjournal.ie

Table 1: Robin Clements’ herd performance 2016 herd 2017 target performance performance &RZV LQ KHUG %XWWHUIDW 3URWHLQ 6ROLGV FRZ NJ FRZ

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0HDO IHG FRZ NJ

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1,800

170

7,000 1,800 11

17

Weekly grass and milk production statistics from participating farms Week ending 28/05/17

B Brown

D Brady

724

547

648

695

774

549

64

83

122

82

77

72

Stocking rate (cows/ha)

4

2.9

3.4

3.9

3.7

3.5

Days at grass this week

7

7

7

7

7

7

% of herd milking

100

100

100

100

100

100

Average concentrate fed (kg/cow/day)

2.5

2

0.4

3

Spring

Autumn

Autumn

5.7 70% autumn 27.5

Spring

Average farm cover (kgDM/ha) Growth rate (kg DM ha/day)

C Clarke R Clements

K McGrade N Corbett

27

22

19.7

5 70% autumn 27.2

Fat %

3.97

4.3

4.52

3.79

3.79

3.81

Protein %

3.35

3.45

3.83

3.55

3.4

3.36

Milk solids (kg/cow/day)

2.04

1.68

1.69

2.06

2.04

2.14

Calving system

David Brady, Tierlahood, Stradone, Co Cavan

Robin Clementsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cows are zero grazing inside with the rest of the herd grazing outside. INSET: A test pit on the farm with shallow topsoil and uniform subsoil.

Subsoil is dense with stones and tight clay, allowing for very little ZDWHU p RZ

Fertiliser

Nigel Corbett and family, Banbridge, Co Down

Robin Clements, Trillick, Co Tyrone

Supported by

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Milk yield (l/cow/day)

29

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

MILK LEAGUE 25

Pressure builds for May increase JACK KENNEDY DAIRY EDITOR jkennedy@farmersjournal.ie

Most of the large milk processors held the same price for April as they paid out in March. Given the market changes in the last few weeks, there will be big pressure to increase May price when coop boards start meeting from next week. With butter making near record prices of €5,500/t and even the dreaded skim milk powder making over €2,000/t farmers will be looking for their share of the upturn.

April league The west Cork Co-ops are out on top and this price excludes the milk quality bonus (0.5c/l) that is available for top-quality milk which over 70% of west Cork suppliers will be able to get. Aurivo were second in March but they have dropped down as they have an “early calving bonus” which has dropped out.

North Cork co-op dropped price in March but have lifted again for April. Lakeland had a 0.37c/l transport charge on

top of the C value but they have decided to drop this charge. That means LacPatrick is the only processor left with a significant transport charge on top of the C value.

North Cork clarification: Last month, the value of fat and protein information returned to us from North Cork included North Cork’s milk quality bonuses (SCC, TBC and SDAS). One supplier queried the figures when they didn’t tally with his milk statement.

Instead of the A value quoted (€5.88), it should have been €5.49. Similarly, the B value quoted was €3.53 when it should have been €3.29.

North Cork pays a milk quality bonus for SCC under 300,000 and TBC under 40,000 so it should be included in this league but not in the A and B values.

Our league is calculated at 250,000 SCC and 30,000 TBC so these quality bonuses were and should be included in the end result price. I understand North Cork is working on a new format for displaying the price differently on its monthly milk statements to avoid confusion.

Figure 1

April milk cheque (€) for farmers supplying 12% of 300,000 litres (using national average solids) €12,124 €12,124 €12,115 €12,115 €11,682 €11,672 €11,606 €11,585 €11,559 €11,531 €11,494 €11,479 €11,476 €11,462 €11,408 13,000

Bandon Co-op Barryroe Co-op Drinagh Co-op Lisavaird Arrabawn Dairygold Boherbue Aurivo Lakeland Dairies Centenary/Thurles LacPatrick Co-op Tipperary Co-op Kerry Group Glanbia North Cork 1,500

Figure 2

April milk cheque (€) for farmers supplying 12% of 300,000 litres (using co-op average solids) excluding conditional bonuses Barryroe Co-op Lisavaird Drinagh Co-op Dairygold Arrabawn Aurivo Glanbia Tipperary Co-op Bandon Co-op Boherbue Lakeland Dairies Centenary/Thurles Kerry Group LacPatrick Co-op North Cork 1500

P3.39% F3.86% P3.36% F3.82% P3.34% F3.82% P3.39% F3.91% P3.36% F3.93% P3.33% F4.01% P3.41% F3.93% P3.36% F4.01% P3.26% F3.78% P3.28% F3.96% P3.31% F3.86% P3.37% F3.85% P3.32% F3.83% P3.26% F3.85% P3.35% F3.85%

Expressed at national average solids of 4.10% fat and 3.45% protein

Milk league for April 2017 A

B

C

Ranked on €/kg milk solids

Cash price c/l net of transport and conditional bonuses at 3.6 BF and 3.3 PR

Notes

Division one (over €4.30/kg MS) Barryroe Co-op

5.918

3.945

0.040

4.330

30.73

Bandon Co-op

5.918

3.945

0.040

4.332

30.73

Held March price & excl 0.50 c/l for SCC under 200,000 cells/ml Held March price & excl 0.50 c/l for SCC under 200,000 cells/ml

Drinagh Co-op

5.867

3.911

0.037

4.329

30.73

Held March price & excl 0.50 c/l for SCC under 200,000 cells/ml

Lisavaird

5.867

3.911

0.037

4.329

30.73

Held March price & excl 0.50 c/l for SCC under 200,000 cells/ml

Division two (€4.10 - €4.20/kg MS) Arrabawn

6.328

2.638

0.034

4.174

30.12

Held March price

Dairygold

6.391

3.155

0.040

4.171

29.81

Held March price

4.147

29.90

Held March price

Boherbue Aurivo

5.695

3.838

0.042

4.139

29.33

Early calving bonus all gone so dropped down

Lakeland Dairies

6.713

2.797

0.035

4.130

29.68

Price up as transport charge dropped. Lactose 0.28 c/l bonus incl

4.120

29.50

Held March price Held March price

Centenary/Thurles Co-op LacPatrick Co-op

4.806

3.933

0.035

4.107

29.16

Tipperary Co-op

6.632

2.861

0.040

4.102

29.39

Held March price

Kerry Group

6.335

3.168

0.040

4.100

29.27

Held March price

Division three (less than €4.10kg/MS) Glanbia

6.652

2.892

0.040

4.095

29.32

Held March price

North Cork

5.665

3.395

0.04

4.076

29.10

Increased 1 c/ on March price but excludes 1c/l SDAS

The milk league is ranked on the price paid for a kilogramme of milksolids at 3.45% protein and 4.10% butterfat - the national average solids for 2016.

€11,640 €11,511 €11,469 €11,308 €11,304 €11,202 €11,180 €11,160 €11,138 €11,057 €10,977 €10,946 €10,851 €10,790 €10,889 12000

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

26 LIVESTOCK

Grass+

Dairy

Growth rockets in heat and moisture AIDAN BRENNAN DAIRY SPECIALIST

ÁIn short

abrennan@farmersjournal.ie

G

rass growth has been phenomenal over the past week. The average growth rate recorded on our Grass + farms was 105kg/ha/day. This is an increase of 30kg/day on last week. The challenge for farmers now is to keep on top of grass quality and avoid the risk of grazing grass that is gone too strong.

In these periods of high growth rates, you must walk the farm twice a week and

 Rapid grass growth rates over the past week.  Average growth is 105kg/day.  Paddocks must be skipped over for silage.  Keep pre-grazing yield at 1,300 to 1,500kg/ha.

make decisions based on what you see. Rotation length must be reduced from 21 days down to a planned 17 or 18 days.

In this time of significant growth, you will have to graze paddocks that were last grazed

14 or 15 days ago. At a growth rate of 100kg/day, in 15 days a paddock that was grazed to zero will have 1,500kg back on it.

In this weather, the mower is your only friend. Skip over paddocks that are gone too strong for silage. The weather is changeable so it is hard to know when they will be cut and baled, but there is no major panic for a week or 10 days.

Keeping the stocking rate high for a fortnight will be OK, but remember that high growth rates won’t last forever so it is important to reduce demand and get more ground back into the rotation

before growth slips again. Setting demand at 80 or 90kg/ day for the next week or two should be OK. The important thing is to maintain quality grass going into the cows.

As sure as night follows day, we will see a drop in milk protein percentage nationally now that growth has taken off. Avoid this by keeping pregrazing yield at between 1,300 and 1,500kg.

In periods of rapid growth rates, you should target lower pre-grazing yields because by the time you get into them there could be another 200kg on them.

Growth rates around the country (kg DM/ha/day) Beef farms Dairy farms

115 110 72

86

74

Shane Leane

Teagasc Curtins Farm

Donal Patton

Teagasc Ballyhaise

William Dennehy Currow, Co Kerry

Clonmel, Co Tipperary

Stocking rate (cows/ha) 4.95 Growth rate (kg/day) 86 Average farm cover (kg/cow) 148 Yield (l/cow/day) 22.8 Fat % 4.56 Protein % 3.48 Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.88 Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 0.2

Stocking rate (cows/ha) 5.8 Growth rate (kg/day) 109 Average farm cover (kg/cow) 127 Yield (l/cow/day) 23.5 Fat % 4.35 Protein % 3.52 Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.91 Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 1

Stocking rate (cows/ha) 3.43 Growth rate (kg/day) 92 Average farm cover (kg/cow) 162 Yield (l/cow/day) 25.4 Fat % 4.08 Protein % 3.59 Milk solids (kg/cow) 2 Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 2.5

Stocking rate (cows/ha) 4.23 Growth rate (kg/day) 100 Average farm cover (kg/cow) 142 Yield (l/cow/day) 21 Fat % 3.95 Protein % 3.62 Milk solids (kg/cow) 1.64 Supplement fed (kg/cow/day) 1.5

We cut the silage on Monday evening. The growth over the past week was 100kg/ day. After skipping over three paddocks for silage, the average growth dropped back to 86kg/day. These three paddocks were cut on Monday too. Pre-grazing yield is 1,500kg. Only a small bit of meal is being fed and cows are getting magnesium through the water. We have increased fertiliser being spread to 30 units/acre after grazing. The bulls are going out at the weekend, but we will continue to AI for a week after they go out. We are over-sowing the whole farm with clover at a rate of 1.5kg/acre.

Grass is jumping out of the ground at the moment. I had a few paddocks at 1,500kg/ ha that I skipped over because I felt they were gone too strong. This is a risky move as it has pushed stocking rate up to 5.8 cows/ha. I hope to get these paddocks cut this week.

The area we cut for silage isn’t included yet as it is still greening up. I think the good growth rates will continue for another week anyway.

Cows are currently grazing a cover of 1,400kg which was last grazed 13 days ago.

We are 20 days into breeding and have 94% submitted.

*UDVV LV p \LQJ LW , ZDON WKH farm twice a week these days to try and keep on top of growth. The cost of grazing a paddock gone too strong is massive as protein will drop very fast.

We grew 92kg/day from Thursday to Monday, and 106kg/day up to last Thursday. I skipped over two paddocks for silage and these will be cut for bales. , VWDJJHUHG WKH o UVW FXW silage – half of it is done and the rest will be done next week hopefully.

Breeding is going well.

I got 93% submitted in 21 days and the vet is coming to check the cows not served tonight.

I’m walking the farm twice a week at the moment to try and keep on top of grass.

The bulling heifers were on the milking block for the last few weeks but I took them to the out-farm on Tuesday so this reduced demand at home and I skipped over two paddocks.

The plan now for the rest of the summer is to skip over paddocks for bales whenever I get a surplus.

While making bales is a bit of a nuisance, it’s good to have them and grass quality improves after cutting.

Rotation length has been reduced to 18 days and cows are grazing covers of 1,300kg.

For the Best Deals: Contact Angus at 07796 148 769

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Paddy O’Gorman

TRAILED ROUND BALE WRAPPER

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

LIVESTOCK 27

Grass+

Beef

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take eye off ball at silage time CIARĂ N LENEHAN

rass continues on its upward curve with a 13% increase on our measuring farms to a countrywide average growth rate of 85kg DM/ha/ day for the week to Wednesday. The range across the country, however, is vast â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from as low as 50kg to 140kg DM/ha.

For most, thoughts are turned towards or have been turned towards silage and

slurry in recent days and weeks.

While many gathered silage stress-free last week in the basking sun, the weekend and beginning of this week proved slightly more tricky with pockets of torrential rain falling sporadically across the country. Those who may have gotten caught with material on the ground and rain need not panic. Take a sample to your advisor or consultant and they will advise you. High nitrates (>600ppm) coupled with medium (2-3%) or low (<2%) sugars should be ensiled with an additive when material is being picked up wet. For exam-

ple, molasses could be added at a rate of 20 litres per tonne to help the process. Ted and wilt prior to lifting where possible â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the drier the material the less of a negative effect nitrates will have on the ensiling process.

With all the attention on silage, this is a period where grass can get away on us quite easily. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to make good silage, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s equally as important to keep grass quality high under our stock. It would almost be ironic to let grass get stemmy and for clean outs to suďŹ&#x20AC;er as we all rush to make top-quality May silage.

Aim to have around 12 days of grass on the farm at this point. Many will go the whole hog when they have someone in taking paddocks out in high growth periods and cut out more than advised in the knowledge that big growth rates will bring them back on track quickly. Before doing so, do a quick sum and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dip below 10 days of grass. Growth is likely close to its peak and less â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;growthyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; conditions are promised for the coming days.

However, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t keep big volumes of grass on the farm either â&#x20AC;&#x201C; absolutely not more than 14 daysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; worth.

John Heslin

Tom Bolger

Sean Hayes

James Flaherty

System suckler to beef Soil type mixed Average farm cover (kg DM/ha)770 Grass growth (kg DM/ha/day) 75

System suckler to store Soil type free draining Average farm cover (kg DM/ha)460 Grass growth (kg DM/ha/day) 67

System suckler to store Soil type variable Average farm cover (kg DM/ha) 1360 Grass growth (kg DM/ha/day) 96

System suckler to weanling Soil type variable Average farm cover (kg DM/ha)880 Grass growth (kg DM/ha/day) 74

The good weather that arrived last week provided perfect conditions to commence RXU o UVW FXW VLODJH DQG WKH decision was made to mow the area (20ha) that hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been grazed this spring. This area was originally planned for cow silage. However, we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let the ideal weather pass without making any silage. Our decision to only mow the area that hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been grazed this spring was made on the basis that the UHPDLQLQJ DUHD IRU o UVW FXW KD ZDV QRW o W DOWKRXJK this area has since made a burst and is ready to mow when the weather conditions allow.

While the broken weather arriving and forecast for the remainder of the week isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ideal for silage harvesting, the rainfall has enabled us to begin incorporating clover into our swards as part of our upcoming clover trial.

Clover is being sown using an Einbock PneumaticstarMD Seeder that scratches the soil surface through the attached spring tines and distributes the seed via the pneumatic fan system.

It has only been the last week or so that I have noticed grass really starting to kick on. Before this, I found grass was slow enough. Last week, growth rates of over 70kg DM/ha were recorded on some paddocks. With this increase in growth rates I have a few paddocks LGHQWLo HG ZKHUH VXUSOXV bales will be taken off in the coming weeks. Twenty-four acres of silage were cut last week and it returned quite well. It has since got 1,500 gallons of watery slurry and a bag of CAN per acre.

Breeding is under way on the farm. I synchronised a group of heifers in April and inseminated them, I used the Limousin bull EBY and I also used a few SA2189 straws. Both bulls have very ORZ FDOYLQJ GLIo FXOW\ o JXUHV I started breeding cows at the beginning of May. AI was used for 3 weeks and then the Charolais stock bull was let out. All stock are doing well at grass but in the last few weeks with the changeable weather conditions I have had a few case of pneumonia in younger calves.

The showery weather is bringing good growth and JUDVV VHHPV WR KDYH o QDOO\ taken off. On the other hand I could do with a few days of settled weather as I hope WR JDWKHU P\ o UVW FXW VLODJH early next week. I tested the grass on Monday morning as I was hesitant as to whether the nitrogen had gone from the crop. The nitrate levels as I suspected were too high and the sugar content was modest at 2.5%. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still only late May and the fact I grazed everything tight prior to closing means the qualLW\ LV GHo QLWHO\ JRLQJ WR EH there for another 10 days or so as the crop is beginning to bulk up considerably too.

I weighed my autumn-born bulls recently and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done 1.4kg/day at grass since March. I hope to get as much cheap weight on before theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re housed in Aug/ Sept and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m prioritising them at the minute putting WKHP LQ RQ OLJKWHU OHDo HU paddocks around 1,1501,200kg DM/ha or paddocks that were taken out for surplus bales and are coming back into the rotation again.

, KDYH EHHQ JHWWLQJ P\ o UVW cut harvested over the past few weeks as time allows.

I make all baled silage and have my own equipment so , FDQ EH p H[LEOH ZLWK JHWWLQJ work done.

While silage on the home farm should be good quality, on the out farm silage will be of a lower quality due to existence of older grasses. I am in the process of reseeding these older paddocks on the out farm now as silage is taken off.

I ploughed some of the ground before giving it a run of a disc harrow and seeding while more of the ground was power-harrowed by a contractor before being disced and seeded. I will spread three bags of 10-1020/acre on the reseeded ground before the next spell of rain. It received 3t of lime/acre as the ground is H[WUHPHO\ GHo FLHQW I plan to increase my stocking rate on the farm as part of my farm plan over the next few years so growing more high-quality grass will be a priority to keep meal costs down.

BEEF SPECIALIST clenehan@farmersjournal.ie

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IRISH

Co Carlow

In association with

FARMERS JOURNAL farmersjournal.ie

A TEAGASC/IRISH FARMERS JOURNAL INITIATIVE

Co Clare

Co Kerry

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

28 LIVESTOCK

Programme focused on making livestock pay

Farmers target

Table 1: )DUP 3URoW 3URJUDPPH WDUJHWV Target £750 £100 £60 300kg 365 days 1.5 30kg 21kg

Gross margin/cow Gross margin/ewe (upland) Gross margin/ewe (hill) Liveweight weaned/cow/year Herd calving interval Lambs wean and sold/ewe /DPE ZHDQLQJ ZHLJKW # ZHHNV XSODQG pRFN

/DPE ZHDQLQJ ZHLJKW # ZHHNV KLOO pRFN

T

he Farm Profit Programme is a joint venture between ANM Group and the Farmers Journal. Over the next three years, the programme has one simple aim – making livestock pay. All too often, the lack of profitability in suckler beef and sheep production is normally attributed to poor farmgate prices.

But sale price is not the only factor that determines profit. Farm profit is made up of a combination of price, performance and production output.

A high sale price will do little to increase profit if the farm is not producing enough kilogrammes of beef or lamb to sell annually.

Farmers have no control over the market price when selling livestock.

Therefore, to address the issue of profitability, farmers must focus on improving the things they do control and this starts inside the farm gate.

Improving the level of technical efficiency in animal health, cattle and sheep breeding and grassland management will help to increase farm output, which can often have a bigger impact on farm profit than the sale price.

The programme has two dedicated advisers to help deliver best practice and improved on-farm management during the course of the programme.

Programme outline The programme has two aspects to demonstrating how improved technical efficiency on farm can deliver more for your business.

Firstly, there are six focus farms who are representative of typical livestock farms in the northeast of Scotland. By working closely with the programme advisers, these farms will implement best practice for breeding, animal health and grassland management.

They will be featured on a weekly basis through the Farmers Journal in

Scottish Rural Development Programme

print and online. All management issues on farm will be outlined, both good and bad.

The second aspect of the programme is to establish eight focus groups across the region. Groups will comprise of 10 to 15 like-minded farmers.

They will focus on their systems, businesses, discuss challenges, share experiences and implement advice relevant to their farms. The objective of the focus groups is to provide a platform to ask questions, challenge thinking and drive results.

Planning To improve farm profit, the six focus farms have drawn up a three-year plan with the aid of the programme advisers. The plans simply outline the areas on farm that need improving and prioritising when and how these changes will be made.

The advisers have also worked with Kirsten Williams of SAC Consulting to establish independent baselines for each farm.

Using this data, a series of challenging targets have been set for the focus farms to strive towards over the three years. These targets are outlined in Table 1.

Each year, the farm will complete a full financial review to assess how changes are affecting the farm. Profit will be compared at a gross margin level as this can be used for any livestock farm in any location. Gross margin represents output in the forms of sales income, minus common variable costs such as fertiliser, veterinary, purchased feed. Technical efficiency will be reflected in output and variable costs. Fixed costs do not reflect the level of management on farm, but will still be measured annually.

All management issues on farm will be outlined, both good and bad

Mark and Shona Mackay

The Duguid family The Duffus family

The Biffen family Charles and Alison Webster

Andrew and Kathryn Gammie

This year, all six focus farms are aiming to make the best quality silage possible to reduce the cost of the winter diet. Declan Marren reports

F

eed costs account for 75% of variable costs on the focus farms with the majority of this being clocked up while cattle are indoors.

Most grass varieties will naturally head out around this time. While yield will continue to increase as the crop matures, this will come at the expense of feed quality and ultimately animal performance. Every week harvest is delayed post seed head emergence, feed value is reduced by about four D-value units, which is the equivalent to 1kg concentrate.

High-quality silage should be targeted at priority stock on the farm, namely young growing stock and autumncalving cows. With many of our farms targeting the store ring, they cannot afford a check in animal performance.

Likewise, with autumn-born calves, dam milk yield will have the greatest influence on weaning weight.

With average liveweight gain of autumn calves on the focus farms currently sitting between 0.8 and 0.9 kg/day, there is room for improvement here. Again, the first step in this process will be the addition of good-quality silage.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

LIVESTOCK 29

top-quality silage Breeding season approaches

The Biffen family taking oUVW FXW VLODJH RII WKHLU DFUH ,WDOLDQ U\HJUDVV OH\ DQG EHORZ $QGUHZ DQG 0DWWKHZ %LIIHQ LQ WKH VLODJH oHOG

The BiďŹ&#x20AC;en family

The Biffen family farm at Arnage farms near Ellon, Aberdeenshire. Traditionally they were predominantly an arable unit, but have moved to keeping more livestock over the last few years. They farm 130 Simmental- and Limousincross cows calving from February on.

Offspring is sold store around 12 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 15 months old at around 400 kg. They DOVR UXQ PLG VHDVRQ pRFN FRPprised of Scotch half-bred and Suffolkcross ewes. These are mated to both Texel and Suffolk sires.

One cut down, two to go :H KDUYHVWHG RXU oUVW FXW VLODJH ODVW week from a 40 acre Italian ryegrass ley. Weather-wise it couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been better. We mowed it dry on Wednesday afternoon and the contractor picked it

up on Friday in glorious sunshine. This is about six weeks earlier than we usually take silage so it was a big change on the farm. We were a little bit worried as we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what kind of yield we would get going out so early with the fertiliser. However, we estimate from the number of loads of the forage wagon that it yielded around 8t/acre, which we are happy with as it was a very young leafy crop.

This silage will be fed to our young stock which will reduce the level of barley we need to feed to maintain liveweight gain through the winter months. Last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s silage had an average D value of 60 so this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early cut should be 10 to 12 units higher in term of feed value. It will be interesting to see the difference in performance come wintertime. When selling through the store ring you want to have decent weight but you must avoid having cat-

With calving spread being an issue across some of the farms, one of the oUVW WKLQJV WKDW ZH KDYH GRQH LV WR VHW DQG NHHS D WLJKW DQG GHoQHG WDUJHW calving period. Some farms are already doing very well and have a 10 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12 week calving period. Some of the others have quite large spreads and to immediately shut the bulling period down to 12 weeks would guarantee large numbers of empty cows. With these herds, the solution is to work toward a 12 week bulling period over the life of the project, with the start being two 14 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 16 weeks in the spring and the autumn, with all cows being moved in to one or other calving period.

On a couple of farms, we may even consider using a synchronising programme to kick start cycling in those cows that are toward the end of each bulling period. Next year, once cows are in to either spring or autumn calving, we will look to shorten the bulling periods and by 2020, all the project farms should have calving periods around the 12 week mark.

It is often commented that as long as a cow has a calf, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter when she calves. However, all of these farms are producing store calves and only have one or two sale days each year. If we look at two calves, born at either end of a 16 week period, we are looking at an age difference of 112 days between the two calves. If each calve grows at a rate of 1kg a day, there will always be a difference of 112kg between the two of them. This means that come sale day, at ÂŁ2.25/kg, the earlier born calf will be worth ÂŁ252 more than the later born calf.

tle overdone. This should be easier to achieve with less concentrates in the diet.

The plan is to take a further two cuts IURP WKH VDPH oHOG VR JHWWLQJ WKH oUVW cut as early as we have was important.

The fertiliser for the next cut was sitting waiting in the yard and has gone straight out to avoid any delays. We hope to be cutting again in early July.

The breeding season has just started here with the bulls going out last week.

We are working on the calving spread at the moment as it is quite protracted.

This year we started calving in midFebruary and there are still eight to calve. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a long-term project as to do it all at once would give us too many culls and it would have knock-on HIIHFWV RQ FDVKpRZ :H PLJKW WU\ D synchronisation programme with the later-calved cows to pull them forward a couple of weeks this year.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

30 LIVESTOCK

Beef

Tullamore breeding: oYH NH\ decisions Tullamore Farm commenced the 2017 breeding season on 23 April. Adam Woods details what lies behind the breeding decisions already made and what else is involved in the breeding plan

C

hoosing a breeding plan for any farm can be a diďŹ&#x192;cult task and Tullamore farm was no diďŹ&#x20AC;erent. Cow and sire type are two of the most important decisions to be made on any beef farm and if the wrong decisions are made on the breeding and genetics side, it could make or break a system.

The breeding policy of any farm will depend on whether replacements are being bred on the farm, the production system followed and the market requirements. The chosen system in Tullamore is to produce under16-month bull beef and high-geneticmerit replacement heifers for sale at 15 months. Replacement heifers for Tullamore farm will be sourced from the dairy herd (Limousin X Holstein Friesian) during the initial phase of the project.

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Starting with a blank canvas meant we could decide what time of year we wanted the herd to calve. While autumn calving has advantages like spreading out workload and heavier weanlings at end of ďŹ rst grazing season, it comes at a cost, with extra meal going into the cow and calf during the winter period. Autumn calving also brings a higher requirement for creep areas during winter months. There are currently no creep areas in the sheds on Tullamore Farm. Spring calving was chosen, calving as early as possible without incurring a long period with cows and calves inside. This will enable high grass utilisation during the grazing season and also enable high weaning weights in autumn each year. A 10-week calving season was chosen starting on 5 February and ending on 20 April. This meant that breeding this year started on 23 April with heifers and 1 May in cows and will ďŹ nish on 6 July.

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Where to source animals?

When it was decided that the demonstration farm was going to be set up, there were a number of options available to source breeding animals.

Options 1. Young beef X dairy heifer calves from the dairy herd.

2. Maiden heifers from the beef herd or dairy herd.

3. Purchase in-calf heifers/cows.

Each has its advantages and disadvantages. However, in order to get up to full production quickly, it was decided to go down the route of purchasing in-calf cows and in-calf heifers. This meant that the farm could generate sales inside 16 months as opposed to 28 months with the maiden heifer option and 40 months with the heifer calf option.

As land rental costs and infrastructure costs were being incurred from the beginning, it made sense to get

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production going as quickly as possible. There was a conscious decision made to purchase from as few herds as possible to cut down on possible disease complications. In the end stock were purchased from seven diďŹ&#x20AC;erent herds with the largest purchase being 61 in-calf cows from a herd dispersal in Co Limerick.

Why purchase from the dairy herd?

About 80% of the animals which we have purchased are Limousin X Friesian cows/heifers from the dairy herd.

Recent research from Teagasc Grange has demonstrated that progeny from Limousin X Friesian cows performed best in terms of lifetime growth and killout rates. Studies have also shown that cows with very good milk traits produced calves with higher immunity due to higher colostrum intake, higher weaning weight due to higher milk production of the dam, higher carcase weight due to higher pre-weaning growth and good carcase conformation and fat scores.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

LIVESTOCK 31

Cow type and progeny type - What do we need?

Stock bull v AI?

Calving Data Calving Detail Calved Unassisted Assisted Vet assisted C-Section

Numbers 82 20 7 3

meal/day six weeks prior to calving along with 100g/day of a pre-calving mineral. Cows were also body condition scored prior to calving and fed straw on every third day prior to calving to avoid cows becoming too well conditioned at calving. All cows received a scour vaccine prior to calving.

When deciding whether to use stock bulls or AI a number of issues need to be taken into account, including handling facilities, roadway infrastructure and labour availability. As we had purchased three young stock bulls in spring 2017, it was decided to carry out AI for three weeks to take the pressure of the stock bulls in their first season.

This added to workload for the first three weeks of May with heat checking and getting cows in for AI. However, submission rates have been good and the management team feel this was the right decision.

Submission rates During AI, the herd was grazed in four groups. Group three was not for AI, with a stock bull turned out straight away with this group. This meant there were 87 cows and 15 heifers available for AI for three weeks. Cows were heatchecked three to four times daily – 8am, 12pm, 5pm and 10pm. AI was carried out once each day between 1pm-2pm which meant cows only had to be brought in once per day. This reduced the workload a little. Farm manager Ger O’Dwyer also fed some meal in the yard over the first few days of AI which helped get cows in during the three weeks. Submission rate was 70/87 (80% submission in 21 days in group one and group two). 15/15 heifers were bred in group four (100% sub-

Sire choice and stock bull purchase

Herd indices Animals were sourced with a high replacement index and the average index of the cow herd in April 2017 was €115, which puts Tullamore Farm in the top 10% of herds in the country when ranked on replacement index. The national average is €76. Twenty-three of the cows in the herd have an index of €143 or greater which puts them in the top 1% of cows in the country. The herd has a daughter milk figure of 10.2kg, which puts the herd in the top 5% in the country. While the carcase weight figure of 9kg is below average, the sires used will compensate this.

One of the first decisions to be made was what type of a bull do we buy, a terminal or a maternal bull. The difficult answer was, we needed both. The farm aims to produce high-index replacement heifers and also under16-month bull beef. We decided to focus on the replacement index, purchasing bulls with a minimum of five stars on the replacement index with as high an index as possible. Some people will argue that we will take a big hit on our carcase traits by focusing on the replacement index but we believe that the sires used will deliver on both replacement traits and carcase traits. All bulls were purchased from farmers participating in the ICBF gene Ireland programme, which means as much data as possible has been included in the make-up of the bulls’ indices. Maximum calving difficulty for sires was 8% for cows and 3% for maiden heifers.

Cow traits required Moderate size (average feed intake) Calving at two years of age Good calving ability (good pelvis) Longevity Good functionality (feet, legs, udder etc) Good reproductive performance Live calf per cow per year Good milk yield Docility High replacement index

Progeny traits required Heavy weaning weight High growth rate *RRG IHHG HIoFLHQF\ High carcase weight gain Good carcase conformation and fat score Good temperament High replacement index (heifer calves)

Breeding Calendar Date 10 April 24 April 29 April 1 May 3 May 8 May 22 May 20 June 22 June 6 July 8 August

Task Tail paint cows and heifers AI starts in heifers (natural heats) PG any heifers not seen in heat AI starts in cows Stock bull turned out with late-calving cows AA stock bull turned out with heifers Stock bulls turned out with cows %UHHGLQJ oQLVKHV LQ PDLGHQ KHLIHUV Scan 1 (AI conception) %UHHGLQJ oQLVKHV LQ FRZV Scan 2 (30 days after bulls removed)

mission) and 11/23 cows bred to the stock bull in group three. Overall submission rate in the first 21 days was 96/125 (77%) animals available for breeding, which means at a conception rate of 60% there should be 57 cows calving in the first 21 days of the calving season in 2018.

Group one: February-calving cows.

Group two: March-calving cows.

Group three: April-calving cows.

Group four: Group of maiden heifers.

Stock purchase costs Animal type In-calf cows In-calf heifers Maiden heifers Stock bulls

Number Price 78 €1,550 35 €1,270 15 €856 3 €3,660

AI bulls used on maturecows Breed SI LM SI

Code QCD ZAG AHC

Replacement Terminal index index €160 €101 €156 €120 €154 €93

Calving GLIoFXOW\ 6.8% 4.5% 5.5%

Code SA2189 RGZ

Replacement Terminal index index €203 €107 €144 €66

Calving GLIoFXOW\ 1.2% 2.6%

Name Cloondroon Calling Castleview Gazelle Auroch Deuter PP

AI bulls used on maiden heifers Breed SA AA

Name Ulsan Turbridmore Gizmo

Stock bull indices Breed LM LM AA

Name Tomriland Edel ET Newtown Luke 2 Doonowney Noel

Sire S1421 S1564 FPI

Replacement index €160 €143 €96

Terminal index €184 €192 €74

Calving GLIoFXOW\ 6.7% 7.7% 2.3%

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

32 LIVESTOCK

'LIo FXOW VSULQJ hasn’t fazed Joe

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Meath’s new BETTER beef farmer is one to watch, writes Ciarán Lenehan

VIDEO ONLINE

watch the video on farmersjournal.ie

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IRISH

ne thing becomes immediately clear when you converse with Joe Healy on his farm – he is grasping his BETTER farm opportunity with both hands. Enthusiasm, work ethic and a willingness to change – three vital traits for a BETTER beef farmer – are three traits that Joe Healy exhibits in spades.

Joe farms 44ha, split into two blocks, near Athboy in Co Meath. His soils are clay-based but certain areas are very heavy relative to the rest of Meath.

This is one of the reasons for Joe’s unique calving pattern. He calves the majority of the 70-strong, continental-breed herd in April, with the balance in May and June. At this time, both weather and ground conditions, he feels, tend towards a more favourable calving environment.

Scour also reared its ugly head for years when Joe was operating a more conventional spring-calving spread. Having decided enough was enough, Joe opted to let his season slip back slightly. He now calves almost all of his cows outside in a rough, sacrificial-type paddock from which they move straight to a grassy area before joining the main herd.

“Once that calf hits the deck, the pair are straight to a grassy area and then down the farm in a couple of days.”

Finish Joe finishes all of his male calves and any non-replacement heifers. In this way, he is not aiming to market a live animal at a specific time like many farmers, giving him leeway with his calving period. Bulls are slaughtered on the grid, under 16 months of age, in the height of summer when beef price is generally at its annual peak. In 2016, Joe slaughtered 34 home-bred bulls, at an average of 15.6 months of age, 393kg carcase weight, U+2+ grade and €1,565/head.

“My bull system is not like your typical spring-calver’s in that my bulls have age on their side as yearlings and can get to grass for a period before finishing (unlike a spring-born bull, who doesn’t go to grass for a second season). I try to get them out as early as possible on to my very best grass. You have to keep the quality under them, though I force them to graze tight when conditions allow.

The last few weeks have been good for pushing those boys to eat right down.

They get meal at grass to ready them for finishing and then 100 days of ad lib indoors prior to slaughter.

Having followed BETTER farm for years and implementing the practices and systems that he saw in the programme, Joe is near the top of the new cohort of

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A TEAGASC/IRISH FARMERS JOURNAL INITIATIVE

Yearling beef bulls on Joe Healy’s farm.

BETTER farmers in terms of a starting point. Stocking rate and output levels are key to beef farm profits and in 2016 Joe was already carrying almost twice the amount of cattle relative to the average Irish beef farm hectare (at 2.71 LU/ ha).

In terms of producing liveweight, his is more than twice as productive (992kg/ ha) than the average Irish beef farm (477kg). Joe generated a healthy gross margin of €1,045/ha in 2016, but he is not resting on his laurels.

“I think we can push things a bit further. I’d like to go to 85 cows. The bull system frees up grassland. Maybe there is scope to get my bulls moving on meals a bit earlier during the winter and get them out younger, without sending them back to grass. Carcase weight might suffer but it would make more room for cows. I currently work in the family steel fabrication business. While it’s great for the farm in that I have the avenue to erect farm buildings in a very cost-effective way, my goal is to go farming full-time at some point. However, I have a young family to support. While the farm is in a good place, it is quite far removed from where it needs to be to do this, in my view.”

2017 problems For all of the farm’s success, calving 2017 has been a difficult time for Joe. As of 30 May, there were 10 animals of the 75 to calve and Joe had lost seven calves early

Joe Healy, Co Meath

Fixed costs €/hr labour &DVKp RZ

&DOYLQJ SDWWHUQ Farm system Farm size JURVV PDUJLQ /DQG W\SH

In association with

6XPPHU $SULO -XQH

Suckler to under16-month bull 44ha €1,045/ha Heavy clay

Table 1: Joe Healy’s farm performance 2016 Joe Healy 2.71 992

Stocking rate (LU/ha) Gross output (kg live weight/ha) Output value (Sales – purchases +/- inventory change) Ratio of variable costs to output

€2,255

National avg 1.43 477 €1,084 (equivalent)

54%*

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Table 2: Animal performance on Joe Healy’s farm 2016-born bull calves (40) at 10.1 months of age 2016-born heifer calves (36) at 11 months of age 2015-born factory bulls (34) (U16)

on in the season.

“Yeah, a tough start – things looked bleak for a while. But we got back on track quite quickly. There were calves born dead, abortions, deformities and weak calves that lived only for a couple of days. It was a really strange period – normally our mortality is almost zero. If all goes to plan from here on in, I’ll finish with a mortality figure of around 8-9%.

It’ll be a year to forget, but you can’t let these things get you down. Farming throws these curveballs at you every now and again that you have to take on the chin and move on from,” Joe said.

I talked to Padraig Farrell, Joe’s vet, about his calving problems.

“Joe endured a torrid start to calving 2017 but has gotten well back on track since. We sent a couple of samples away and a rare strain of bacteria called Streptococcus pluranimalium, last documented in Scotland in 2011 showed up in preliminary tests. It is accredited for causing sporadic abortions. That said, in my own opinion, there was something else sinister at play in this part of the world this spring. I came across around 50 stillborn dwarf calves that had gone full-term on my rounds – which was a first. We saw Schmallenberg coming back this year, who’s to say the vector that brought it back didn’t bring in something else too?”

Padraig said.

Calf performance Joe uses as much AI as he can on the farm.

His 2016 calf crop boast progeny from a cocktail of proven and test sires such as OKH, UPI, NUF, ADX, THZ, KZH, ZAG,

1.10kg/day (382kg) 0.97kg/day (361kg) 393kg, U+2+, €1,565, 15.6 months

WGE (Limousins), VUL, ZKY, ZYH (Parthenaise), LJE, SGA (Blonde d’Aquataine), EKB, JKS (Belgian Blue), LGL (Charloais) and VEZ (Aubrac). At 10.6 months of age, in late-March 2017, the 76-strong calf crop had achieved an average of 1.04kg of daily weight gain from birth. Bulls had grown at a rate of 1.10kg/day, with heifers hitting 0.97kg/day. Sires of note were EKB, with four calves averaging 1.13kg/ day, LGL with two animals hitting 1.2kg/ day, ZYH with eight animals achieving 1.17kg/day and SGA with nine animals doing 1.07kg/day.

Adviser comment Tommy Cox Right from the off, it was clear from Joe’s attitude and enthusiasm that he was keen to take the farm to the QH[W OHYHO 7KH IDUP ZDV SUHYLRXVO\ D dairy operation so there is excellent LQIUDVWUXFWXUH DOUHDG\ LQ SODFH 7KH stock on the farm are of exceptional quality and this is testament to the hard work during the breeding VHDVRQ 7KH SODQ WR LQFUHDVH FRZ numbers will be easily achievable as every year top-quality high-index heifers are being bred from within the herd. I believe this farm will perform well over the course of the programme due to Joe’s openness and willingness to adopt the new technologies available to him to PDNH WKH IDUP PRUH HIo FLHQW DQG SURo WDEOH

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

LIVESTOCK 33

N

BETTER FARM BEEF CHALLENGE NI

Boosting performance with high-quality swards

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razing management is a huge challenge at this point in the season. Generally speaking, grazing swards will have produced around 70% of the annual growth by early to mid June.

Once the sward has produced seed heads, growth rates will stall for a threeto four-week period before kicking oďŹ&#x20AC; again in mid- to late summer.

However, this period of low grass growth can be shortened by removing grass that has turned to stem and headed out.

The ideal scenario is to graze out the sward with dry autumn-calving cows or dry ewes, but this is not possible on some

Ă Week in review Ă&#x201A; Silage season is ongoing, with more IDUPV PDNLQJ KLJK TXDOLW\ o UVW FXW IRG der during the past week. Ă&#x201A; Rainfall has been sporadic across the province, with drier farms in the east requiring more rain to increase grass growth. Ă&#x201A; Second-cut silage ground has been closed up for harvesting in June. Ă&#x201A; Breeding is under way for springcalving herds.

farms. The second option is to top the ďŹ eld. A grass mower will do the same job as a purpose-made grass topper.

The idea is to cut the sward down to 3cm to 4cm to leave a fresh sward base to regrow. After topping, apply 25 to 30 units of nitrogen to stimulate grass growth.

Advantages One of the main advantages of topping grass in June is it will increase sward quality in the next rotation, which usually coincides with the breeding season.

Where suckler cows are grazing highquality grazing swards, their dry matter

energy intake is increased, which has a positive eďŹ&#x20AC;ect on both milk production and fertility.

If cows are left to graze oďŹ&#x20AC; paddocks of long, stemmy headed-out grass in June and July, then milk production and fertility will be negatively aďŹ&#x20AC;ected, as the cow is taking in less energy with every bite.

Where there is a heavy cover of grass to be topped, you can let cattle back into the paddock for a brief 12- to 24-hour period to clean up grass that has been mowed. They will reduce the amount of dead grass left to decay on top of the sward.

Paul Jamison: Dromore, Co Down will not be old enough to keep for replacements next year, as they will be less than 12 months old when breeding starts. At the minute, I am weighing up my options for late-calving cows. I have set a target of calving 60 cows next March and April. This spring, we calved 50 cows during the same two months.

Tightening calving spread is top priority Breeding is under way on our farm, with the stock bulls going out to cows on Saturday 13 May. Cows are running in two groups, each ZLWK D /LPRXVLQ VWRFN EXOO 7KH o UVW group consists of 30 cows with Marchborn calves at foot. At least half of these animals have now been covered by the bull. The second group consists of 15 cows, which are mainly April-calving animals, and 11 heifers. This group will be increased to 25 cows and 18 heifers over the coming weeks.

The 11 heifers were synchronised using CIDRs and inseminated on Monday 15 May. They will be watched closely over the weekend for any signs of repeat breeding activity.

CIDRs were inserted on Friday 5 May and removed one week later on 12 0D\ IROORZHG E\ o [HG WLPH $, RQ WKH Monday.

I did this last year and it worked out well, with 70% conception to AI. I have another group of 11 maiden heifers and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m thinking about pulling out another six animals for synchronising and breeding.

Options

Stock bulls were turned out to cows on 13 May to start the breeding season on Paul Jamisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farm.

Late calving There are still 10 cows to calve this year, which is far from ideal, but we had a big slip in the calving pattern last year.

Calving in June does not suit my

IDUP V\VWHP , o QLVK \RXQJ EXOOV DW 13 to 14 months of age, so this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s June-born calves will be too light at KRXVLQJ WR WDNH WKURXJK WR o QLVK QH[W June.

Any heifer calves born in this group

It will be a challenge to pull these cows forward. The only positive is that there are four cows in this group that I am planning to cull. They will be fattened once they have been weaned in autumn, leaving six for breeding.

Late-calving cows will be put on to top-quality grass and run with the bull until early August. They will be scanned around 30 days after the bull is removed. If they are empty, they will be fattened.

My cows are mostly purebred Limousin. When properly fattened, they can hit 350kg to 400kg carcase weight, which gives them a good cull value.

To replace them, I could bring in a few extra in-calf heifers from a herd with a known high-health status that are due to calve in early March. I will PDNH WKH o QDO GHFLVLRQ DW VFDQQLQJ time.

First-cut silage complete

WATCH ONLINE watch the video on www.farmersjournal.tv

Silage was mowed on Tuesday and harvested on Wednesday of this week. I had hoped to get silage harvested last weekend, but the forecast predicted heavy rain for Saturday so I held off.

In hindsight, I should have gone ahead with silage, as we received little to no rain. There is around 55 acres of silage cut, which includes two grazing paddocks with heavy covers. :H GLG FXW o YH DFUHV RI JUD]LQJ last week and made 13 bales. This has

brought our grazing rotation back down to around eight days, which is a bit tighter than recommended.

High utilisation However, cows are moving around the grazing block comfortably and grass utilisation is high.

I spread 25:5:5 on grazing ground that was cut for silage and on grazed paddocks, so there should be a boost in grass growth over the next fort-

night, increasing grazing days ahead.

Around 25 acres of silage ground is being closed up straight away for second cut, so there will also be some silage aftermath available for grazing.

High-quality grass like silage aftermath will help to boost energy intake in later-calving cows, bringing them back into heat quickly.

Silage cost First-cut silage is yielding around 9t/

IRISH

Supported by

FARMERS JOURNAL farmersjournal.ie

acre of grass on a freshweight basis.

We sprayed Forefront to kill docks and it checked grass growth slightly.

Silage ground got three bags/acre of 24:6:12 (ÂŁ285/t) and the cost of making silage is usually around ÂŁ50 to ÂŁ55 per acre, depending on fuel costs.

Adding in ÂŁ5/acre for spreading fertiliser and ÂŁ10/acre for weed control, total costs would be around ÂŁ117/acre. $W W DFUH WKLV ZRXOG PDNH o UVW FXW silage cost around ÂŁ13/t.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

34 LIVESTOCK

Sheep

$ pRFN oW IRU SXUSRVH Selecting animals that best suit your land type was a standout message from Caillin Conneely, host of last week’s IFA’s hill sheep forum farm walk, writes Darren Carty

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component of the IFA’s recent hill sheep forum was a farm walk held on the farm of Caillin Conneely. Caillin farms with his wife Noreen and two sons, Mikie and Rory, in Letterdyfe, Roundstone, Connemara, Co Galway.

The farm, which is mainly commonage, is home to 250 ewes, a small herd of suckler cows and a number of Connemara mares and their progeny.

Land type can be described as a mixture of harder hills and some lower hill grazing which is marginal in nature.

Ewes and their lambs were brought down from hill grazing for the event and one of the key messages shared by Caillin was the importance of having animals that are fit for purpose for the land type they are grazing. This is irrespective of the type of animals, with this focus kept in mind if selecting replacement ewes, suckler cows or Connemara ponies.

Hardy ewe Breed type in the ewe flock is Mayo Connemara Blackface. Explaining his reasoning, Caillin says: “Apart from a few key time frames during the year, ewes are run on hill grazing, which is harsh in nature.

“It takes a very hardy ewe to be able to survive here without preferential treatment or supplementary feeding and, for me, the best ewe is a Mayo Connemara with plenty of black in them.”

This hardiness in ewes has also been driven by a strong culling policy through many generations, with ewes not capable of performing in the system culled.

“Each time we handle sheep, one of the main tasks is to go through ewes and lambs to see how they are performing. Pre-breeding is a critical time.

“We like to give thin ewes a chance to recover after weaning, but if a ewe is in poor shape going back to the hill after breeding, she will be the one that ends up giving problems down the line, so culling these ewes is important.”

Ewes not required for breeding replacements are bred to a Lanark ram. Caillin finds that it helps deliver some hybrid vigour in progeny for finishing and, in contrast to crossbreeding with a continental sire, progeny are fit to go back to the hills and perform.

The sheep farm walk on Caillin Conneely’s sheep farm in Letterdyfe, Roundstone, Connemara, Co Galway.

WATCH ONLINE watch the video on www.farmersjournal.tv

Host farmer Caillin Conneely. \Sean Lydon

“The Lanark is my Suffolk ram. I can use it on a selection of ewes and am not constrained in my normal system whereas if I used a lowland ram I may get a boost in lamb quality, but they wouldn’t perform well on these hills and I’d just end up spending the difference in sale price on supplementing ewes and lambs off the hill.”

Key time frames The key time frames in the farming calendar for ewes are lambing, shearing/ weaning and breeding.

Ewes are brought down from the hill on 1 April in preparation for lambing.

Ewes in lamb but not springing at that stage are put back to the hill and lamb there at the end of April or in May. Ewes remain on lower-lying areas for four weeks, at which stage all singlesuckling ewes are returned to the hill.

There is generally a small number of twin-suckling ewes that are retained off the hill and given some preferential treatment.

Ewes are brought down from the hill at shearing and remain there for two weeks. At weaning, all animals are assessed and anything that is targeted for selling, from male lambs to ewe lambs not required for breeding and cull ewes, are retained on the lower-lying areas.

Ewes and lambs that will be retained for breeding are turned back on to the hill at this stage.

A plan is put in place that outlines a possible sales pattern for these animals. This can vary depending on markets and grass supplies, but in recent years has included selling excess ewe

Direct supports The potential for generating output in farms such as Caillin’s is not simple. An output level of one lamb per ewe is the aim and with male progeny often realising a value of anywhere between €30 and €50 as stores in recent years there is not much room for manoeuvre in a system that is heavily reliant on inputs to lift output.

There is therefore understandably a focus on direct payment support and Caillin says this is a vital component in encouraging farmers to stay farming in the area. “Cuts to payments or delays can have a huge effect on family income. Numbers on the hills have reduced greatly and it is easy to see why. People comment about the fact that ewes need to be bred on the hills they are grazing but it’s the same with people. If payments do not reward farmers for maintaining the hills, the vital link between one generation and the next will be broken and this won’t be replaced”.

lambs in breeding sales in September in Clifden and Maam Cross marts.

Demand in recent years has been stronger, with buyers looking to source numbers to satisfy commonage framework plans, with ewe lambs generating a sales value of €70 in 2016.

Ram lambs are sold towards the end of September, but given the poor store lamb trade in 2016, a decision was taken to hold on to lambs and finish intensively indoors.

“Decisions on when to sell sheep is a

balancing act between trying to achieve the best price and not affecting the volume of grass available for ewes at breeding, where ewes spend about a month to five weeks off the hill.

“We don’t have too many options, as when you don’t have better-quality grazing, finishing lambs is generally confined to using high levels of concentrates. You have to weigh up both options and last year it delivered a small margin to hold and finish; this year it may be better to sell.”

Replacement ewe lambs are removed from the hill when ewes are put back up after breeding. They are supplemented over the winter months on hay and a low level of oats or ration, depending on weather and available forage.

Along with breeding, there is a strong focus on health and in particular regular mineral supplementation. Ewes and lambs are supplemented with a cobalt drench or bullets at key periods. Dipping is also a must once a year, while ewes and lambs receive a pour-on after shearing for blowfly and external parasite control.

Outside of this, liver fluke is addressed in autumn and spring.

Mixed enterprises The focus in the suckler herd is sourcing hardy cows. Caillin’s ideal cow is one with some Shorthorn, Limousin or Blue breeding, with lots of milk in their background. These are mated with terminal AI sires to breed top-quality calves for the weanling market.

The Connemara pony enterprise is also performing well and has benefited in a resurgence in demand over the last two years.

In recent years, progeny have been exported to the UK and Germany in many cases. Progeny are generally sold as foals or three year olds.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

LIVESTOCK 35

No recovery forecast in light lamb markets While there are some positive market signals for carcases weighing over 15kg, Kildare Chilling’s Seamus Finucane says there is unlikely to be any immediate outlet for lighter carcases, Darren Carty reports

T

here is unlikely to be any return in the immediate future of traditional light lamb markets for hill lambs. This was the view of Kildare Chilling’s Seamus Finucane, who was presenting an update on current and future market prospects at last week’s IFA hill sheep forum.

Kildare Chilling currently purchases lambs from the Connemara region through the Mayo Blackface Group and Seamus says the focus in the linkup in recent years has been on delivery of a heavier carcase weighing in excess of 15kg.

“There are some market outlets for lambs over 15kg, but there are very few outlets for carcases under this weight that will give an economical return for us or the farmer. The future of hill lamb has to be a universal lamb – by this I mean it will have to be capable of suiting a number of markets. We need a hill lamb capable of delivering a carcase of at least 15kg and preferably 17kg. We can possibly handle some 14kg carcases at certain times of the year, but not significant volumes.”

Seamus explained that the development of markets for carcases weighing between 15kg and 17kg has come about by diversification from the traditional light lamb markets of Spain, Portugal and Italy, which are now largely satisfied by domestic supply.

Bord Bia’s Declan Fennell presented data that showed Spain transforming from a significant importer of sheepmeat to now exporting significant quantities of lamb. Spain’s main market outlet is the live export of lambs to north African markets, but the country is now also a significant exporter of lamb on to the EU market, competing in many of the same markets as Ireland.

New markets Some hill lamb producers in attendance said that it is not possible to bring hill lambs to the carcase weights desired in harder mountains and hills where there is no better-quality grassland grazing present. They challenged Seamus Finucane and Declan Fennell that there must be markets available for carcases between 12kg and 15kg.

Changing ANC focus

Forum briefs

In his presentation, IFA rural development executive Gerry Gunning said that the criteria for differentiating areas of natural constraint (ANC) is changing from one that mainly used socio-economic and population factors to now majoring on land constraints.

As such, he said that the upcoming review of ANC, which has been delayed, is likely to bring more areas into contention for payment as there are areas

Seamus Finucane of Kildare Chilling.

Both speakers said that while there may be some limited markets available for carcases of this weight, the return that the market is willing to pay is extremely poor and is not a viable option.

“We tried the Spanish trade, but as well as the market being under pressure in recent years, the type of light lamb we get from the hill is too dark to challenge the lighter-coloured carcase Spanish processors get from intensively finished milk lamb.

“If we are going to compete at 12kg to 13kg carcase weight, then we need consistency and a year-round product which isn’t available at present.”

On potential new markets, Seamus said: “We have been exploring all market avenues in recent years. For example, we were achieving some positives a few years back in exporting carcases weighing 15kg to 17kg to the Tunisian market to meet growing demand from tourism. Tunisia accounted for 5% of our exports in 2013 and again in 2014, but unfortunately it didn’t last with the Tunisian beach resort attack in 2015, which reduced tourismrelated demand and ceasing our exports.”

In contrast, the Scandinavian market is generating some positives. “We have been working hard on developing trade within the EU and trying to secure access to some higher value markets,” he said.

“Ireland has benefitted in general by lower volumes of New Zealand sheepmeat in the market in recent years and Scandinavia is one such market that we are developing niche markets for this universal lamb. We have increased throughput here, but the importance of having the right type of lamb is crucial, with demand for carcases over 15kg.”

Commenting on a preference for wether lambs or rams, Seamus says that it is not a one-answer-fits-all approach. He says that for the supermarket business, the preference is generally wether lambs, while, at certain times, growing demand around Muslim festivals in particular is for ram lambs.

However, Seamus is keen to reinforce

that the finish of lambs is generally more important than if a lamb is finished as a wether or a ram.

“There are problems with under-finished lambs no matter what the type of lamb, but these are greatest with ram lambs.

“They deliver a bad taste and skinny ram lambs present lots of problems for presentation and marketing. Management is also crucial here and ram lambs should be separated from ewe lambs for finishing.”

of tough land outside of the areas currently designated. He said that the priority for the IFA is to continue to focus on getting the overall ANC budget increased on the additional €25m already allocated so that payments can be replenished to comparable 2009 levels (before cuts were introduced).

He added that the focus must also be on ensuring that all funds allocated under the Rural Development Plan are spent, with schemes reviewed and

altered where necessary to guarantee this happens.

With regards to hill areas, Gerry said WKDW WKH UHYLHZ VKRXOG UHpHFW WKH QDWXral handicap of hill and mountain areas and constraints of farming in designated areas. This is something that must EH UHpHFWHG LQ WKH QH[W &$3 UHIRUP

Fifth-quarter positives Looking at wider market forecasts, Seamus says that Muslim festivals are becoming an important component of the trade with an ability to boost market demand.

However, the fact that festivals move forward by 10 days each year will create some challenges in the near future, with demand possibly coinciding with peak Easter demand when supplies are already usually at a lower level. This in turn could also leave the latter half of the year more challenging to move large volumes of sheepmeat.

Fifth-quarter markets are showing signs of improving, with the price of skins likely to increase in 2017. The value of casings had been on the floor in 2016 and is also showing signs of improving.

A sharp falloff in Australian production, as a result of drought, could also increase demand. This, along with higher volumes of sheepmeat moving into China from New Zealand, could create demand in other areas Ireland is operating in. Creating market access is also viewed as critical.

“I would like to see Ireland becoming the New Zealand of the northern hemisphere in terms of having wider market access,” said Seamus.

Changing markets A switch in processing behaviour from carcase to value-added through boning out carcases is delivering in establishing

Quick and innovative

José Aznar from Global Meats said WKHUH DUH WKUHH IDFWRUV WKDW LQpXHQFH

new markets. Switzerland was highlighted as one example of a high-value market capable of returning higher prices for specific cuts.

Seamus also sees potential in markets outside the EU, with Canada raised as a market that is likely to build on the volume of 356t of sheepmeat exported there in 2016. Growing exports to Canada is also seen as positive in establishing trade routes to the US. However, to make this happen, Seamus says a number of aspects first need addressing.

Full EID tagging is singled out as being critical, not only for demonstrating maximum traceability but also to keep in line with what competitors like the UK can offer. Quality assurance and a clean livestock policy were other areas raised.

“Quality assurance is needed for me in opening every door. Currently, 63% of lamb is quality assured and I’d like that to be 100%.

“Cleanliness of sheep is something that is becoming more and more important.

To pass stringent veterinary inspection and gain market access, we must have zero contamination.

“I do believe that at certain times lambs will have to be belly-shorn and dagged.

We have invested substantially in a shearing room, but I would prefer not to be shearing as it adds more cost and could devalue product. A clean livestock policy is coming in June and it is something farmers and processors are all going to have to back.”

The last issue raised was that of overweight carcases. This spring, Kildare Chilling is running at about 70% of lambs needing to be boned out due to overweight carcases.

Seamus says that this left significantly more sheepmeat on the market, which added to already higher throughput. He is urging producers to weigh lambs more often and to market at the correct weight.

“If you can return a better product, it will put more money in your pocket and be better for us to market your produce as good as we can,” he said. the modern-day consumers’ purchasing decisions. Time is high on the agenda and many consumers want convenient products that take less time to prepare.

However, consumers still want to have good choice and, as such, he said the sheepmeat sector must continue to diversify the range of products offered.

The third factor is technology, with a rise in online shopping and ready-toeat meals again putting a focus on the convenience factor of products offered.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

36 ARABLE

Arable

Andy Doyle (01) 4199531 adoyle@farmersjournal.ie @FJtillage

BETTER farms up to date with inputs

Kevin Nolan – drilling depth issue Kevin is up to date with all crop work.

Flag leaf sprays (T2) on winter wheat went on in good conditions and with little septoria evident in the crops. There is little doubt that waiting till leaf-three was fully emerged and the dry weather around the T1 timing has helped keep septoria levels down. That said, all the recent rain has helped crops greatly.

Winter barley has finished flowering and crops in the Carlow area are looking particularly good. Kevin thinks that winter barley has great potential this year and is happy with his earlier decision to plant a larger area.

The only issue that is concerning him is uneven awn emergence in one field.

This was traced back to planting where the outer coulters on the wings of a new drill planted seeds deeper than those in the centre. These areas have been marked and ear counts will be carried out to see

A combination of good timing and drierthan-normal weather has helped to keep crops free of septoria but dryness was a problem in north Dublin. Shay Phelan reports

I

t has been a busy few weeks on the three Teagasc Tillage BETTER farms, just like every other farm around the country. Crops grew rapidly over the last few weeks so timing of input applications has been critical. Some critical decisions have been made on crops and the results of these will only be known when the combines come in from the fields. Rain last weekend was very welcome in some areas, especially in north Duiblin where low rainfall levels in April and May left some crops under pressure.

Kevin Nolan has used liquid nitrogen on all his winter barley this year and he is happy with the response.

CROPS& CULTIVATION 2017

if there is a yield effect.

Kevin used liquid N (UAN) as a trial on all his winter barley this year. Excluding the N in the compound, all other N was applied in liquid form to examine the convenience, performance and reliability of the product. So far, the product has worked well with no scorching, except on the odd overlap. Kevin, however, is keen to highlight the advantages that he has seen from the point of view of accuracy, timing and speed of uptake and he sees it as a very versatile product.

Liquid N will also facilitate the use of wider tramlines. Kevin reckons that it could be difficult to get traditional fertiliser to spread accuratley to 36m but this would not be a problem with the liquid. The plan at the moment is to move to liquid nitrogen on all the crops next year as Kevin is very happy with how it has worked out on the barley this year.

John Collins – low N use on spring crops Winter wheat received its flag leaf spray (T2) on 10 May with flag leaves fully emerged. This was exactly three weeks after the leaf-three spray (T1) application when the third-last leaf was fully emerged. John has seen some septoria on leaf four but it is at relatively low levels. Again the combination of dry weather and accurate timings are helping to keep it at bay.

Winter barley has finished flowering and looks good, if slightly tall. This is especially the case with the six-row varieties even though they all received their PGR. It remains to be seen if this has any effect on lodging – fingers crossed.

Oilseed rape has finished flowering and pods look to be filling well at the moment. John reckons that crops are ahead of schedule and it looks like there will be an early harvest this year.

Spring barley is a new venture this year

and John completed the top dressing of nitrogen using the YARA N-Sensor. The barley ground received poultry manure, as did his spring oats, so the N-Sensor is used to establish how much nitrogen the crops required.

John is anxious that the crops don’t lodge and he feels that the sensor has helped him in this regard over the years. However, he was surprised by how little CAN was applied on these crops but, having trusted the sensor in previous years, he was not tempted to put on more than the technology calculated. He has decided not to use a PGR on the spring barley because of this.

In general, John is happy with how his crops are performing thus far. The only worry he has at the moment is the price of cereals. He is concerned that, at current grain prices and the cost of inputs, tillage farming is hardly sustainable.

Derek Keeling – dryness still an issue

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“An event not to be missed” For your exhibitor pack contact Helena Scully on +353 1 4199 550 | hscully@farmersjournal.ie

Only 10mm of rain in April, followed by 20mm up to 25 May, left crops under huge pressure in north Dublin according to Derek Keeling. So the rain over the weekend was very welcome. Before that large cracks could be seen in fields, and these led to even more moisture loss out of the ground.

Some continuous wheat crops were under pressure and lighter areas of fields, or areas susceptible to take-all, were starting to appear even though these crops were Lattitude dressed.

Some foliar N was applied to these areas to see if it will give a response.

Derek felt it was pointless to put on CAN in the dry conditions as it could just sit on the dry ground for too long.

Top-dressing with nitrogen on the wheat was completed just before the flag emerged. The flag leaf spray (T2) was completed on 26 May with most crops looking quite clean.

A number of plant tissue samples were taken by Mark Plunkett of Teagasc to see

if there were differences within crops.

This was done because Derek had identified parts of fields where variability was evident. Manganese and zinc were identified in some zones within the wheat crop and these areas will be treated with foliar applications.

Derek resisted the temptation to apply these with the fungicides as he was afraid that the crops were already under enough stress and he didn’t want to risk causing scorch. These areas will be treated with a separate application.

Tillers Spring wheat was a little thinner than he would like and this has received a PGR, along with a mildewicide and herbicide, to try to encourage tillers.

Liquid potash was applied to some of the winter barley with the final fungicide to see if there is any benefit from a brackling point of view. Crops have good potential and it would be a pity to lose some of the heads on the ground.

PEDIGREE

LIVESTOCK

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Overall champion Derrylough Leader, who sold for €6,800.

Charolais ends sale season on a high Great finish to the spring bull sales for Charolais society

SHANE MURPHY

T

he Irish Charolais Cattle Society held the last of its spring sales in Tullamore last Saturday.

With just over one-third of the catalogued animals forward for

P38: Herd focus: Dunlouise Angus

sale, the bulls present were in high demand. In all, 30 of the 34 bulls sold to average €3,518, up nearly €350 on last year. Coming out on top of the show ring and subsequently the sales ring was Thomas and Collette Connor’s Derrylough Leader. After much deliberation,

P39: Parade of champions

judge Sean McGovern tapped the December 2015-born bull forward.

Red ribbon Leader had secured the red ribbon in the second class earlier in the morning. Sired

by Hideal, with Doonally New and Doon-

ally Donald in the back breeding, Leader attracted a number of bids before the hammer finally fell at €6,800. The successful bidder was Padraic Hegarty, Farnagh Hill, Co Longford.

Ä Continued on P40

P41: Carlisle May sale tops at 16,000gns

38 PEDIGREE

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

Herd focus

Dunlouise

Angus

Dunlouise Jipsey Nectar N532 with calf Jipsey Tartan T642. \ MacGregor Photography

T There’s something just that bit special about the Dunlouise Angus herd in Angus County, Scotland, writes Shane Murphy

he Dunlouise Angus herd is synonymous with breeding true Angus, not just locally but worldwide. What is it though that makes this herd, above all others worldwide, so famous? The answer is that it uses only pure native Angus bloodlines.

The Soutar family of Geordie, Julia and children Duncan and Louise have found a particular niche in the market by reviving true Angus genetics from the mid1900s. While this adds its own difficulties, from sourcing foundation females to reduced semen straw quality due to the time it was collected, the Soutars have invested time and money to make the system work.

Farming in the heartland of Angus County, where the breed first originated, the Soutar family started breeding the natives when population numbers worldwide stood at less than 150 females, critical point on the endangered list.

While the attitudes of fellow breeders when the family started back in 1995 mostly surrounded the viability of the system, these mindsets have all changed given the success of the herd on the international platform.

The herd has achieved remarkable success worldwide through the sales of embryos and semen. In fact, Dunlouise Jipsey Earl is internationally the most successful UK-bred bull ever and is a Pathfinder sire in America, the only UK bull ever awarded this status.

This year will mark the pinnacle of the family’s success when Dunlouise will host the first native sale in the UK in over 50 years.

But where did it all start? Geordie Soutar tells of what drove them down the path of pure native breeding.

“We had commercial cattle before I bought two Aberdeen Angus in 1995, one of them was a native the other wasn’t.

The more I worked with the native the more I thought that’s the way Angus cattle should be. It took off from there really.

“Following this, I got a list of all the animals which had no imported bloodlines in them from the past secretary of

the Aberdeen Angus Society, Bob Anderson. Most of these were old cows and most of them were in-calf to non-native bulls because most people saw no merit in keeping native native.”

From here, Geordie and Julia set about tracking down these cattle and have since established nine female lines within the herd all dating back to 1850, to the first Aberdeen Angus herd book. And through selective breeding, and trial and error with AI bulls through the years, the herd has broadened these bloodlines, expanding the native gene pool in the process.

“There’s a lot of good old genetics. They could’ve done a lot more from within the breed at the time. There would’ve been a lot of good genetics lost by chucking in a big Canadian bull or whatever.

They did make them too little, but then they made them too big and too hard as well, whereas these ones we’ve got haven’t been anywhere except in the middle.

“We try by seeing what works, but of course some have fallen by the wayside if they didn’t take us forward. We’re not going forward with numbers – we’re going forward with basically what we see on the ground.

“We’re trying to improve them, all the time we’re trying to improve. It doesn’t always work, but give 20,000gns for a bull in Stirling it doesn’t always work either. It’s not a fast job.

“We look at the feet, the legs the head; we don’t want explosive growth. The minute you go after explosive growth is the minute you have to increase your inputs. It’s all about this minimal input and the cattle that can work for me. I look after my cattle don’t get me wrong, but I’m not going to be a slave to them. They’re there to work for us,” explains Geordie.

The average carcase weight of the natives comes in between 290-320kg and while some people are fast to criticise the size of the natives compared with modern-day cattle, Geordie explains there are other big advantages of the breed.

“Everybody wants size at a young age but I think if they see these bulls at two and half they’ll have every bit of size that anybody needs in this day and age. But everybody wants instant gratification.

They want it now. That’s the thing.

“The Americans saw a value in the natives far sooner than most. Marbling is

a big thing in the States. See if they don’t have marbling then they’re no good.

They saw a lot of merit in the natives, because you can marble them off the grass. People say you can’t marble cattle unless you’re giving them grain; that is not true. Certain cattle you couldn’t, but these you can.

“Some say the middle is no use but you need the middle to use secondary fodder. An animal who’s lean will never put on flesh without pumping meal into it, because it doesn’t have the vital organ capacity to do so.

“Furthermore, if you’re going with the conclusion the factory doesn’t need the middle, well the slaughterhouse would rather not have legs and a head either.

So if you can breed an animal without heads and legs you’ll suit the slaughterhouse.

“Anyway I think the trend is to moderate carcases, because meat is expensive and the housewife has a finite budget.”

Whether a fan of the natives or not, what the Soutar family have accomplished in just over 20 years in phenomenal. The family’s clear vision and passion have driven the Dunlouise herd to new heights, now containing pedigrees which are sought after worldwide.

The Dunlouise sale which takes place at 1.30pm on Monday 26 June will see in excess of 50 full native Angus cattle along with embryos and semen go under the hammer on the home farm in Forfar, Angus. Interested parties from throughout the world have already declared interest in the sale, ensuring it will be a day that will go down in the Angus history books.

Dunlouise Red Claret Bella R596.

Louise, Julia, Duncan and Geordie Soutar.

\ MacGregor Photography

PEDIGREE 39

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

Shows coverage All results from shows we will be covering over the summer will be available on www.farmersjournal.ie/pedigree.

You at home can also get involved by sharing pictures of your show animals online on the new Facebook group “FJ Pedigree & Showing”.

Farmers Journal pedigree is now also available on Twitter @FJ_pedigree.

Interbreed champion and Bandon Co-op super young commercial heiferJaffacake at Bandon Show, owned by the McGivern family and shown by Cathal O’Meara.

Shows due to be covered Shows already covered.

Reports available on farmersjournal.ie/pedigree Quitrent Giselle from Avril Gubbins, Champion Simmental Bandon, Tralee and Midleton.

Parade of champions SHANE MURPHY PEDIGREE smurphy@farmersjournal.ie

Ballyelan Dempsey Lenita from Tom Lynch, Dairy champion at the Kingdom Fair. Also pictured is judge Donal Neville.

Bandon Show Angus calf champion Mogeely Memo, owned

by Albert DeCogan, who recieved the Percy Lovell cup from Derek Lovell. Also pictured is judge Pat Sheedy.

Solpoll 1 Lawman, Hereford champion Bandon Show, exhibited by John Appelbe. Also pictured is judge Pat Sheedy.

Belgian Blue champion at Bandon Show, Jackson, exhibited

by Daniel O’Donovan.

The summer show season is now well under way. This year, similar to the last few years, the Irish Farmers Journal is committed to bringing you all the up-to-date action from throughout the country. To the right is a map with the proposed 2017 shows coverage. Show reports from these shows, along with pictures of the breed champions, can be found on www.farmersjournal.ie/pedigree.

Pictured on this page are some of the very worthy champions across a number of shows over the past few weeks including Tralee, Bandon and Midleton.

40 PEDIGREE

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

Pedigree Spectacular this weekend SHANE MURPHY

PEDIGREE smurphy@farmersjournal.ie

The Pedigree Cattle Breeders Council (PCBC) of Ireland, which represents all breed societies, is all set for the showing and grooming workshop in Tullamore this Saturday 3 June.

The workshop will include all aspects of pedigree breeding including selection, animal health, feeding, halter making/ breaking, clipping/grooming, showing, health and safety and more.

All breeds will have some stock present and the clipping, grooming and presentation aspects of the workshop will be focused on specific breeds. This will make Saturday the biggest all-breed workshop in Ireland.

While the day is open to everybody, the council has tried to put particular focus on equipping young people with the skills to deliver maximum impact at shows during the summer.

Attendees on the day will all receive a comprehensive booklet, produced to cover the entire day’s proceedings.

This resource booklet will no doubt help participants get the best from their livestock in the show ring and the sales ring and will be a useful reference for years to come.

The event is being run with the support of GAIN Animal Nutrition, Alltech Ireland, Merial Animal Health and of course the Irish Farmers Journal. The workshop takes place at Tullamore’s GVM mart on Saturday 3 June between 10.30am and 5pm. A detailed agenda along with pre-

Table 1: Time 10-10.30am 10.30–11am 11-11.45am

Topic detail Arrival and registration Selecting and judging show cattle – Using four exhibits Health programme for pedigree and show cattle, viruses, parasites, both internal and external

12–12.50pm

Nutrition and management of pedigree cattle for shows and sales

12.50-1.10pm

Health and safety around livestock

1.10-2pm 2-2.30pm

Lunch break Halter-making in the ring or on break-out

2.30-3.30pm

&OLSSLQJ DQG JURRPLQJ LQ oYH breakout groups

3.50-4.15pm 4.15-4.45pm 4.45pm-5pm

Basil Bothwell Sioned Timothy BV Sc MSc, ruminant technical manager Merial Animal Health Martin Ryan, B Agr Sc, MSc (Mngt), technical support manager, GAIN Animal Nutrition Vincent Nally, FRS health and safety trainer

Expert groomers accompanied E\à \RXQJ JURRPHUV DQG H[SHULenced handlers

Attendees can focus on the breed(s) of most interest to them Self-presentation - boy and girl from each breed, dress code, etc Showmanship - ring presentation, showing skills and ring etiquette )LQDO TXHVWLRQV UDIpH HWF

senters is set in Table 1.

Breed societies being represented at the grooming and showing spectacular include: Irish Angus Cattle Society, Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society, Irish Aubrac Cattle Breed Society, Irish Belgian Blue Cattle Society, Irish Charolais Cattle So-

Presenter

Each breed to organise with young members Top handlers in each breed 5DIpH *$,1

ciety, Irish Hereford Breed Society, Irish Holstein Friesian Association, Irish Limousin Cattle Society, The Irish Parthenaise Cattle Breed Society, Salers Cattle Society of Ireland, Irish Shorthorn Society, Irish Simmental Cattle Society and Irish Jersey Cattle Society (to be confirmed).

Top price of €6,800 with an 88% clearance at Tullamore Ä Continued from P37 Claiming reserve championship honours was John Bambrick, Castlewarren, Co Kilkenny, with Baurnafea Major ET. This embryo-born Goldstar Echo son carried five stars on the terminal index and went on to claim the third-top price of €5,200. Major ET found a new home in Co Armagh with Aaron and Niall O’Rourke.

Kevin Molloy realised €10,700 for the first two bulls into the ring. Securing the second-top price of €5,600 was Molloy’s November 2015-born Dolland Luke. This Cavelands Fenian-sired bull carried five stars down the line and was secured by Ivan Hughes, Co Armagh.

Cavelands Fenian was also the sire behind Molloy’s second exhibit, Dolland Lewis 2. Again five stars down the line, this bull was awarded first prize in the pre-sale show and sold to Thomas Corcoran, Co Galway, for €5,100.

Two bulls hit the €4,800 mark. First at the money was Peter McLoughlin’s Aquancoua Marco. This February 2016-born bull sees Doonally New, Mogador and Meillard Rj in his lineage. Monaghanbased Michael Fee was the successful bidder for this one.

Matching Marco at the money was Aghfad Major from Edward Walsh, Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan. Sired by Indurain, with Hermes and Major in the back breeding, this stylish first-prize winner was secured by Pat Cox, Co Roscommon.

A further three bulls made it to the €4,000 or more bracket, two of which hit €4,200. First at the money was Conal Tiernan’s Coshleens Meillard. Sired by Nectargerc, Meillard is out of homebred Lyonsdemesne Tzar daughter Coshleens Frances. Carrying five stars for carcase weight and carcase conformation, he sold to Waterford farmer Tony Harrington.

Reserve champion Baurnafea Major ET, who sold for €5,200.

Dalehill Miley was the next to hit the €4,200 mark. This five-star son of Doonally New was exhibited by Basil Kells, Killeshandra, Co Cavan, and sold to local

farmer Andrew Brazil.

Tony Lyons’ first-prize winner Roonagh Mark realised €4,000. This March 2016-born son of Gedeon also featured

Mogador and Doonally New in his pedigree. This was one of three bulls purchased on the day from Scottish-based William Glazebrook.

PEDIGREE 41

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

Carlisle May sale tops at 16,000gns

T A top price of 16,000gn was achieved in the Angus ring at Carlisle over the weekend, while the Shorthorn breed set two new centre records

he Carlisle May sale was held over the weekend and had a top call of 16,000gns. This bid came for the ďŹ ve-year-old cow Blelack Toplass M847, who was sold as part of the Blelack autumn-calving dispersal sale.

Sired by Blelack Equity J127 and out of Blelack Toplass F552, she sold to RJ and D Loftus of the Weeton herd.

The Loftus family also paid the secondtop price of the dispersal, giving 10,000gns for Blelack Pride N114. This daughter of Carrington Park Time on B7 is out of Blelack Pristine K536, herself a Peter Pershore daughter.

The sale hit the 8,000gns price tag twice. The ďŹ rst bid came from the Saville herd of S and S Medley for Blelack Kylie N204. This four-year-old was sired by Blelack Equity J127 and goes back to the noted Fordafourie breeding.

Matching her at the money was Blelack Toplass P423, this one by Hallington Principal M367, and sold to W Foster of the ManorďŹ eld herd. In total, 19 Blelack cows and in-calf heifers sold to average ÂŁ6,128.

Topping the bull side of things over the weekend was the junior and reserve overall Angus champion Gretnahouse Jack Eric R832.

This December 2015-born bull out of former Stirling champion Haymount Precursor M255 who sold for 18,000gns, while the dam is Netherallan Peter Pershore daughter Blelack Jury Erica K395.

Jack Eric met his reserve at 12,000gns, selling to Messrs Stewart, Little Balquhomrie, Leslie.

The dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supreme champion and senior male champion was Cheeklaw Parker R514 from DG and C Lucas of the Cheeklaw Herd in Berwickshire.

Parker was sired by Cardona Proud Punch L752, also sire of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Stirling

Easycare and Stabiliser walk

In brief

Drumleek Farm, run by James and Alison Greer, hosts a farm walk in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, on Saturday 10 June at 11am. Drumleek Farm runs a pRFN RI ZRRO VKHGGLQJ (DV\FDUH VKHHS ZKLFK DUH ODPEHG RXWGRRUV These are run alongside a herd of $QJXV FURVV FRZV VLUHG E\ 6WDELOLVHU

Carlisle Burnside Jack The Lad, reserve male champion, sold for 6,200gns.

â&#x201A;Ź4,153 â&#x201A;Ź6,128 â&#x201A;Ź4,469 â&#x201A;Ź2,973 â&#x201A;Ź1,583 Angus bull average

Blelack female average Shorthorn bull average Shorthorn in-calf heifer average

champion in February, while the dam was homebred Cheeklaw Petrina G284.

He sold for 4,500gns to C Edwards, Colwinston.

Thrunton Brigadier Max R906 from Messrs JHC Campbell and Sons claimed the reserve senior championship before selling for 5,000gns.

This son of Blelack Prince Consort A286 found a new home at Upper Chatto Farm, Morebattle.

Finishing oďŹ&#x20AC; the championships was Blelack Toplass R626 from Messrs NF Massie and Sons, who was awarded the reserve junior championship. Sired by Warrenho Emperor M425, he sold for 7,000gns to G D Herdman, Alnwick.

Altogether, 54 of the Angus bulls forward sold to average ÂŁ4,153. bulls for ease of management and feed FRQYHUVLRQ HIoFLHQF\ $ SDQHO RI VSHDNHUV IURP 6KHHS ,UHODQG (DV\FDUH DQG WKH 6WDELOLVHU EUHHG ZLOO EH SUHVHQW

Shorthorn The Shorthorns achieved two new centre breed records. First oďŹ&#x20AC; were bulls reaching 8,500gns, while females ďŹ&#x201A;ourished selling to 6,500gns with 100% clearance.

Topping the Shorthorn trade at 8,500gns was the rising two-year-old Gilven Journey.

Sired by Cavans Bourbon and out of a Bilsdale-bred dam, he was bred and exhibited by RS and G Johnson, Huby, York, and sold to S and J Hodgson, Bradford, West Yorkshire, along with four female entries.

The day â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second-highest call of 7,500gns was made by D Nesbitt, Seascale, Cumbria, for the male and overall champion Millerston Juggernaut. Exhibited

by Jack P Ramsay, this 21-month-old was

Shorthorn maiden heifer average

sired by Meonhill Charlie Chaplin and out of a homebred dam.

Northern Ireland breeders W and J McAllister, Ballymena, were in the money when they sold their 17-month-old reserve champion Burnside Jack The Lad for 6,200gns. Sired by the 6,000gns Chapelton Yardley, he sold to ME and TD Tailford, Riding Mill, Northumberland.

Out in front of the 100% clearance achieved in the female ring was Oakleigh Justright at 6,500gns. This two-year-old roan heifer by Blelack Masterpiece sold in-calf to Chapleton Bonanza and was obtained by Mr Nesbitt.

Sixteen Shorthorn bulls levelled at ÂŁ4,469, while the female side saw 11 incalf heifers average ÂŁ2,973 and 29 maidens average out at ÂŁ1,583.

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HELPING YOU GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR FARM

FARMERS JOURNAL

IN SHOPS Two Schmallenberg cases in Scotland EVERY FRIDAY Scotland

25 March 2017 Vol 70 No 4

I think the higher ground is good enough to support Lleyn crosses and the hill sheep should also beneďŹ t from the hybrid vigour of a ďŹ rst cross

Feature>> 8

JOHN SLEIGH

SCOTTISH EDITOR

jsleigh@farmersjournal.co.uk

EXCLUSIVE

Two Scottish sheep ďŹ&#x201A;ocks near the English border have had conďŹ rmed diagnosis of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) in malformed lambs. This follows on from a rise in numbers of aďŹ&#x20AC;ected lambs across England and Wales this winter.

Cases of Schmallenberg being discovered now will have been infected last year. The Schmallenberg virus is spread by midges. For the virus to have a high impact in cattle herds and sheep ďŹ&#x201A;ocks the midge must infect pregnant mothers at key stages of pregnancy. For sheep this is the second month and slightly beyond of pregnancy, and for cattle they must be bitten in the monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s three to ďŹ ve of pregnancy, but can have issues slightly after this period too. This is when damage to the developing central nervous system occurs. This results in brain and limb deformities in the newborn lambs d l

For For our ourfull fullrange rangecontact contactwww.pedigreecattle.ie www.pedigreecattle.ieor phone +353 498542907 8542 907 or phone 049

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

42 ARABLE

Most crops remain clean and show good potential While some crops still show signs of a difficult start, most spring and winter crops show good yield potential if the remainder of the season is kind to them, writes Andy Doyle

I

am still not sure how we will remember the planting and growing seasons for the crop of 2017. Autumn planting conditions were generally excellent, but yet some latesown crops suffered poor establishment. Spring planting was delayed, but the early crops have been growing well since they went into the ground. Some latersown crops suffered in the

drought but most have recovered well.

April and half of May were dry months and this helped reduce pressure from wetseason diseases such as septoria, rhyncho and net blotch. While there was some serious early septoria, its spread seemed to be contained in the dry weather and while we have had some big bursts of rain since, lower infection levels tend to

READ ABOUT OUR FOCUS FARM’S JOURNEYS, EVERY WEEK IN THE FARMERS JOURNAL SCOTLAND: The Farm Profit Programme is a joint venture between ANM Group and the Farmers Journal. Over the next three years, the programme has one simple aim – making livestock pay.

MARK & SHONA MACKAY Greenvale Farm, Dunnet, Thurso, Caithness Farm Size: 368ha

THE BIFFEN FAMILY

Arnage Farms, Mains of Arnage, Ellon, Aberdeenshire Farm Size: 227ha

THE DUGUID FAMILY

Mains of Cranna, Aberchirder, Huntly, Aberdeenshire Farm Size: 164ha

THE DUFFUS FAMILY

Mains of Auchriachan, Tomintoul, Ballindalloch Farm Size: 1,540ha

CHARLES & ALISON WEBSTER Ardhuncart Farm, Kildrummy, Alford, Aberdeenshire Farm Size: 250ha

ANDREW & KATHRYN GAMMIE Drumforber, Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire Farm Size: 131ha

result in lower infection pressure.

But wet season diseases are always a risk. Septoria is on the move where fungicides were missed and I have also seen bits of rhyncho and net blotch in good spring barley crops. We cannot assume that dry weather alone will prevent these diseases, as we have had a lot of heavy dews which help the spread of these

diseases, even in the absence of rain. But heavy dew is lower spread pressure than heavy rain.

The dry weather brought its own challenges. Yellow rust caught some people out and it was a really big problem in some fields.

Over the past week, I have been in winter wheat crops that were between booting and earing out. One crop still had the remnants of yellow rust activity, while the other had signs that yellow rust had been present, but it was fully dried up now. This latter crop received a late T1 containing epoxiconazole which did the job but it can take a little time.

Last Thursday, I was at the Glanbia field evening in David O’Dwyer’s near Ballinaboola in Wexford.

There, we saw a crop of late October-drilled Avatar that was at late booting. This was very clean, but there was evidence of a little fresh mildew that needs to be watched.

We also visited a crop of field beans that were very uniformly established and showing uniform growth.

There was plenty evidence of weevil notching on leaves and this crop had been sprayed with an insecticide to control them. There was also quite a bit of chocolate spot evident on the crop, as well as a few lesions of alternaria. The crop looked to have potential and it looked like the pods were going to be set relatively high up on the stem. There was a lot of downy mildew on some crops this spring, but I did not see any there.

We also visited a crop of Planet spring barley. The crop was at early stem extension, with the lower nodes now 1in to 2in from the base. This was a dense crop, but there was no sign of mildew or rhyncho at this point. There was a level of BYDV evident, but this was not bad really. A spring aphicide had been applied.

Winter barley Elsewhere, I was in a crop of winter barley which was still flowering. This crop was very clean, with only a few lesions of net blotch evident. The crop seemed strong. It looked like it could be a little thicker, but it was Tower and this variety always brings a second later tiller layer that helps contribute to final yield. It had a good leaf canopy and the lower leaves were dying off due to lack of light.

I also visited a crop of early sown spring wheat which was very clean as the flag leaves appeared. However, like many other spring

Seed weevil and pollen beetles photographed RQ D ODWH pRZHULQJ branch of winter oilseed rape last week.

This crop of Tower winter barley looked YHU\ ZHOO SRVW pRZHUing and it was almost perfectly clean to the ground.

Leaf tip damage is evident in many winter wheat crops which were sprayed during the very hot conditions of recent weeks.

But some of the leaf specking was caused by diseases such as yellow rust.

crops, there was a bit of mildew present. This should be tackled to prevent it getting too bad. Another crop of spring barley I visited last week had the second-last leaf emerging and this is probably at flag leaf emerging now, so it was obviously early sown. This crops was doing well, but it was a bit uneven so it may have suffered in the dry time early in the month. There was a bit of mildew and rhyncho evident, but there was little sign of BYDV. Up around north Leinster, there was more evidence of crop stress. Dryness remained a factor up to last weekend, when heavy rain gave most areas a good and welcome drink.

MACHINERY 3 June 2017

+ TOPLINK.IE CLASSIFIEDS

High points at Grassland & Muck event For the Best Deals: Contact Angus at 07796 148769 VARIABLE CHAMBER BALER View the V660 Variable Chamber Baler video at :

SP OF ECIA AV FE L AIL RS AB LE

44 MACHINERY

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

UNDER THE HOOD

Taking a look at machines from Grassland & Muck

I

n this week’s machinery pages, Simon Henley looked at the newest grass machinery at Grassland & Muck in the UK where there was a strong turnout of Irish manufacturers and visitors.

In motoring, I drove the 4x4 Opel Mokka X for a week and found it to be a good solid performer on- and slightly off-road, with lots of techy bits.

On the vintage front this week, we looked at forgotten classics, the Leyland 262 and 272 Synchros.

Personally, the 272 holds special memories for me – some good, some bad – having had one on the home farm for many years.

In other news, plans for Crops and Cultivations are moving ahead at pace and the list of serious machines is growing on a daily basis. It is looking to be a great event on a lovely compact site.

D&S Machinery may not be Landini and McCormick importers, but will still supply Solis tractors and a large selection of spare parts.

Alistair Chambers

achambers@farmersjournal.ie

NEXT

WEEK

Comparing the new with the old

AgriArgo takes over Landini and McCormick tractor sales

A

griArgo UK Ltd, the importers of the Landini and McCormick tractor brands in the UK, will be taking over the distribution of these tractor brands in Ireland from this week.

The company, which is based in Harworth, south Yorkshire, England, is a subsidiary of the ARGO group, the Italianbased company that manufacturers the tractors.

It is understood that AgriArgo has appointed Wexford man Will Doyle to be

the Irish sales manager for the two brands.

He will be working closely with the existing dealer network. Will was formerly national sales manager for Zetor Ireland, which is part of the McHale Plant Sales organisation.

The move is a big change in terms of Irish tractor distribution, as Landini has been distributed by D&S Machinery in all of Ireland for over 26 years and more recently the McCormick brand when it was re-established by the ARGO group in 2001.

D&S Machinery is run by Michael Devane and it is understood that there have been some redundancies at the company following the loss of the twin tractor franchises.

It is understood that D&S Machinery will continue to provide parts services to Landini and McCormick dealers for the near future.

D&S are the importers of Solis tractors into Ireland and will continue with this brand, along with their expanding spare parts business.

MACHINERY 45

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

FTMTA NEWS

A Fendt Katana 65 working in Northern Ireland during this last week.

Fendt Katana spotted in NI A Fendt Katana 65 self-propelled forage harvester has been spotted working in Northern Ireland.

Fendt says that it is just undertaking testing in Irish conditions and that it is not planning on doing a major demonstration run this summer.

So far, the machine has been troublefree and the lucky drivers have been impressed with its output.

The machine will be spending the next couple of weeks in Northern Ireland, but may come down to the south for some customer and press demonstrations.

It is believed that there is good interest in this machine among Irish contrac-

tors and also in the larger machine, the Katana 85.

The specs of these machines are very impressive, with 625hp and 850hp respectively. Four-wheel-drive is standard on the diďŹ&#x20AC;erent models. Both Katanas are ďŹ tted with Kemper headers, which are proven in Irish conditions.

The big Fendts would be an interesting addition to the Irish harvester market if Fendt decides to market them here.

This will depend on the testing programme that is currently being undertaken being a success. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hoping it is, as they are an imposing sight in the ďŹ eld.

FARMERS JOURNAL Scotland

25 March 2017 Vol 70 No 4

I think the higher ground is good enough to support Lleyn crosses and the hill sheep should also beneďŹ t from the hybrid vigour of a ďŹ rst cross Feature>> 8

Two Schmallenberg cases in Scotland JOHN SLEIGH SCOTTISH EDITOR jsleigh@farmersjournal.co.uk

EXCLUSIVE

Two Scottish sheep ďŹ&#x201A;ocks near the English border have had conďŹ rmed diagnosis of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) in malformed lambs. This follows on from a rise in numbers of aďŹ&#x20AC;ected lambs across England and Wales this winter.

Cases of Schmallenberg being discovered now will have been infected last year. The Schmallenberg virus is spread by midges. For the virus to have a high impact in cattle herds and sheep ďŹ&#x201A;ocks the midge must infect pregnant mothers at key stages of pregnancy. For sheep this is the second month and slightly beyond of pregnancy, and for cattle they must be bitten in the monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s three to ďŹ ve of pregnancy, but can have issues slightly after this period too. This is when damage to the developing central nervous system occurs. This results in brain and limb deformities in the newborn lambs and calves.

The disease can spread sporadically, with previous outbreaks being very close to areas which have no cases of Schmallenberg. SAC Consulting vets expect the higher risk will be to cattle mated in the summer of 2017 and at the edge of the northward progression of infected midges. Fortunately the Scottish weather has prevented the disease from having the same eďŹ&#x20AC;ect on animals to the extent in England and on the continent.

Keeping records of liveweights can allow underlying health issues to be identiďŹ ed as early as possible >> 19

NFU Scotland warns on cattle ID failures News >> 3

Increased area The FTMTA is pleased to announce that it will be possible to provide another 15 acres of grass working plots at next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event, bringing the total grass demo area to nearly 100 acres.

It will also be possible to increase the size of the trade village area signiďŹ cantly.

It is intended that exhibitors will showcase a wide range of products from many brands of tractors, farm machinery and accessories to animal care products, seeds and agro chemicals.

In keeping with the FTMTA ethos for both Grass & Muck and the FTMTA Farm Machinery Show, only stands from genuinely agriculture-focused businesses will be accepted.

Full details will be issued to prospective exhibitors in mid-autumn. Any ďŹ rm which is interested in exhibiting for the ďŹ rst time at the event can register their interest in advance by contacting the FTMTA office on 045-409309 or at admin@ftmta.ie .

Subscribe to the Scottish Edition For special features and the latest farming news from Scotland, subscribe today and get the paper posted to you every week.

For an extra ÂŁ10 you get early access online and archives of all Irish, Northern Irish and Scottish content

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or go to www.farmersjournal.co.uk/subs FARMERS BLUE MEANS FREEDOM Subscribe at www.farmersjournal.co.uk/subs JOURNAL â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Aberdeen Ĺ° Glasgow 014-13011044 Scotland or call us: THE JUWEL PLOUGH GENERATION OPERATION OF SAFETY AND USE OF EASE BSE negligible risk status

The slaughter records give valuable information for breeding decisions.

Some sheep are plain looking, but they kill out well

28 January 2017 Vol 70 No 4 R2

Farmer focus >> 26

recommended for Scotland TRIED & TESTED TECHNICAL ADVICE | AL NEWS | LOCAL, NATIONAL & INTERNATION â&#x2013; Optiquick for ploughing without lateral pull They are not only particularly operator-friendly, but at the The Juwel 7 and Juwel 8 mounted ploughs set new benchmarks in soil cultivation. â&#x2013; TurnControl for safe plough turning | many benefits for yourself: and discover itsANALYSIS MARKET technology latest the EXPERT Experience soils! any in â&#x20AC;&#x201C; operation of safety soils outstanding stony er in off same time â&#x2013; Hydromatic for disruption-free ploughing even JOHN SLEIGH

SCOTTISH EDITOR

jsleigh@farmersjournal.co.uk

HELPING YOU GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR FARM lemken.com

Ethos Both FTMTA-organised public machinery events are run in accordance with the ethos of â&#x20AC;&#x153;organised by the trade for the farmer and contractorâ&#x20AC;?.

FTMTA Grass & Muck was put in place by the association from the outset as Irelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s national grassland technology event and has proven very popular with the tradeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farming and contracting customers, as well as with exhibitors.

FTMTA Grass & Muck has progressed on each occasion that it is held and is now a ďŹ&#x201A;agship event for the Irish farm machinery industry Grassland management is the largest user by far of agricultural mechanisation in Ireland, with silage-making and slur-

ry-spreading remaining as the two most heavily mechanised activities in Irish farming.

FTMTA Grass & Muck provides the farm machinery buyer with a unique opportunity to view the very latest developments in the various grass machinery technologies in a working setting.

The proven and very popular format of ongoing demonstrations throughout the day in the grass, reseeding, silage pit, slurry spreading and farm yard manure spreading areas will be continued in 2018, as well as a large area of trade stands in the trade village.

CALL TODAY TO SUBSCRIBE Farmers Journal

Industry insight >> 4

The very popular FTMTA Grass & Muck event will return to the popular Gurteen College site near Birr, Co OďŹ&#x20AC;aly, on Thursday 17 May 2018.

FTMTA chief executive Gary Ryan stated that the association is delighted to once again make use of the excellent facilities and central location of Gurteen College, which has proven to be a such successful site for this event since it was ďŹ rst held in 2010.

From the first such occasion, which drew an attendance of 7,500, through to last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event, which attracted nearly 11,000 visitors , FTMTA Grass & Muck has developed to become a regular biennial showcase run by the Farm Tractor & Machinery Trade Association on alternate years to the FTMTA Farm Machinery Show at Punchestown.

Print edition 6 months â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Only ÂŁ69

Ă&#x201E; Continued on page 2

Brazil overshadows latest trade talks

Be a part of a stronger farm machinery industry â&#x20AC;&#x201C; join the Farm Tractor and Machinery Trade Association â&#x20AC;&#x201C; contact FTMTA at 045 409309 or membership @ftmta.ie for details.

Date announced For FTMTA Grass & Muck 2018

EXCLUSIVE

The Scottish Government have announced that they are a step closer to BSE negligible status. This comes after the World Organisation for Animal Healthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (OIE) scientiďŹ c commission recommended that Scotland be recognised as an area of the UK having Negligible Risk status. This recommendation will need to be passed by the OIE General Assembly of Delegates at its meeting in late May 2017. Before the May meeting any other country has the ability to ask for the papers and pose questions which has the potential to delay the process. Along will Northern Ireland, Scotland hopes to become the ďŹ rst region of a member state awarded BSE negligible risk. Scotland has been BSE-free since 2009, and has had no cases of BSE in animals born since 2005.

The status could be worth millions of pounds to the beef sector as more parts of the animal could be used and more export markets could be opened up.

â&#x2013; Skimmer with easy adjustment options â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all without tools

46 MACHINERY

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

VINTAGE Leyland

Synchro The Leyland 262 and 272 Synchro tractors were popular models in a lineup which would ultimately represent the swansong era for the ubiquitous blue and silver ‘coffin-bonnet’ Leyland tractor

T

he story of the Leyland 262 and 272 tractors starts in 1975, when the all-new 262 superseded the three-cylinder 255 model (55hp) and the 272 replaced the 270 (70hp). For all intents and purposes, the two new tractors were identical; the only significant difference between them being the output of their engines.

Power for both models was provided by an improved version of the 3.8-litre four-cylinder Leyland 4/98 diesel, producing 62hp and 72hp respectively, providing power to the wheels via a 10-speed/ two-range gearbox. The new facelifted models also featured stronger axles, a new hydraulic valve-chest design and improved PTO engagement.

Financial trouble By the mid-1970s, British Leyland was in dire financial trouble, which was beginning to affect the development of its tractors. The problem with the new 262/272 models was that, despite an increase in power and the introduction of an improved Vincent cab design, (necessitated by the impending Q-Cab legislature of 1976), neither tractor offered very much in the way of technical improvement.

The reality was that underneath the light blue sheet metal, the tractors’ heritage could be traced directly to development of the 60hp Nuffield 10/60, which had originally introduced Nuffield customers to the 10-speed gearbox in 1964.

In fact, aside from the introduction of the 4/98 engine in 1972, the basic design configuration of the British Leyland tractor had changed very little since the introduction of the BMC Nuffield Universal in 1948.

Development work for a new synchro-

mesh transmission was commissioned in early 1973. Constrained by budget limitations, engineers working at British Leyland’s former truck and tractor production facility at Bathgate in Scotland managed to develop a new transmission design, which, unusually for the time, placed the synchronisers on the transmission layshaft.

The first prototype of the new transmission was built in late 1974. A standout feature of the new gearbox was that it featured synchronisation on reverse gear. This feature, which at the time was unheard of even in the automotive industry, made the gearbox eminently suitable for loader work, where frequent forward-reverse shuttling was required.

Field trials Initial field trials of the new nine-speed/ three-range Synchro gearbox revealed that the working ratios were not ideally suited to agricultural applications, forcing their subsequent revision.

Further changes to the tractors’ transmission design included the introduction of an 11-tooth final drive pinion, (previously an option), which replaced the troublesome nine-tooth unit used in previous 10-speed tractors.

The new Leyland Synchro models were introduced in 1978. The Synchro range, which featured gear levers positioned either side of the driver’s seat to improve floor space, included the 245, the 262, the 272 and the six-cylinder 285 and 2100 models.

Leyland also introduced two new fourwheel drive versions, namely the 462 and 472 Synchro, equipped with a centre-drive Carraro front axle. The following year, Leyland introduced the turbo-charged 282 and 482 Synchro models.

In 1980, the Leyland tractor range was revamped, introducing once again what were predominantly just cosmetic changes. These included the introduction of a new Scandinavian-sourced Sekura Explorer Q-cab and the launch of the new Harvest Gold paint scheme. The Golden Harvest range, as it was officially titled, mirrored the previous Synchro range in terms of technical specification, albeit with a new numerical identification scheme in which the 262 became the 602 and the 272 the 702 model.

The Leyland 262 and its more powerful stablemate the Leyland 272 were mechanically identical.

%ULWLVK /H\ODQG ZDV WKH oUVW PDQXIDFWXUHU WR use printed-circuit instrumentation on its tractors.

The Leyland Synchro range featured a Q-cab, which was installed on the production line at Bathgate, Scotland.

Production figures published in the book The Nuffield Tractor Story Volume II

by Anthony Clare indicate that just 864 Leyland tractors were sold in Ireland between 1978 and 1981.

It has now been more than 35 years

since the name Leyland appeared on a tractor bonnet.

Yet, these once venerable workhorses are still fondly remembered by many of the people who once owned them and revered by those few who still do.

Irish Farmers Journal Vintage Diary

The Leyland 272 Synchro tractor was introduced as part of the new Synchro range in 1978.

4 Jun 4 Jun 4 Jun 4/5 Jun 10 Jun 11 Jun 11 Jun 25 Jun 25 Jun

South Leitrim Vintage Rally, Ballinamore Ballyglass Heritage Club Rally Day, Claremorris Longford Vintage Club Ltd Annual Show and Field Day Innishannon Steam and Vintage Rally, Cork Castledermot Vintage Club JP Clynch Memorial Tractor Run Iveta Vintage Rally and Vintage Road Run, Swallows Quarter, Laois Shrule & District Vintage Club Field Day, Galway Charliville Vintage Rally, Cork Iveragh Vintage Club Tractor/Vintage Car Run, Waterville

Contact Damien 087-980 6974

Rita Horan 086 190 3968 Jim Fogarty 086 867 2664 Denis Fenton 086 603 8800

*Dates are subject to change. The Irish Farmers Journal does not take responsibility for date or venue changes. Please contact each event before you travel.

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48 MACHINERY

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

Grassland &Muck highlights With more than €25m worth of new machinery on show and scorching hot weather, the 2017 Grassland & Muck event in the UK on 24 and 25 May attracted thousands of visitors.

Simon Henley reports

Grassland & Muck has established itself as the go-to UK event for working demos of mowing and grasshandling equipment

G

rassland & Muck has established itself as the go-to UK event for working demonstrations of mowing, grasshandling, forage harvesting and clamping equipment, in addition to muck and slurry-handling apparatus.

Despite the pressure for many farmers and contractors to attend during the onslaught of this year’s first-cut grass harvest, bumper crops and warm weather were the perfect ingredients to make this triennial event worthy of a visit, as manufacturers from all over Europe exhibited new machinery.

LELY STORM 300 PROFI

QUICKE Q-SERIES LOADERS

JCB 419S

HOLARAS VIKING GRASS SPREADER

New in the trailed forage harvester market, the Lely Storm 300 and 300P Profi models feature a galvanised cam-less pickup design and a more aggressive feed roller system, with twin springs for an even feed to the chopping cylinder.

A 1.3m flywheel with 10 blades and five paddles guarantees continuous flowthrough, while chop length is controlled using interchangeable external drivegears on the gearbox. The retail price is £51,495.

Quicke’s new Q-Series is the first digital front-loader range on the market, offering increased torsional rigidity, thanks to the introduction of both cast and forged and steel components on critical load bearing parts, and a new boom profile providing 30% better operator vision. Options for the new range include a multi-coupler hydraulic connector, loader lights, hydraulic locking and twotone paintwork. Prices for the Q-Series booms range from £4,660 to £12,905.

Introduced as the successor for the JCB 418 wheeled-loader, the new JCB 419S introduces a Stage IV Final 6.7L Cummins QSB engine rated at 183hp, mounted in a longer rear-chassis to improve the new models payload. A six-speed ZF powershift (40km/h) transmission is used to power larger ZF axles, which are designed to handle larger (optional) 750/R26 tyres.

Hydraulic power is provided by a 180l/ min single-piston hydraulic pump. The 419S costs £140,000 and is available now.

The Netherlands-based grassland equipment manufacturer demonstrated its 6m Viking grass spreader for the first time in Britain. Imported into Ireland by WM-Agri, the Viking is designed for applications where a silage wagon is used, to improve the ensilaging of long chop grass. Equipped with hydraulically adjustable side skirts and an optional hydraulic fork used to move clumps of grass, the Viking is designed for use with a Holoras Stego-Pro silage compactor.

OPICO HE-VA SWARD REJUVENATOR

CASE IH RB 545 ROUND-BALER

JOHN DEERE C441R BALER WRAPPER

Constructed using the existing 6.3m HeVa rolls chassis, this grassland improvement machine provides a scarifying action to the turf by using the combination of a hydraulically adjustable Shatta Board fitted with slicing plates, followed by a twin-row grass harrow. The soil is firmed by a Prisma roller combination, which uses the He-Va SAT system to ensure even pressure across the width of the machine.

Opico claims the machine can be used not only to stimulate grass growth, but for restoring badly poached pasture.

The latest baler from Case IH boasts a Norwegian pedigree, CNH, having purchased the manufacturing rights from Orkel to produce its baler. The new 545 baler retains many of the Norwegian manufacturers original design features, with the addition of a 2.2m CNH pickup, similar in design to the unit used on the current variable-chamber 455 baler. The fixed roller design uses 18 rollers with 10 dimples per roller to increase bale contact and traction during bale formation.

An Isobus control system is included..

John Deere’s new C441R baler introduces a premium specification machine, using the new F441R balers upgraded heavy-duty feeding system and bale chamber, combined with the improved capability of John Deere’s transport table system. Available in single or tandemaxle configurations, the new C441R baler shares the F441R’s 18 12-rib roller setup for improved bale traction, and a new net-wrap system, which uses a braking device to tension the net as it wraps the bale.

JOSKIN XTREME 18500TS/JOHN DEERE MANURE SENSING SYSTEM The demand for greater accuracy when applying liquid manure/waste was demonstrated by Joskin, which exhibited its Xtrem 18500TS tanker equipped with John Deere’s manure sensing system.

Using the same near infra-red (IFR) technology as John Deere’s HarvestLab sensor, NPK and dry matter levels are automatically analysed, as the slurry passes from tanker to the applicator.

MACHINERY 49

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

MALONE

VICON EXTRA 687N

PÖTTINGER IMPRESS BALER

The former McHale engineer Michael Malone, is well-known for producing quality grassland equipment, including disc mowers and silage wagons up to 52cm3 in size. The latest products from the Malone stable include its new fourand six-rotor grass tedders, providing working widths of 5.7m and 8.4m, respectively.

Malone spreaders are fully equipped from the factory with a spare wheel and lights. Retail prices are £6,500 (fourrotor) and £9,250 (six-rotor), with a 12-month warranty.

Vicon’s new lightweight Extra 687N butterfly combination is designed for farmers who want high-capcity without the weight and specification of a contractors machine. Demonstrated with the company’s existing Extra 632FN front-mounted mower, the new combo uses two 3.18m Vicon mowing units, featuring eight counter rotating triangular discs, and nylon conditioner tines.

Vicon’s NonStop Break Away system comes as standard. The list price for the Extra 687N is £35,626. The price for the front-mounted 632N is £14,092.

One of the key features in the design of the new Pöttinger Impress baler, is that the chopping rotor runs in reverse. As the crop is ingested, it passes over the rotor, where 32 knives hang down to provide a self-cleaning cutting action at a chop length of 34mm.

Using what Pöttinger describes as its Perfect-Flow system, the crop actually enters the chamber at the base of the bale as it is turning. Three models, the 125F (fixed chamber) the 155V and 185V (variable chamber) are will be available, the latter V-models in Master and Pro specification. Prices are to be announced.

Manufacturers from all over Europe exhibited new machinery at Grassland & Muck.

JCB TELESKID Launched in the US earlier this year, JCB made the decision to use Grassland & Muck as the platform to introduce its new Teleskid loader to the UK market. Based on the current range of large-platform US-built JCB skid steer loaders, the Teleskid is powered by a 74hp JCB Ecomax engine driving a two-speed hydrostatic transmission. A fully enclosed cab with side-door access comes as standard. The retail price is listed at £58,350.

KUBOTA GRASSLAND EQUIPMENT

MCHALE PRO-GLIDE B9000

Kubota announced that it would be offering name-branded (Vicon and Kverneland) grassland equipment, through its established UK tractor dealer network back in January. The Grassland & Muck event gave the Japanese manufacturer the opportunity to demonstrate many of its new implements for the first time, including the TE4052 four-rotor 5.2m tedder, and a DMC mower-conditioner combination, featuring single front and rear mounted mowers. The range of equipment also includes twin-rotor rakes, fixed and variable chamber balers, turn-table wrappers, and fertiliser spreaders. All implements currently offered, are designed to suit the horsepower requirement of current Kubota M7/M5 and MGX III tractor ranges.

McHale had several new machines making their UK debut, including its Pro-Glide B9000 combination mower-conditioner. The Pro Glide mower design incorporates a unique patented break-back protection system, which allows the mowers to not only move back if they hit and obstacle, but also to move upwards. This allows the mower(s) to ride over smaller obstacles without activating the main break-back system. It also enables them to travel over undulating or rough ground at higher speed, while providing a more consistent and even cut. Mowing discs are fitted with 360-degree freespinning blades to aid self-cleaning, and a wide overlap to ensure a clean cut between the discs.

50 MACHINERY

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

ROAD TEST Opel Mokka X Make mine a Mokka The Opel Mokka X is a new small SUV coming into a crowded market. Can its quirky looks and masses of technology make it stand out from the crowd, asks Alistair Chambers

T

He Mokka X is Opel’s entrant into the small crossover market, and it is a very well finished and enjoyable little car to drive.

From the minute you climb into the driver’s seat, it has everything you need and expect at hand and some extras that you never knew you needed.

More about those later.

On the road The Mokka X that I test drove had the 1.6 CDti engine, which produces 136bhp. It also came with four wheel drive. On the road it was very comfortable and had sufficient power to get it down the road swiftly. In saying that, it is by no means an exciting experience.

The steering was direct and had enough feel to make it engaging. One of the really nice techy bits is Opel’s infotainment system, called Intellilink, which comes with an 8in colour touchscreen to control many different features from the radio and phone to the inbuilt satellite navigation system.

The little Opel also comes with an app projection setting, which combined with either Android auto or Apple car play gives the ability to see some of your phone’s apps and information on the touch screen.

In order to avail of these features, a cabled connection is required. Once your phone is connected to the car, it cannot be used normally and can only be accessed via the car’s screen.

Parking sensors and a rear view camera were also fitted to the test car and are very useful when parking in a tight spot.

If the driver is in anyway nervous or lacking in parking skills, it gives great peace of mind and help. I found the sensors and the camera on the Mokka to be very accurate. Unlike some of the cameras, it didn’t distort when getting close to an object. This Mokka comes with a modest towing capacity of 1,500kg.

Off road As the test car was a four by four, it would have been rude not to bring the Mokka X for a spot of soft roading. When I brought it onto some rough farm lanes it showed that it had sufficient clearance to get over the standard high middle that

The Opel Mokka X is an enjoyable car to drive and is packed with technology.

is on many lanes around the country.

It proved to be gutsy and grippy enough when asked to climb a moderate incline on a stony/muddy surface. When faced down the same hill, the Hill Descent control system did its job brilliantly, moderating the brakes to each wheel to gain as much traction as possible. The hill that was used was by no means cliff-like but still a stern enough test for the little Opel.

The intelligent four-wheel-drive system on the Mokka X worked very well – even with one wheel cocked in the air it still managed to propel itself forward to the next obstacle. The Mokka X is by no means an off-roader but it has the capability to get across roughish ground and fields with ease if required. This could come in handy for getting tea to a stranded and tired driver late in the evening.

Technology The test car that I was given came crammed with technology. Some of this has been mentioned already but the main piece of tech that Opel is pushing is its OnStar system, which comes with some really handy features.

Automatic crash response uses sensors

on the car to alert an adviser in a call centre that the vehicle has been in an accident. This operative will then contact the car and depending on the driver’s response or lack of, they will take the appropriate action.

The OnStar system also allow the car to become a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to seven devices, which seems a little extreme to me. There is also a smartphone app which can be downloaded to your phone which then allows you to remotely lock and unlock the doors, check your oil life/service interval and sound the horn and flashlights for when you can’t find it in the airport carpark.

If your car is ever stolen, OnStar will be able to track the whereabouts of your vehicle and prevent it from being started and moved. There is also a setting where you can get the vehicle diagnostics such as the wellbeing of essential functions such as the engine and gearbox emailed to you on a monthly basis to keep an eye on wear and tear.

Destination Download is a very cool function on the Mokka. With the push of the OnStar button, you get connected to a real person in a call centre who you

can ask for directions to anywhere or get help finding petrol/hotels or anything you may need. Once the operator has found what you are looking for and clarified that it is the correct place, they can send it directly to the car’s navigation for you.

For people for whom technology can be stressful it is a very well-thought-out and smart system. In this current world where we are constantly being watched and tracked, the OnStar system comes with a privacy button if you don’t want to be seen. Opel do say that this can be overridden in an emergency such as an accident or the vehicle being stolen.

From the minute you climb into the driver’s seat, it has everything you need and expect at hand and some extras that you never knew you needed

Verdict Having driven the Mokka X for a week, I found it to be an enjoyable little machine with lots and lots of nice techy bits. Its decent off-road capability means that it is suited to the country lifestyle but still small and tidy enough to be comfortable in and around heavy traffic. I found it to be very economical over the 1,200km that I covered, doing 5.2L/100km (54mpg). It is not a trailer lugger but is a very capable everyday driver.

ÁOpel Mokka X Engine

1.5 CDTi Diesel

Power

136bhp

Max Speed

187km/h (117mph)

Claimed Fuel Economy

4.7L/100km (60mpg)

On test fuel economy

5.2L/100km (54mpg)

Tax Band

B1 €270

On test price

€31,790

WATCH ONLINE

Mokka X’s IntelliLink is compatible with both Apple and Android.

watch the video on farmersjournal.tv

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

FOCUS 51

FOCUS

INTRODUCTION Farm buildings should be built to last

F

arm building work is currently undergoing a resurgence driven primarily by the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) II, which provides grant aid for on-farm infrastructure.

The abolition of milk quotas in 2015 has also played a part in the rise in agricultural developments with dairy farmers investing in animal housing and new facilities for their expanding herds. Building a new shed through TAMS II requires even more attention to detail. All sheds built through TAMS II must meet the Department of Agriculture specifications. These specifications are available on the Department’s website and farmers should read the specifications relevant to their planned development to make sure the work is carried out properly.

On pages 46 and 47, we look at the stipulations in place for concrete used on agriculPeter tural buildings.

Varley Some farmers find that these specifications add significantly to the cost but they are in place to extend the life of the buildings. There is no reason why these buildings cannot be used in 40 years’ time or longer. There are haysheds, for example, that were built at the turn of the last century still in use on farms today because the quality of the materials used was top-notch. By not taking shortcuts to save money in the short term you should be able to extend the usable life of the buildings which will pay dividends financially.

In the Focus, Sean Mullooly and Andy Doyle look at two impressive developments on dairy and tillage farms that will no doubt stand the test of time because they were built to such a high standard.

FARM BUILDINGS

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

52 FOCUS

129 cubicles in Kilkenny dairy shed Seán Mullooly visits the father and son team of Michael and Conor Murphy who recently built a new cubicle shed in Kilmanagh

WATCH ONLINE watch the video on www.farmersjournal.tv

M

ichael and Conor Murphyfarm 121.4ha (300 acres) in partnership just outside Kilmanagh, Co Kilkenny. They own 36.4ha (90 acres) and rent the remaining 85ha (210 acres). The land area is all under grass, except for 18 acres which they use to grow maize to feed the winter-milking cows, with cows milked year-round.

After Conor finished a level six advanced dairy course in Piltown in Kildalton, he decided that he wanted to stay at home farming. Michael and Conor decided that the best option was to go into partnership.

They both work full-time on the farm and Conor does some silage work with a local contractor during the summer.

However, this summer Conor is taking a few months off to work and play hurling in San Francisco.

“My two daughters, Caoimhe, who just finished first year in agricultural science in UCD, and Aoibhe, always help out on the farm, so I won’t be alone during the summer,” says Michael.

They have 70 spring-calving cows and milk roughly 60 cows through the winter. The herd is predominantly Holstein.

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replacements, with the remainder carried through to slaughter. Male progeny are killed as bulls at 17 months of age, with heifers killed at 20 months.

New cubicle shed I visited the farm recently to view a new cubicle shed that they finished in January 2017. The Murphys decided to build the shed to have somewhere to house all of the milkers in one place at one time.

Before this, the milking cows were split up into a couple of smaller cubicle sheds that were just getting too awkward to work with.

The shed has the capacity to hold 129 cows – 100 cows can feed comfortably at any one time.

There are 11 feeding barriers in total on two sides of the shed, perpendicular to each other. Michael felt by doing this it would keep the shed and yard more compact.

Picture one shows the cubicles, which

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are a standard-size cubicle with Easy Fix Cow Comfort mats and a brisket board to stop the cows from lying too far forward in the cubicle. The cubicles are bedded with sawdust. “The brisket boards really keep the cubicles clean, they’re a great job,” says Michael. The cubicle area is split into three by 8ft passageways with a Dairymaster scrapper in each aisle.

Michael says they decided to go with Corbett concrete dairy grip slats from Cahir, Co Tipperary, instead of covering the slats with rubber.

Their argument for this decision was that when the rubber mats wear and when they get wet, they can be just as slippy as the concrete.

The dairy grip slats worked out about €25 dearer per slat. After having to put down a bull that was fit for slaughter because it slipped on slats and broke its leg, Michael felt they were worth the cost.

There are two tractor slats at the corner of the shed where the tractor and diet

•

feeder have to drive over to feed. These were slightly more expensive.

Another additional cost was the precast cubicles that came out over the slatted tank. The tank in the shed is 116ft x 28ft x 8ft and has a 170,000-gallon capacity. The tank has four agitation points, two at either end (picture two).

Picture three shows the full concrete U-shaped troughs in front of the feed barriers. The full troughs with no stub wall under the barrier worked out cheaper than a half-U trough and a separate stub wall.

Even with the barriers and troughs, Michael found that the cows were still flicking the beet out over the side, so he got a local man to make some lightweight removable covers to stop this. The concrete feeding troughs were sourced from Murphy’s Concrete, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

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FOCUS 53

2

4

5

3 6

installed at the back so that all work could be performed in the shed (picture four).

All the gates and barriers in the crush and shed were attached with bolts and pins rather than welded, so if anything ever goes wrong or an animal goes down they can be taken out easily. Picture five shows the two gates at either side of the slats which were made adjustable between 14ft and 16ft so that they could be used in two different areas.

The shed structure was supplied and erected by O’Dwyer Steel. All steelwork is galvanised. The roof is fibre cement sheets and this was selected to prevent drip.

The Jordain gates and feed barriers were built for purpose and imported from France. One of the more distinctive features of the shed is the quick-release guillotine gates (pictures six and seven).

To open the gate, you simply release the pin and the gate is drawn up on a weighted pulley system.

Handy if the pen is full with cows as you don’t have to swing the gate around through the cows. It also means there are no swinging gates or doors in the shed, which is an added safety bonus.

The drinking troughs, supplied by Teemore Engineering, were equipped with fast-empty valves, so they are easily

emptied when they get soiled, as shown in picture eight.

There are also three sliding doors installed for extra shelter at the sides and back of the shed. The levels and ground work was done by Podge Dearmody.

Michael and Conor built the shed through the Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme and because they are in a registered farm partnership they will be able to double the investment ceiling of €80,000 (excluding VAT) to a new ceiling of €160,000. The new grant rate in this scenario will be 50% of the average (maximum grant of €80,000).They are also able to claim the VAT back.

All of the features and dimensions were to Department standards. They are currently waiting for their application for payment to be approved. The costs of the shed are detailed in Table 1.

Table 1: Costs (including VAT) Ground work Shed (O’Dwyer Steel) Concrete and slats Fitting (Teemore Engineering) Dairymaster scrappers and wiring Feed troughs (Murphy Concrete) Total

€13,800 €83,000 €79,000 €24,000 €16,000 €5,400 €221,200

7

8

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

54 FOCUS

CEM III/A included in Department’s concrete specifications Peter Varley finds out why using CEM III/A may help extend the concrete life in effluent tanks and silage slabs

W

ith planning permissions in 2016 up 200% on 2014 levels, building work on farms looks set to increase dramatically. This will drive concrete sales as farmers invest in slatted sheds, dairy parlours and silage pits to modernise their farms through the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) II. The Department of Agriculture has made a real effort to improve the standard of concrete used in Irish farm construction. In 2015, it released S100, which

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is the minimum specification the Department uses for concrete used in construction work on agricultural structures. This latest specification introduces some new elements to the concrete specification.

These include: Â The extension of the design life of concrete from 20 to 25 years, bringing better value for money. Â Improved strength made possible by the enhanced specification of concrete with 45N for Mix A and 37N for Mix B. Â The introduction of cement known as CEM III/A, which may further enhance the durability and strength of concrete as well as reducing its carbon footprint.

What is CEM III/A? The Irish Farmers Journal recently spoke with Andrew McGrane, sustainable business development consultant with Ecocem. McGrane explained that CEM III/A is a blend of two cement types: Â One cement type known as Ground Granulated Blastfurnace Slag (GGBS), which is a by-product of the iron- and steel-making industry. Â The other cement is the traditional Portland cement or CEM I. Cem III/A is made by mixing approximately 50% of GGBS with approximately 50% traditional Portland cement.

“It has enhanced technical and environmental qualities when compared to the commonly used Portland cement type in Ireland known as CEM II/A. When used in concrete, CEM III/A achieves greater durability and higher strength gains than those achieved with CEM II/A,”

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explained McGrane. He said because of this superior strength and durability, CEM III/A was used in the building of the Paris Metro over 100 years ago.

It was first used in Ireland in the construction of the Cork’s Jack Lynch Tunnel in Cork and since then has been used extensively throughout Ireland.

He said as well as being used in iconic structures such as the Conference Centre Dublin and the Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Bridge, it is widely used in smaller projects including social housing projects, office buildings, farm buildings, wind turbines and precast concrete prod-

ucts such as flood defences, tanks, silage pits and cattle slats.

Extending the life of concrete McGrane says the usable life of concrete can be extended by making it more durable and this is achieved by using CEM III/A. “Farms are harsh environments for concrete – with the regular use of heavy machinery the concrete and the exposure to aggressive chemicals such as those found in silage, silage effluent, slurry, and manure,” explained McGrane.

Ali Salih was featured in the Irish Farm-

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

FOCUS 55

Ă In short Ă&#x201A; The farm environment is very demanding on concrete. Exposure to VLODJH HIpXHQW VOXUU\ FOHDQLQJ pXLGV and mechanical abrasion result in VLJQLoFDQW ZHDU DQG WHDU +RZHYHU the use of CEM III/A in concrete may offer greater durability and higher resilience to chemicals and sulphates. It may also give a useful life extension beyond the 25 years noted in S100 (2015). Ă&#x201A; Concrete containing CEM III/A LV DYDLODEOH QDWLRQZLGH WKURXJK readymix concrete producers and is available through agri-stores and buildersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; merchants in hybrid ZHDWKHU UHVLVWDQW NJ EDJV

ent, they lost the least amount of mass, and they absorbed less water over time.

ers Journal back in 2014 with some results from trials carried out through his PHD. He found that using concrete with the inclusion of GGBS cement had a number of beneďŹ ts compared with ordinary Portland cement.

The results showed that GGBS has a more chemically resilient mineral composition.

Pictures one and two illustrate how more durable concrete is with CEM III/A in comparison to CEM II/A and are from trials carried out by Salih. The blocks were cured for 28 days and then were immersed in acid and salt solutions. Five 28-day cycles of eďŹ&#x201E;uent exposure were repeated over a six-month period.

From the trials, samples incorporating GGBS were found to fare better when exposed to silage effluent. Most were visually unaltered by exposure to eďŹ&#x201E;u-

&RVW EHQHoWV The design life for concrete in the S100 (2015) is a minimum of 25 years. McGrane says by using CEM III/A, that timeline can be extended signiďŹ cantly.

Interestingly, concrete prices can vary from supplier to supplier but no premium is charged for using CEM III/A and the longer lifespan of the concrete can be achieved at no additional cost as CEM III/A is available within the same price bracket as CEM II/A, McGrane claimed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As the structures can last longer, the overall cost of the development will be lower over the life of the investment as it will last longer for the same upfront costs,â&#x20AC;? he added.

The Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), formerly the National Roads Authority (NRA), extended the usable life of concrete from 60 years to 120 years by using CEM III/A. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In this case, the concrete lasts twice a long and as such, time to ďŹ rst repairs and ultimate replacement is pushed out signiďŹ cantly. The result is lower overall cost.â&#x20AC;?

How to order There are two concrete mixes described in the S100 (2015) speciďŹ cation and these

must be used for building work through the TAMS II. They include: Mix A â&#x20AC;&#x201C; SpeciďŹ cation of concrete for silos, silage aprons and silage eďŹ&#x201E;uent stores â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;45N with CEM III/Aâ&#x20AC;?.

Mix B â&#x20AC;&#x201C; SpeciďŹ cation of concrete for other purposes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;37N with CEM III/Aâ&#x20AC;?.

In each case, the person ordering the concrete should specify CEM III/A. The new infrastructure can benefit from a signiďŹ cantly longer-lasting concrete if CEM III/A is included. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is in compliance with the S100 (2015) speciďŹ cation requirements and delivers greater value for money,â&#x20AC;? he claimed.

For projects undertaken on the farm that do not require readymix concrete supply, CEM III/A can still be used. â&#x20AC;&#x153;CEM III/A is available in hybrid weather resistant 25kg bags from merchants nationwide,â&#x20AC;? said McGrane.

Environmental contribution The use of CEM III/A is also beneďŹ cial to the environment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Besides increasing the life of your concrete structure, and reducing the costs over the lifetime of the structure, using CEM III/A can signiďŹ cantly reduce the carbon footprint of concrete used in the farm infrastructure development,â&#x20AC;? claimed McGrane.

He claims if CEM III/A is used then the carbon footprint of concrete can reduce by approximately 45%, depending on the amount included. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For example, a typical farm development comprising approximately 200m3 of CEM III/A concrete for a 25m slurry tank, holding yard, shed and silage pit will save approximately 25 tonnes of carbon, the equivalent of offsetting the methane produced by 14 dairy cows over a one-year period,â&#x20AC;? he explained.

Based on his research, for every six or seven farmers who choose the low-carbon concrete in similar-sized projects, an approximate methane saving larger than an average-sized herd is achieved. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So in addition to getting stronger and more durable concrete, the farmer can invest in developing the farm infrastructure and achieve a lower environmental footprint for that development while doing so,â&#x20AC;? McGrane claimed.

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Comparison of carbon footprint across the three cement classes.

1,000

850kg CO2

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

56 FOCUS

Grain storeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s state-of-the-art construction The availability of grants for grain storage under the new TAMS for tillage scheme will generate interest in new store construction and the installation of handling equipment.

Andy Doyle reports

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seldom that we get the opportunity to visit an open day at a totally new graindrying facility. While such a visit may not be of interest to everyone in the business, those who attended the event in early May will agree that this was an exceptional setup.

The event was hosted by the Hobson family, who bought the old Warrenstown College farm, plus other land in the area.

The farm is now basically in tillage and the majority of the old farmyard buildings were unsuitable for grain storage.

So the decision was made to knock a number of the existing buildings and to replace them with modern and purposebuilt facilities.

This development was carried out in conjunction with well-known Co Louth builder Gerard King of Ashville Construction. For me, this development is a prime example of the beneďŹ t of working with someone who has a lot of experience of building in farmyards and the need to have a bigger plan than just one building.

Started with a basic sketch Gerard told me that when he ďŹ rst met up with the Hobsons, he started with a sketch on a piece of paper and attempted to make best use of the space and natural falls that existed in different parts of the farmyard.

This resulted in some split-level construction which proved useful for ďŹ tting the new Svegma continuous-ďŹ&#x201A;ow grain

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dryer under the same roofline as the store.

As well as in the grain stores, strongly reinforced walls are used in other parts of the farmyard to facilitate the splitlevel construction. The farmyard redevelopment is being done on a continuous basis. Two stores were built initially back in 2009/2010, another was built in 2013 and a new state-of-the-art store and drying and cleaning unit has now been completed.

The opportunity for people to see this facility is timely, given the new grant options available through TAMS for tillage.

On the day, people could see quality store construction along with the new underďŹ&#x201A;oor ducting technology from King Grain Ventilation.

Galco was also on hand to discuss the galvanising of the very many metal components and there were people from Calor to talk about gas as the fuel for grain drying. All of these provided interesting and useful information for people considering a new store in the near future.

Many features Irish Grain Systems promoted the open day and they had ďŹ tted all of the equipment relating to grain drying and movement in the stores. There were a number of elements of the unit that I noted as interesting.

The storage capacity was built as a number of diďŹ&#x20AC;erent stores rather than just one big store. This can be a great help where segregation is needed, either for diďŹ&#x20AC;erent crops or varieties of a crop.

All stores are fitted with underfloor ventilation and the vents are common across all three stores. This allows the air to be propelled from one side or the other but it also provides the capability of splitting a store along its length with a moveable wall and allows half the width of the store to be ventilated by blocking the centre of each duct. All ducts can be shut oďŹ&#x20AC; at the wind tunnels as required.

This meant that the construction had to incorporate an air tunnel at both side of each store. I reckon this made the investment a bit more costly but the added

Grain intake area for the new Hobson grain handling unit.

ďŹ&#x201A;exibility could well pay for itself in time.

It is more likely that it will be the smaller niche tonnage that will carry the price premium.

Grain handling Grain intake did not involve a deep hopper but rather a conveyor at the bottom of a shallow but wide drop through a very robust grid. This conveyor operates at the level of the ďŹ&#x201A;oor in the adjoining dryer house, so accessibility would not be a huge issue in the event of breakage or blockage.

Once grain comes into the dryer house, it is elevated, moved through an aspirator to remove dust, etc, and then it could be passed through a cylindrical precleaner if and when necessary. Pre-cleaning was considered to be particularly important as oats is one of the crops to be dried in the plant.

Dust, light material and oversize material can be removed by the aspirator and cleaner units and this material is then moved by blower pipes to an adjoining dust store fitted with a roller door.

The main vertical elevation is done using a combination of bucket elevators and Skandia curved conveyors. This is to prevent having to run elevators up through roofs or down into pits in the ground.

The Svegma dryer is rated at 27t/hr from 20% to 15% moisture so arguably this sets the maximum throughput of the unit.

However, there will be times when grain will come in at lower moisture so the handling equipment needs to be rated

above the drying capacity.

Indeed, James Connor of IGS said that all the elevation and grain movement equipment is rated at 60t/hr. The design of the system allows John Hobson to run dried grain from his store back through the unit again for further grading and cleaning at a later date. The pre-cleaner can also be used as a grading machine by changing the sieve size on the cylinders and this can be done without having to put the grain back through the dryer.

Grain from the dryer is taken by angled conveyor up on to the central belt conveyor in the main store. From here it can be dropped oďŹ&#x20AC; at any point along the length of the store and this is controlled using a remote control key fob. Controlling this is essential to help ensure a uniform ďŹ ll of the store. There are also plans to ďŹ t another conveyor at the end of this one to move the grain from this into the two adjoining stores. This would then feed on to other centrally mounted conveyors to ďŹ ll these stores.

The controls for the full grain movement, cleaning and drying are contained on a dual console and clearly marked control panels. As in all modern systems, these enable the operator to turn on or off motors to move grain to whatever destination is required.

This was a very impressive set-up but perhaps outside the scope of most growers. Asked what it might cost to replicate the grain handling system in another farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s yard, James Connor of IGS said that every job will have different speciďŹ c requirements but said that a similar

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

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Standing in front of the new grain drying and handling unit at the Irish Grain Systems open day on the Hobson farm in Meath were: John McArthur, Mecmar Dryers; James Connor, Irish Grain Systems; Andrew Hoad, BDC; Liam Brennan, Irish Grain Systems; Denis Dalton of Chancellors Mills; and Andrew Lee, BDC.

project would cost in the order of €230,000.

New vent design Details of the store itself were carried in an article by Peter Varley on 22 April. I was particularly interested in the new venting system manufactured by King Grain Ventilation. This was precision in terms of how the vents were installed in the floor.

A frame is built for the vents using angle iron and this has lugs welded on to fix it into the concrete on both sides.

The vents themselves use a completely new concept of lateral covers designed and made by King Grain.

Individual units are pressed out in segments and formed in 1m lengths. When these are fitted into the frame built into the floor, they sit perfectly flush with floor level for ease of loading, cleaning, etc. This system also means that installation and removal of the vents is a relatively small job compared with having individual choc bars.

The individual vent is pressed steel but each downward vent press leaves a little

A length of vent frame sitting on top of the casing which forms the duct beneath when the concrete is bring poured.

trough at its base. This means that small seeds like oilseed rape will sit in the trough and prevent others from falling through the vent into the duct itself.

Mecmar mobiles While a Svegma continuous flow dryer was installed in the new store, IGS also brought Mecmar mobile batch dryers to the event. These are an impressive-looking dryer and are part of the array of kit that is grant aided by the new TAMS for tillage scheme. This scheme will cover the erection of new grain stores or the installation of dryers, conveyers and other retro-fit components into a grain facility. However, it does not cover improvements to existing stores, such as a new roof or ventilated floor unless they are part of a whole new construction project. Those present indicated considerable interest in both building and equipment and so this event proved particularly useful for interested parties.

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The new grain store has 6m-high internal side walls and all steel work has been galvanised.

At the Irish Grain Systems open day on Hobson’s farm in Dunsany, Co Meath, were: Andrew and John Hobson, owners; Gerard King of Ashville Construction, builder; David Hobson, owner; and Gerry King, builder.

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

58 BUILDINGS

Farm buildings Figure 1

Layout of the suckler unit in Roscommon

Machinery

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Rainwater harvesting

11m

Hayshed & livestock housing

Cattle race

Creep Slatted penning 18m

Slatted shed

Silage pit 19.2m

Slatted penning

Cattle

Creep 19.2m

Dungsted

6m

13m

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No shortcuts taken with suckler unit Peter Varley visits a brand new top-class suckler unit in northern Roscommon

B VIDEO ONLINE

watch the video on farmersjournal.tv

rand new dairy setups have been all the rage over the past five years. Far less common are new suckler setups, with most farmers just expanding what they have already at a much slower pace.

Noel Sweeney moved to the UK in his 20s and became involved in the civil engineering and construction industry after being educated at Coraslira NS and Summerhill College, Sligo.

When Noel inherited his family’s large suckler farm in Corrigeen, Tulsk, Co Roscommon, he decided he was going to keep the farming enterprise going and is now investing in the building infra-

structure to make it manageable for a one-man operation.

Noel built a large four-bay doublesided suckler shed with calf creeps, a machinery/calving shed, a silage pit, animal health store and toilet facilities joined with a large 2,950m 2 concrete yard.

The majority of suckler farmers would not be in a position to construct an entire greenfield development in one go, but there are plenty of ideas that any livestock farmer could take away from this for their own farms. Paul Kelly Construction carried out all the concrete work and Earls Engineering erected the sheds.

Green’s Forge Ballinasloe did the penning and Paul Hodgins carried out the electrical work.

Pictures one, two and three The slatted shed itself is cleverly designed to make it as easy as possible for one person to operate without excessive effort. It is ideal for a suckler herd with calf creeps off each pen.

All the slatted pens are 4.8m long and 5.3m wide. The calf creeps are 2.58m wide, there is a special calving gate in one of the creep areas used when a cow needs assistance at calving time. The central passage is 4.7m wide. Inside the shed feels bright and airy, standing at 3.8m high at the eaves.

More and more people are realising now that having good ventilation is crucial for reducing the chances of young stock developing respiratory illnesses.

With this in mind, and advice from his vet, Noel decided to leave one side of the shed open where an overhang prevents rain blowing in on top of the cattle. On the other side, vent sheeting is used but a gap is left between the top of the vent

sheeting and the eaves to allow even more air to enter. All the slatted areas are covered with Easyfix rubber mats for cow comfort. There are two 8ft slurry tanks running the length of the shed with a total capacity of 446m3.

Picture four This shed measuring 19.2m x 11m was constructed for machinery storage and hay. Initially the plan was to use the front of this shed for hay only but it was decided to kit it out with penning and water troughs to allow it to be used for multiple purposes. In the winter, it will be useful for housing freshly calved cows and calves or for young stock when required. This shed also has a toilet and shower room and a secure room for animal remedies.

At the back of this shed is an underground rainwater harvesting tank.The water stored in this tank supplies the drinking troughs in the slatted shed. The tank has a capacity of just under 60m3.

3LFWXUH oYH The cattle-handling facilities are top notch and the design could be incorpo-

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

BUILDINGS 59

1

2

3

4

5

6

Table 1: Approximate Cost breakdown of four bay shed and cattle handling facilities (€) 243m3 of concrete for slurry tanks, cattle race, central passage and calf creep Labour for concrete work Four bay shed supplied and erected Penning (including race and gates leading to race) and doors Wiring Slats and mats Total (excluding VAT)

rated on any farm. There are doors at the gable walls of the slatted pens. When these doors are opened, cattle can be moved outside where steel penning erected around the perimeter of the shed guides them to the cattle race which runs the length of the shed.

All the side panels of the race can open in case an animal goes down. The roof overhang covers the race area and LED lights ensure it is a bright, safe area to work with cattle.

Once cattle go through the race they are directed back to their slatted pens via the steel penning at the front of the

16,500 18,000 26,123 28,500 5,000 20,000 114,123

shed. Figure 1 illustrates the manner in which cattle can be moved from the slatted penning to the handling race.

Picture six The silage pit is very large at 13m wide and 39m metres long. The walls of the pit are 225mm wide at the top and 450mm wide at the base. The effluent from the pits is piped back to the slurry tank. The dungstead shown in picture one is 6m X 6m and the walls are 2.4m high. The walls are 300mm wide. Again the effluent coming from the dungstead is piped into the slurry tank.

Paul Kelly, Noel Sweeney and Tony Stevenson.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

60 FOCUS

FARM SAFETY Stock bull safety Matthew Halpin identiďŹ es the dangers associated with the stock bull and how to avoid them

The facts

According to the Health and Safety Authority, 13% of deaths on Irish farms from 2007 to 2016 were caused by livestock, and 19% of these were attributed WR VWRFN EXOOV 7KDW V o YH SHRSOH ZKR KDYH ORVW WKHLU OLYHV WR EXOOV LQ WKH ODVW \HDUV 7KH PHVVDJH LV FOHDU stock bulls provide an ever-present danger on farms DFURVV WKH FRXQWU\ :LWK WKH EUHHGLQJ VHDVRQ DERXW WR kick off, farmers should be aware of the dangers and KRZ WR NHHS HYHU\RQH RQ WKH IDUP VDIH

19%

Of livestockrelated farm deaths in Ireland from 2007 to 2016 due to stock bulls

Zero tolerance 6WRFN EXOOV DUH WHPSHUDPHQWDO DQLPDOV 7KH RQVHW RI WKH breeding season exposes stock bulls to a higher workload and increased hormone levels, all of which can increase WKH DQLPDO V DJJUHVVLRQ 7KLV FDQ SRVH D VDIHW\ KD]DUG WR IDUPHUV DQG HYHU\RQH HOVH RQ WKH IDUP 7UDGLWLRQDO EHHI breeds such as Angus and Hereford have a reputation of EHLQJ TXLHWHU WKDQ WKHLU FRQWLQHQWDO FRXQWHUSDUWV 7KDW said, any bull of any breed can become aggressive and any bull showing signs of bad temperament or excessive DJJUHVVLRQ VKRXOG EH FXOOHG 7KHUH VKRXOG EH ]HUR WROHU ance towards temperamental stock bulls â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the risks are MXVW WRR JUHDW

Ring and chain

? 5DPRQD )DUUHOO\

No bull should be let out to grass without a ring and a chain in his nose. The ring will deter the bull from electric fences while a chain hanging from the ring should prevent the animal from running or charging. The chain should be long enough so that it drags along the ground.

Farmers should insist that the seller of the bull puts a ring in the bullâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nose before the animal is purchased. Where a bull does not have a ring or in the case that the stock bull has lost his ring, it is important to replace it as soon as possible.

Again, do this in a safe handling facility and ask a vet for assistance if you are unsure of the procedure.

Daily check

When carrying out the daily check of your herd, it is important to be aware of the dangers a stock bull FDQ SRVH SULRU WR HQWHULQJ WKH o HOG 'ULYLQJ LQWR WKH o HOG LQ D MHHS RU tractor as opposed to walking is advisable â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a vehicle can provide a PRELOH VDQFWXDU\ %XOOV ZLOO QDWXUDOO\ want to protect the herd, so a perVRQ HQWHULQJ WKH o HOG ZLOO EH YLHZHG DV D WKUHDW *DWHV RQ WR SXEOLF URDGV should also be properly secured and KDYH D QRWLFH GLVSOD\HG

Facilities

Stock bulls should be housed and handled in a suitable IDFLOLW\ 7KH EXOO QHHGV WR EH LQ D VHFXUH HQYLURQPHQW ZKHQ KH LV QRW LQ XVH 6WUXFWXUHV VKRXOG EH PDGH IURP o W IRU SXUSRVH PDWHULDOV DQG WKH GLPHQVLRQV VKRXOG EH bigger than standard, eg larger head barriers and drinking WURXJKV )DFLOLWLHV VKRXOG EH ODLG RXW WR DOORZ WKH IDUPHU to feed, clean or bed the bull without having to come into GLUHFW FRQWDFW ZLWK WKH DQLPDO -XVW EHIRUH WKH EUHHGLQJ season begins, farmers should do a health check on the EXOO DQG YDFFLQDWLRQV PD\ EH UHTXLUHG 7KLV W\SH RI KDQ GOLQJ VKRXOG EH FDUULHG RXW LQ D VXLWDEOH UHVWUDLQLQJ JDWH Keeping the bull quiet with a few kilos of meal can make DOO WKH GLIIHUHQFH DV ZHOO

Working with electricity Keeping the bull quiet with a few kilos of meal can make all the diďŹ&#x20AC;erence while handling

7KH HOHFWULF IHQFH LV RQH RI WKH NH\ components for keeping your stock EXOO XQGHU FRQWURO 1RZ LV WKH WLPH to make sure your electric fence unit LV VDIH EHIRUH WKH JUD]LQJ VHDVRQ KDV IXOO\ FRPPHQFHG &KHFN WKDW WKH XQLW V SOXJ LV o W WHG ZLWK WKH FRUUHFW IXVH (QVXUH the unit is stored in a waterproof environment and always plug out the unit and disconnect the leads from the fence in the event of thunder DQG OLJKWQLQJ

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 28June January 20172017

COUNTRY LIVING 61

Salad days Lighten up those hot and humid days with a refreshingly crisp summer salad, writes Neven Maguire

T

KLV VDWD\ GUHVVLQJ LV D EHDXWLIXO DGGLWLRQ WR DQ\ VDODG q DQG OHW V KRSH ZH ZLOO JHW SOHQW\ RI VXPPHU GD\V to use it. It has a nice Asian feel and keeps well in the fridge. It is also great with grilled meats on the BBQ. <RX FRXOG XVH KRLVLQ VDXFH ZKLFK LV YHU\ JRRG LQ VWHDG RI WKH FKLOOL EHDQ VDXFH , ORYH WKH FUXQFK\ WH[WXUH RI JHP OHWWXFH $QG UHPHPEHU KRZ HDV\ LW LV WR JURZ PLQW ,W LV KDUG WR VWRS LW VSUHDGLQJ EXW \RX ZLOO JHW ORWV RI XVH IURP LW :H DUH VSRLOHG ZLWK JRRG TXDOLW\ KDP WKHVH GD\V , SDUWLFXODUO\ OLNH %UDG\ )DPLO\ KDP $QG WKH 6LPSO\ %HWWHU range from Dunnes Stores also has superb ham. This meal KDV D 0RURFFDQ IHHO WR LW $QG UHPHPEHU \RX FDQ RSHQ D pomegranate, and freeze it, and then take out the seeds as \RX QHHG , DP ORRNLQJ IRUZDUG WR VHHLQJ ORWV RI \RX DW %ORRP WKLV ZHHNHQG , KDYH HQMR\HG HDFK DQG HYHU\ RQH RI WKH \HDUV â&#x20AC;&#x201C; well done to Bord Bia. +DSS\ &RRNLQJ Neven

>> Recipes FRAGRANT CHICKEN LETTUCE CUPS WITH SATAY DRESSING Serves 4-6 For the dressing 3 tbsp peanut butter 2 tbsp Donegal Rapeseed oil 2 tbsp Chinese chilli bean sauce 1 tbsp caster sugar 1 tbsp dark soy sauce 2 tsp rice wine vinegar 1 tsp balsamic vinegar For the salad 2 Little Gem lettuces 1 carrot, shredded into julienne ¼ cucumber, halved, seeded and cut into julienne 2 spring onions, trimmed and shredded 15g (1oz) fresh coriander, leaves chopped handful fresh mint leaves juice of 1 lime 500g (1¼lb) cooked chicken (removed from the bone)

We are spoiled with goodquality ham these days. I particularly like Brady Family ham

2 tsp toasted sesame seeds 1. To make the dressing, place the peanut butter in a bowl and whisk in two tablespoons of boiling water.

Then add the rest of the ingredients DQG FRQWLQXH WR ZKLVN XQWLO \RX KDYH achieved a thick dressing. Set aside at room temperature until needed.

2. Separate the Llittle Gem lettuces LQWR OHDYHV GLVFDUGLQJ DQ\ RXWHU GDP aged leaves. Arrange on a large platter.

3. Place the carrot, cucumber and spring onions in a bowl and add the coriander, mint and lime juice, then WRVV XQWLO HYHQO\ FRPELQHG $GG D small mound to each lettuce leaf.

4. 5HPRYH DQ\ VNLQ IURP WKH FKLFNHQ DQG o QHO\ VKUHG WKH p HVK 3ODFH RQ WRS RI WKH FUXQFK\ YHJHWDEOH PL[WXUH

and drizzle the peanut dressing on top. Garnish with the sesame seeds to serve.

AROMATIC HAM & COUSCOUS SALAD Serves 6-8 350g (12oz) couscous 6 tbsp Donegal rapeseed oil (the lemon flavour is perfect) juice of 2 lemons 900ml (1½ pints) chicken stock 100g (4oz) raw, shelled pistachio nuts 450g (1lb) cooked ham, shredded 50g (2oz) flaked almonds 100g (4oz) dried cranberries 4 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley handful fresh mint leaves, torn 75g (3oz) pomegranate seeds sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the couscous in a bowl and add half of the oil and the lemon juice, stirring to ensure all the grains are well coated.

2. Heat the stock in a pan and season to taste, then pour over the couscous and set aside for about 10 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed.

3. Meanwhile, heat the pistachio nuts DQG p DNHG DOPRQGV LQ D KHDY\ EDVHG IU\LQJ SDQ RYHU D ORZ KHDW IRU DERXW o YH PLQXWHV XQWLO OLJKWO\ WRDVWHG Then remove from the heat and URXJKO\ FKRS 4. Stir the remaining oil into the couscous with the toasted nuts, ham, dried cranberries and herbs. Season to taste. Scatter the pomegranate seeds to serve. CL

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

62 COUNTRY LIVING

and head for the yard without GHOD\ ,W V LQ KLV SRUHV +H LV D KXJH backup to Colm.

0HDQZKLOH 'LDUPXLG RXU HOGHVW VRQ KDV KLV UROH RQ WKH farm too. When Diarmuid was ERUQ ZLWK 'RZQ V\QGURPH RXU farming life meant that there ZRXOG DOZD\V EH D SODFH IRU KLP ,W was a source of solace for me from the start. Farming has allowed him to be the best he can be in a protected environment. +H KDV KLV RZQ MREV ,Q ZLQWHU he beds the sheds. He milks the cows with Tim or Colm six times a week. He and Tim do the grass walk every week together.

Diarmuid carries the weighing VFDOHV DQG EDJ ZKLOH 7LP GRHV WKH clipping. When Colm goes to the KHLIHU UHDULQJ OHDVHG JURXQG 'Larmuid is along to open the gates and generally help out.

7KDW H[WUD SDLU RI KDQGV guided by his dad and his brothHUV LV YDOXHG ,W DOVR PHDQV WKDW Diarmuid is protected while being part of the team.

Right up until they were WHHQDJHUV WKHLU JUDQGIDWKHU 'HQLV was also a source of inspiration for them. He was very much a PDFKLQHU\ PDQ DQG DW WLPHV , VHH their grandfather in all of them.

That longevity in farming is YHU\ VSHFLDO ,W JLYHV D KLVWRU\ DQG FRQWH[W WR IDPLOLHV FRPPXQLWLHV and countries. Farmers have been â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and will always be â&#x20AC;&#x201C; custodians RI WKH FRXQWU\VLGH ,W LV D UROH WKDW is oftentimes forgotten. We should be proud of it.

The best way to protect the family farm is to create a successor, writes Katherine Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Leary

C

kkoleary@gmail.com

reating a successor doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t KDSSHQ E\ FKDQFH ,W LV D FRPELQDWLRQ RI QXUWXULQJ education and a positive attitude towards agriculture.

A career in farming is not just a job: it is a way of life.

There is no better way to bring XS D IDPLO\ ,W FKDQJHV ZLWK WKH seasons and provides constant stimulation. No two years are the VDPH ,W LV pH[LEOH <RX FDQ FROOHFW your children from school. You can be there at important times in their lives. You can decide your RZQ VWDUW DQG oQLVKLQJ WLPH ,Q VKRUW \RX DUH \RXU RZQ ERVV ,Q ZKDW RWKHU EXVLQHVV FDQ you write a plan to double your net worth in 10 years? You can do WKLV IRU IDUPLQJ EXW LW LV D ORQJ term strategy and it does demand commitment to change and an obligation to continued personal development.

No teenager will want to stay at home on the family farm if WKHUH LV DQ DWWLWXGH RI QHJDWLYLW\ ,I you talk farming down and comSODLQ WKHQ LV LW DQ\ VXUSULVH WKDW the younger person doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to follow in your footsteps?

THREE YEARS ON

KEEP THE FARM ALIVE Progressive farmers will keep the family farm alive by keeping up with the developments in the inGXVWU\ E\ DWWHQGLQJ FRQIHUHQFHV being part of discussion groups and responding to new research.

This shows the younger generation that there is a network of peers and experts that can be used WR VXSSRUW D GHYHORSLQJ FDUHHU ,W also keeps you moving with the times and up to date.

Do not be blinkered. Be proactive about creating and identifying D VXFFHVVRU ,W LV KDUG WR NQRZ LI you are doing that or not when WKH FKLOGUHQ DUH VPDOO ,I \RX DUH progressive about farming and SRVLWLYH DERXW WKH VHDVRQV \RXU attitude will resonate with them.

You will open their minds to the possibility of choosing it as a career.

Sometimes young people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to start farming immediately. They may want to work away from home for a while or travel. Be open to all possibilities

Successful successions and be patient. Your relationship with your sons or daughters is key to having that successor. You must be able to work with each other â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and that demands mutual respect.

2QFH D VXFFHVVRU LV LGHQWLoHG it is important to invest in that successor through education. We need smart farmers.

Colm chose to do a degree in

Dairy Business in University College Dublin. He draws on it regularly and builds on it continually.

His level of expertise is evident in technical knowledge. With Timâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s H[SHULHQFH DQG &ROP V \RXWK HQWKXVLDVP DQG HGXFDWLRQ WKH\ are now a formidable team.

7RGD\ 7LP DQG , UHJDUG RXUselves extremely fortunate to have

&ROP RXU \RXQJHVW VRQ DW KRPH IDUPLQJ IXOO WLPH ,Q KLQGVLJKW ZKHQ WKH\ ZHUH JURZLQJ XS ZH were open to one or both of them farming.

3KLOLS FKRVH DQ DUP\ FDUHHU yet he remains a committed IDUPHU LQ KLV VSDUH WLPH , VHH KLP FRPH KRPH LQ WKH HYHQLQJV JUDE D ELWH WR HDW VKHG WKH XQLIRUP

Colm has been at home now for WKUHH \HDUV DQG , FDQ KRQHVWO\ VD\ that we are in a very secure place from a relationship point of view. /RRNLQJ EDFN ZH ZHUH DOZD\V positive about farming. There is a picture up on the wall taken of the boys when they were very young.

One is in a green overall and the RWKHU LQ D UHG RQH XQGHU D EDQner proclaiming â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to be farmersâ&#x20AC;?. ,W ZDV RQH WKDW , PDGH IRU some farming protest. The boys ZHUH DOZD\V RQ ERDUG ZLWK XV giving them ownership and participation in the community of farmers.

-XOLH GHVSLWH KHU SK\VLFDO GLVDELOLW\ ZDV DOZD\V LQ WKH WKLFN RI it too. Now married to her farming SDUWQHU 'DYLG VKH LV DW KRPH LQ her role as a young farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife.

The last three years have not DOO EHHQ SODLQ VDLOLQJ DQG , ZLOO explore the ups and downs of that DQRWKHU GD\ , UHPDLQ FRQYLQFHG WKDW ZKHUH WKHUH LV D ZLOO WKHUH LV a way.

The relationship is key and the succession plan is essential. We continue to learn from each other and both young and mature farmers are enjoying it. CL

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

COUNTRY LIVING 63

FOOD

When making your bug hotel, ideally use up items you find in your garden and shed to teach children about recycling.

Ciara Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell Photography

Let nature be their teacher

C

oaxing children out into the garden and away from technology can be daunting, but the reward of seeing a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eyes light up in awe of nature is priceless. As William Wordsworth once said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Let nature be your teacherâ&#x20AC;?.

Here is a list of easy-to-do projects you might like to try this summer to encourage wildlife into your garden â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and, with a bit of luck, nature might win out over technology at least for the summer months.

Allow the children to discover more about the little creatures that live in the garden.

Many of these projects will encourage new visitors too and the projects are all about making habitats that will encourage them to stick around.

As the garden develops, childUHQ ZLOO o QG ORWV RI QHZ DQG LQWHUHVW ing insects, birds and animals appearing. v *URZ D SDWFK RI ZLOGp RZHUV WR make a mini meadow. v )HHG WKH ELUGV v &UHDWH DQ DUHD RI ZLOG ODZQ v *URZ D ZLOGOLIH KHGJH v 3ODQW QDWLYH WUHHV v %XLOG D ZLOORZ GRPH v 3ODQW EXWWHUp \ DQG EHH IULHQGO\ plants.

v ,QVWDOO QHVW ER[HV v %XLOG D EXJ KRWHO

Maura insects, and bug hotels can be Sheehy of designed to Mauraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cottage allow insects Flowers shows you such as ladybirds how to build a â&#x20AC;&#x153;bug and buthotelâ&#x20AC;? and watch a WHUp LHV WR shooting seed with hibernate. *DUGHQHUV your children

is durable, even when wet.

2. )LOO WKH FHQWUH RI WKH MDU ZLWK FRWWRQ wool balls and pour in some water, just a little, barely enough to create a little reservoir. Seeds need moisture and air for germination. Just be careful not to drown your broad bean!

3. Select a few healthy-looking broad beans and place them between the glass and the blotting paper, which will now be damp. Space them out evenly.

4. 3XW WKH OLG RQ WKH MDU WKLV ZLOO NHHS humidity high.

5. 3XW WKH MDU LQ D SODFH WKDW \RX FDQ observe development, ideally in a warm light spot.

6. $IWHU o YH RU VL[ GD\V \RX ZLOO see a green shoot growing upwards and some roots growing downwards. The shoot will then go on to develop leaves. CL

use bug hotels in their fruit and vegetable patches to encourage pollinaWRUV DQG RWKHU EHQHo FLDO insects.

asinnot@farmersjournal.ie

PROJECT 1: BUILD A BUG HOTEL This can be any shape or size. ,GHDOO\ XVH XS LWHPV \RX o QG in your garden and shed to teach children Shooting about recycling. a seed. ,W LV D JRRG LGHD WR use one decent-size container, similar to a dollâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house, as the basic shell. )RU WKLV SURMHFW , UHXVHG D WLPEHU box and gathered old bricks, stones, sticks, leaves, pieces of bark and a couple of lengths of timber with holes drilled through them (to help encourage insects to leave larvae to gestate). %\ XVLQJ D UDQJH RI PDWHULDOV \RX ZLOO get a wide range of diversity of insect life.

You could do a much larger one if you want, using old pallets stacked on top of each other. The list of materials that can be used is endless: pine cones, bamboo canes, moss, cardERDUG ROG p RZHU SRWV HWF The idea is to provide shelter for

PROJECT 2: A SHOOTING SEED This is a fun and educational project for children of all ages. You will need: White blotting paper A glass jar with a lid Water Broad bean seeds Cotton wool balls Seeds need to absorb moisture in order to germinate. You can see how the seed swells up and a shoot begins to burst through.

1. &XW RXW D VPDOO VKHHW of blotting paper to o W LQVLGH WKH JODVV MDU 3XVK LW XS DJDLQVW WKH sides of the jar, allowing WKH HGJHV WR RYHUODS ,W LV best to use blotting paper as it

Molly Sheehy learning to grow.

Maura Sheehy is a flower farmer and florist who runs Mauraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cottage Flowers near Tralee, Co Kerry. Maura specialises in growing and supplying natural and unique arrangements for weddings, funerals, special occasions and for local businesses, as well as running regular flowerarranging classes at her studio. She also has experience in school garden projects. For further information, call 087 061 2622 or visit www.maurascottageflowers.com.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday Saturday 28 January 3 June 2017

64 COUNTRY LIVING

Noel Cassidy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the country boy who sang his heart out

Longford singer will be remembered as a cultivator of country music genre, writes Michael Commins

N

oel Cassidy from Longford was the country boy who sang his heart out over the years. And when news broke last week of his death following a brain haemorrhage, a great sadness descended on the midlands.

Noel (62) was a true cultivator of the country genre and always nurtured the roots. He fronted the Wagon Masters band back in the late 1970s. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was a great scene out there in those times,â&#x20AC;? he told me three years ago ahead of a reunion night in Arva. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Between the dance halls and carnivals and dates over in England, it was a hectic time for all in the band scene. People nowadays wonder how we managed to organise things so well back then without mobile phones and internet.

I remember in the 1970s when we did Noel not have a landline Cassidy. phone at home. I booked a whole English tour of a few weeks from the public phonebox in Ballinalee.

His neighbour, Mick Flavin, who performed a number of songs at the funeral Mass in Ballinamuck Church on Sunday afternoon, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Noel had a great country voice. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think he was ever fully appreciated for how good he was as a country singer.

He recorded over 10 country albums and released two video albums. He idolised Big Tom. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a story about the time Noel was over in America and he hired out a big car and was clipping it nicely heading down the motorway. He was stopped by a big burly policeman who came up to the window and said: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been waiting for you all morning.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Noelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reply brought a smile to the policeman: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;If I had known that, sure Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d have been here quicker!â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

When the policeman asked Noel where he was from and he said he was over from Ireland, they had a big chat and laugh as the policemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ancestors were all from ,UHODQG 7KH VSHHGLQJ oQH ZDV forgotten about and both were left with memories to cherish.â&#x20AC;?

2QO\ oYH ZHHNV HDUOLHU 1RHO travelled to Prague for a bedside vigil for his son David (31) who was seriously ill after suffering a brain aneurism while holidaying in the city. He underwent lifesaving surgery and has made a good recovery.

Ballinamuck Church was packed to capacity for the funeral Mass on Sunday with another few hundred people sitting and standing in the sunshine outside.

Fr Ber Cassidy said Noelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life revolved around country music and story-telling. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Music was his passion and while he had other interests too, none of them were to the same extent as the music.

His son David, fully recovered after his own health ordeal, related many stories that drew big smiles and hearty laughs from the congregation. In a wonderful tribute, he said his father was a legend who had friends in many parts of Ireland and England. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Deep down he was a really big softie. About six weeks ago I had an aneurism on the brain and the other night after daddy passed away I was checking my emails, something I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t had a chance to do before then. An email came up from Noel at 1am on April 27 and it read: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Howya now David, a lot of calls and prayers for you; each day you will be getting better so hang in. I will see you on Sunday, until then may God bless you. I love you always, Dad xxxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.That brought tears to my eyes. He was a WHUULoF SHUVRQ y %HIRUH WKH FRIoQ OHIW WKH church, Big Tom sang The Land Where We Never Grow Old and Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Going Out The Same Way You Came. Members of the local Fr Manning Gaels GAA Club formed a large guard of honour and the cortege was led by the Texas Sherriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s police car that Noel brought in from America some years ago.

Noel is survived by his wife Mary; sons David, Paul, Martin, Cian; brothers Joe and Patsy; sisters-in-law, Anne, Breege and Rosaleen; mother-in-law Katie; the extended family, neighbours and legion of friends. CL

Mick Flavin.

Flavinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love of Scotland

S

cotland has become a second home for many Irish country singers and musicians over the last few decades. In the early days it was mainly Glasgow because of the long-established and enduring tradition.

For close to 30 years, Mick Flavin and his band have been making the crossing to Scotland on a regular basis. He still looks forward to those trips in a special way. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We always feel so much at home when we are over in Scotland and especially in the Highlands or the islands. That natural rapport is very strong between us and Scottish audiences have long been very faithful to the Irish country artists who have made many friendships with them over the years,â&#x20AC;? says Mick. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have been going over there for nearly three decades now and I still get that special feeling when I

visit Fort William and other places up north. We have done regular shows in Aberdeen, Inverness, Fort William, Thurso, Wick, Invergordon and various other towns. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I remember doing concerts with Philomena Begley in the Edencourt Theatre in Inverness back the years and there were always full houses for us. Philomena had a great following in Scotland. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have also done shows in Portree on the Isle of Skye as well as Stornoway on the isle of Lewis and Orkney and Shetland as well. The boat trip up to Shetland which we do every few years is one long haul. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It takes over 12 hours one way from Aberdeen to the island and then you have to face the same journey back again. But the welcome is always great and we have made many friends on the islands down through the years.â&#x20AC;?

0LFN V DIoQLW\ ZLWK 6FRWODQG

has seen him record a number of Scottish songs, including an original by Aidan Cunningham. The number, Maggie McCloud, has the opening line, I met her up in Fort William, and has become one of Mickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s often requested songs.

LOYAL FRIENDS â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have some amazingly loyal friends in Scotland,â&#x20AC;? says Mick. â&#x20AC;&#x153;John and Morag McGregor from Conon Bridge in Ross-shire, about 12 miles from Inverness, have been very close friends for years.

They come to our Irish weekends as do a number of other Scottish people. The Scottish people who follow our kind of music always make us feel so much at home when we visit their area. They love their country music and the chat and the banter. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love Scotland and always feel that old buzz when I am heading over there.â&#x20AC;? CL

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 28June January 20172017

COUNTRY LIVING 65

Beech aphid

It looks like the beech aphid will not be as big a problem this summer as it has been in some recent years. The beech aphid is a form of greenfly that attacks beech trees, especially young trees and hedges.

The aphids have a woolly coating that helps to ward off predators.

The aphids feed on the underside of the leaves, causing deformation and, in a heavy attack, reducing plant growth drastically.

Young trees can be set back so severely that they may die off or die back in winter. The dust from the aphids makes hedge-trimming very unpleasant and unhealthy to inhale.

Watch for the presence of aphids and if the numbers build up to the point where most leaves are affected and natural predators are overwhelmed, you may need to spray with a garden insecticide.

The wild flag iris is commonly seen growing in wet places, but it can have a role in the garden too, writes Gerry Daly gerrydaly@theirishgarden.ie

T

KH \HOORZ p DJ LULV LV D ZLOG native species of iris often seen growing in wet lowlying land, or typically the poorly-drained bottoms of o HOGV ,W LV RQH RI RQO\ WZR QDWLYH species of iris, the other being the stinking iris, an evergreen native of woodlands in milder areas.

7KH p DJ LULV LV D WDOO SODQW UDQJLQJ from 75cm to 1.5m. Grown as a single plant, it usually remains on the smaller size, but when it forms a large thicket of foliage and stems the plants can force each other upwards. ,W EHJLQV WR p RZHU LQ ODWH 0D\ or early June, with large, bright \HOORZ p RZHUV RI W\SLFDO LULV VKDSH â&#x20AC;&#x201C; three upright petals and three petals hanging down. The lower petals are rounded and much broader than the upright ones.

These lower ones have a ring of small purple markings which lead WR WKH FHQWUH RI WKH p RZHU DQG offer a guide to visiting pollinaWRUV (DFK p RZHU RSHQV DW WKH WRS RI WKH WDOO p RZHU VWHP DQG WKH p RZHUV RSHQ LQ VHTXHQFH ZKLFK SURORQJV WKH p RZHULQJ SHULRG 6RPH SODQWV FDQ VWLOO EH p RZHU LQJ LQ $XJXVW WKRXJK PRVW o QLVK earlier.

Over recent decades, some of the wet areas where yellow p DJ WKULYHV QDWXUDOO\ KDYH EHHQ drained and the iris is not as widespread as it used to be. But there is still plenty of it about. It is not grazed by livestock because it is poisonous. All parts have glycosides that are very bitter and

animals avoid the plant. Heavy trampling of wet ground by livestock can reduce the number of plants, but it is a tough survivor.

The tannin-rich root rhizomes have been used in herbal medicine for a variety of ailments, including rheumatic conditions.

With increased interest in natural gardening and especially in gardening for wildlife, as well as the creation of wildlife areas under GLAS, there is likely to be

greater planting of wild native species, including the iris. The number of native species grown LQ JDUGHQV LV OLPLWHG EXW WKH p DJ iris is one of them. Most garden VSHFLHV KDYH ODUJHU p RZHUV WKDQ wild species, or are more proOLo F LQ p RZHULQJ EXW WKH LULV LV DV good as most highly-bred garden cultivars. There are some garden forms of the wild plant that have been selected. $OED KDV p RZHUV RI SDOH \HOORZ

while Golden Fleece has deeper \HOORZ p RZHUV WKDQ WKH W\SH VSH cies. The most widely grown form RI WKH p DJ LULV LV Iris pseudacorus or Variegata, which has white or pale yellow-striped leaves. These are slender and upright like those of the species itself, but they do not grow as tall. The striped kind can look very lively in spring, as the new leaves push up rapidly. %XW LW GRHV QRW p RZHU VR ZHOO KDY ing less green chlorophyll in the

OHDYHV 7KH p DJ LULV LV D ZDWHU LULV and can grow happily in shallow water as well as in wet ground.

While it can tolerate dry soil for a while, it eventually fades out on well-drained soil, which is why it is not seen wild, except in wet places. It does well as a marginal plant growing by the edge of a pond. It can spread by means of its rhizomes and by seeds, which are produced in fat pods. These dry out in autumn or early winter and split to release the seeds, which can be distributed by water.

7R SUHYHQW VHHGLQJ WKH p RZHU stems are easily snipped off after p RZHULQJ DQG WKH UKL]RPHV DUH easy to keep restricted to a chosen area. Although it might not appeal WR DOO WKH \HOORZ p DJ LULV KDV D wonderful, natural simplicity that only native plants offer. CL

TREES, SHRUBS AND ROSES

FRUIT, VEGETABLES AND HERBS

FLOWERS

LAWNS

GREENHOUSE AND HOUSE PLANTS

Check young trees and shrubs for signs of drought, as young plants can suffer badly in early summer. Continue to spray roses against blackspot disease, especially in the damper parts of the country, if blackspot is a problem.

Continue to tie in the new shoots of climbing roses.

Thin out vegetables that have reached suitable size and control weeds early.

Sow Savoy cabbage, winter cabbage, cauliflower, purple sprouting broccoli and swede turnips. Tender vegetables, such as sweetcorn, outdoor tomatoes, pumpkins and runner beans can be planted out.

Bedding plants can be planted out and containers and baskets planted up. Unless slow-release fertiliser is used, potting compost runs low on nutrients. Be sure to control the first flush of weeds among bedding plants.

Continue to watch for slugs and snails in the first few weeks after planting.

Grass growth has been generally quite good despite the cold spell and dry weather. The weather has been dry for applying lawn fertilisers or lawn weedkiller, and if either of these needs to be done it is best to wait for a settled spell of good growth after rain for good results.

Tomato, chilli peppers, cucumber and sweet pepper can still be planted in a greenhouse, but do not delay further.

Continue to feed greenhouse plants every two weeks to get good growth before mid-summer and continue to water well. Pot up house plants that need it.

Idyllic iris

>> This week

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday Saturday 28 January 3 June 2017

66 COUNTRY LIVING

‘I have nothing in common with my husband’

D

ear Miriam, I sympathise with the lady who says she became invisible when she married into a farm. I would blame her husband, not her in-laws.

I married a farmer, but I was also from a farming background and moved in next to my in-laws, who I must say were wonderful. However, my husband did spend a lot of time with his family – to the detriment of our marriage to this day.

We had a child and, instead of spending time with his own family, he seemed to prefer to be with his parents and chatting with his siblings.

I could say my husband was emotionally detached, but I prefer to call it just plain cop-on. Being a farmer he did not have to leave his family and friends when he married. Life did not really change for him, and he made no effort to cut any apron strings.

I think this is a problem with a lot of farmers and, knowing that they have the support of their parents/siblings, they beFRPH DUURJDQW DQG VHOoVK , NQRZ WKDW DOO farmers are not like this, but I think there are a lot of unhappy wives out there.

That lack of togetherness in the early years of marriage left our marriage without any real foundation and, as you know, anything without a foundation crumbles.

GET IN TOUCH Do you have a problem you would like to share with someone who may be able to help?

If so, you can write to Miriam, Country Living, Irish Farmers Journal, Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Dublin 12, or send an email to miriam@ farmersjournal.ie

But now that they are grown up, what is next for you? I wonder if you might consider speaking to a counsellor about the impact this lack of connection in your relationship has had on you and explore ways RI PRYLQJ IRUZDUG DQG oQGLQJ RXW ZKDW you want from the next chapter of your life?

I’m not even talking about the big decisions, like whether or not to stay in the marriage. It could be as simple as making more time for things that you enjoy, taking up a new hobby, spending time with the people who value you as much as you value them, etc.

Often, if we begin to invest in ourselves, other people can’t help but notice our growing confidence and self-esteem

COUNSELLOR I think that even having the chance to speak LQ FRQoGHQFH ZLWK D FRXQVHOORU FRXOG KHOS provide you with much-needed clarity and put in place practical stepping stones to a brighter future.

Often, if we begin to invest in ourselves, other people can’t help but notice our JURZLQJ FRQoGHQFH DQG VHOI HVWHHP ,W might even inspire changes in your husband too, but regardless of that, you must JLYH \RXUVHOI WKDW FDUH DQG DWWHQWLRQ oUVW and foremost.

7R oQG D UHJLVWHUHG FRXQVHOORU LQ \RXU area, you could visit www.cosca.org.uk.

I wish you the best of luck and the happiness you deserve in your future. CL

Dear Marie, Thank you for getting in touch to share your story. You sound like a woman who has a lot of love and care to give. Unfortunately, that does not seem to have been returned in your marriage in the way that you hoped and expected it to be, though I’m sure your son or daughter absolutely adores you and appreciates everything that you have done for them.

AGRIWORD 899 ACROSS 1 Popular beverage. (3) 3 Exult - nearby, perhaps - with great joy and vitality. (11) 8 You can certainly count on this! (6) 9 How can you put lions out of what’s so pristine? (8) 10 Causing death. (5) 11 The time of darkness. (5) 13 Wakes in a distorted way. (5) 15 What a fanfare accompanied the Fall of the Wall here! (7) 16 Perhaps a cursed historic campaign. (7) 20 Garryowen’s Sean has a point. (5) 21 Spins back and cuts this. (5) 23 & 24D I towed up an assortment to be exterminated. (5,3) 24 Piece of religious music for Speaker No. Ten? (8) 25 Sign of the Zodiac, “The Twins”. (6) 26 Assume command of some latent crook. (4,7) 27 Take legal action. (3)

I began to feel we were a bit of a nuisance and a lot of the time he did not show any great interest in our child’s activities, and he just preferred if we went off on our own.

There would have been other incidents where he did not provide emotional and SK\VLFDO VXSSRUW +H LV GHoQLWHO\ QRW DOO bad, but that lack of a family unit has left me so sad and upset, as I thought marriage was about companionship and having a life together.

If he had acknowledged that he had his own family, our life together now would be so much better.

Time has moved on and the child is a wonderful adult, but I feel I do not have any great connection or anything in common now with my husband, and a lot of the time I just feel like leaving him.

Marie, Cork

BY FINÉAGAS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Some clues are cryptic, some more straightforward and some have an agricultural theme

8

DOWN 1 Are such incidents of congestion the preserve of motorists? (7,4) 2 A bat riot has broken out in the slaughterhouse. (8) 3 Exactly the same. (5) 4 It might be a sign of a lovely day, but it makes for a sad TV company! (4,3) 5 Major ski-resort in Colorado. (5) 6 Objects to skinny characters. (6) 7 But, however. (3) 12 Proverbially, they wait for no man. (4,3,4) 13 & 17D Change those Danish canapes? You won’t feel good with the result! (5,3,5) 14 Value. (5) 17 See 13 down.

18 Peat not to be considered? Eject it so. (4,3) 19 Illegally and forcibly commandeer a plane or other vehicle. (6) 22 Unemotional, uncomplaining type. (5) 23 This rolls over a point at the back of the foot.

(5) 24 See 23 across.

9

10

11 13

14

15

16

AGRIWORD 898 ACROSS 1 Basket case 6 Mesh 10 Adapt 11 Mancunian 12 Assault 15 Petra 17 Ouzo 18 Alas 19 Fever 21 Waldorf salad 23 Trevi 24 Flee 25 Lone Star State 26 Cased 28 Scrawny 33 Colostrum 34 Omega 35 Dido 36 Henceforth DOWN 1 Bran mash 3 Extra 4 Camel 5 Sane 7 Exist 8 Hen harrier 9 Jump-off 13 Ulna 14 Toadies 16 Lactic acid 20 Volunteer 21 Wildest 22 Roar 29 Comic 30 Adolf 31 Brie

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

68 NI NEWS

Optimise herd fertility this breeding season With the breeding season ready to start on most suckler farms, the aim should be to ensure that cows calve down in 2018 in a compact block. Kieran Mailey reports

T

he breeding season is just about to get under way for spring calving suckler herds around the country. For suckler farmers, breeding is the most important aspect of herd management to get right.

Issues such as cows not going in-calf, cows slipping in calving date every year, or the use of poor genetics will negatively aďŹ&#x20AC;ect subsequent herd performance and proďŹ t.

All three factors are in the control of the farmer and steps can be taken to make improvements.

Before you let the stock bull out with your cows, you should be reviewing your current calving pattern and calf performance. Ask yourself a few key questions: Ă&#x201A; How many weeks did it take to calve your cows this spring? Ă&#x201A; Is spring calving finished before the breeding season starts? Ă&#x201A; How many late-calving cows are there in the herd that drag out the calving pattern? Ă&#x201A; Are you using herd sires that are breeding calves suited to your market outlet? Ă&#x201A; When do you want cows to start and ďŹ nish calving?

Make changes If you decide to leave your breeding management unchanged, then you should expect the same results year after year. Only by doing things differently will improvements be made.

The easiest way to tighten the calving pattern is to remove the stock bull. Set a date and stick to it. For example, if breeding starts on 1 June, remove stock bulls on 24 August (12 weeksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; breeding).

Next year, remove the bull on 10 August (10 weeksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; breeding) and 3 August in the following year (nine weeksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; breeding). When making any change to herd management, the ďŹ rst year is always the hardest. Do not expect too much in one year. Be realistic and set achievable goals.

Once you start to see the beneďŹ ts in terms of cost saving and time, you will be glad you made the changes and you will be more likely to stick with them. Farmers who have moved to compact calving do not go back to calving cows over ďŹ ve or six months.

If starting breeding on 1 June, the bull should be removed from the cows by 24 August if a 12-week season is to be achieved.

Late-calving cows Late-calving cows are a drain on any suckler herd. When calving starts, farmers are focused on cow management and getting live calves on the ground.

But the longer the calving season goes on, the harder it is to maintain the same level of attention as other tasks can get in the way, eg silage, reseeding or oďŹ&#x20AC;-farm employment.

Eight steps Outlined below are eight options for dealing with latercalving cows ahead of the breeding season.

1

Identify repeat oďŹ&#x20AC;enders for sale: look back through herd records and see which cows are repeatedly slipping in calving date each year, or repeatedly calving down at the end of the calving period.

These animals have poor fertility and should be marked for culling or sale, otherwise these animals will be most

likely retained and calved again next year.

Selling live shortly after calving, with their calf at foot, is often the best option for these cows.

If cows are under-ďŹ&#x201A;eshed, graze them for one month to regain condition and improve sale price.

Bring in additional heifers in their place to maintain cow numbers.

If your herd is under movement restriction, keep these animals in a separate grazing group without a bull and ďŹ nish after weaning.

2

Pre-breeding scan: if cows are late-calving, is there an underlying health reason? Cows can pick up uterine infections through poor hygiene at calving, eg the farmer not wearing plastic gloves when calving the cow.

Cows may also have ovarian cysts which impacts on fertility. A pre-breeding scan will identify fertility problems, allowing you to take action early.

Ă Top tips Ă&#x201A; For a young bull in his oUVW \HDU D UXOH RI WKXPE LV RQH FRZ IRU HYHU\ PRQWK RI DJH )RU H[DPSOH DQ PRQWK ROG EXOO VKRXOG VHUYH QR PRUH WKDQ FRZV Ă&#x201A; $OZD\V PRQLWRU D EXOO WR HQVXUH WKDW KH LV PRXQWing cows correctly and is PRELOH Ă&#x201A; :DWFK IRU UHSHDW EUHHGLQJ DFWLYLW\ DIWHU WKH oUVW WKUHH ZHHNV RI WKH VHDVRQ

WR SLFN XS DQ\ IHUWLOLW\ LVVXHV HDUO\ Ă&#x201A; Rotating stock bulls to D GLIIHUHQW FRZ JURXS FDQ UHGXFH WKH LPSDFW RI D VXE IHUWLOH EXOO Ă&#x201A; ,Q D FRPSDFW FDOYLQJ KHUG PXOWLSOH FRZV ZLOO EH LQ KHDW RQ WKH VDPH GD\ 0L[LQJ VRPH HDUO\ FDOYLQJ DQG ODWHU FDOYLQJ FRZV ZLOO JLYH D EHWWHU VSUHDG RI FRZV FRPLQJ LQWR KHDW PDNLQJ LW HDVLHU RQ WKH EXOO

3

Smaller breeding groups: this option depends on the number of stock bulls available. Smaller breeding groups will ease the demand on a stock bull to cover multiple cows in heat at the same time, especially in a compact calving herd.

4

Sell after weaning: set a date to remove the stock bull/stop using AI. Scan cows around 30 to 40 days later.

Cows that are not in-calf by this stage should be separated from the herd and weaned early. The cow is best sold shortly after weaning in early autumn as the animal is likely to be in good body condition, making them suitable for slaughter or a quick ďŹ nish by buyers in a local mart.

5

Restrict suckling: forward-grazing of calves, to restrict them suckling the cow to morning and evening only, will bring cows back into heat faster.

You will need good fencing in place, preferably mains electric. Use two strands of electric wire to keep the cow and calf separated during the day. Cows will settle if they can see and smell the calf.

A creep gate can be used to let calves into the next paddock.

6

Priority group: keep later calving cows together in one group and graze on top quality grass.

Getting these cows to fresh grass straight after calving will increase their energy intake, boosting fertility.

If cows are thin or had a caesarean, oďŹ&#x20AC;er 1kg to 2kg of meal to improve body condition pre-breeding.

Make sure these animals are well covered for minerals by using a bolus.

7

Short gestation bulls: using a herd sire with a short gestation period will help get cows to calve earlier next year.

If purchasing another stock bull is not an option, you could use AI to select suitable bulls. Keep these animals close to the yard if handling for artiďŹ cial insemination.

8

Synchronisation: synchronising can help to bring cows forward in calving date and make use of AI, but it requires regular handling and good facilities to hold cows.

Also, cows need to have cycled at least once after calving, therefore it is best used on cows around 40 to 50 days post-calving. Using a vasectomised bull will help with heat detection.

Check the bull Is the bull in working order going out to cows? +HUH DUH D IHZ SUH EUHHGing checks that should QRUPDOO\ EH XQGHUWDNHQ

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

NEWS 69

NFU Scotland news

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#GlyphosateIsVital for grassland farmers too

W

riting in the National Farmers Unionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website blog, vice-president Martin Kennedy, from Highland Perthshire, said there are sound economic and environmental reasons why #GlyphosateIsVital to every grassland unit.

Mr Kennedy said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Four years ago, I changed systems and purchased a New

Zealand-developed Aitchison direct driller. To get the very best out of this machine requires the use of glyphosate. After testing old ďŹ elds of grass for pH and applying lime, we spray with glyphosate, apply fertiliser the following day and immediately go in and drill kale or rape. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As the ďŹ eld dies back, the new crop establishes with minimal weed challenge. The following year, after the

crop is eaten oďŹ&#x20AC; by lambs, the ďŹ eld is sprayed oďŹ&#x20AC; again and direct drilled with new grass. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a very valid carbon beneďŹ t.

Because we are no longer ploughing or cultivating, our carbon release has been reduced dramatically. That means there are solid environmental reasons for the reauthorisation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For a grassland farmer like me, this whole process has totally changed how

Call for milk contract review Five-day roadshow

NFU

activities

NFUS is challenging milk processors to review contracts, pricing and risk management as prices â&#x20AC;&#x153;stall and fallâ&#x20AC;?.

Co-ops Arla and First Milk have cut in recent days. The union is urging FM members to use the new governance structure and contact their council members. A FM council member has been invited to the NFUS milk committee on 7 June.

:H UH RQ WKH URDG ZLWK D oYH GD\ Highlands and islands roadshow, when the team will meet with farmers and crofters at Fort William, Sleat, Dunvegan, Loch Maddy, Tarbert, Stornoway, Ullapool, Durness, Skennet, Melness and Lairg. Details of the 12 venues over WKH oYH GD\V DQG LQWHUDFWLYH PDS ZZZ nfus.org.uk/news.

Because we are no longer ploughing or cultivating, our carbon release has been reduced

Meeting for members

A surgery for members has been organised for Thursday 15 June at the 1)8 6FRWODQG RIoFH 3RUWODQG 5RDG Kilmarnock, KA1 2DL. Do you have a question or issue to raise with our team? Do you need info on Brexit, funding, or policy? Book your 30-minute slot on 0131-472 4013 or email Christine.cuthbertson@nfus.org.uk

I establish new crops and would not be possible without glyphosate.â&#x20AC;?

As the EU decision to re-authorise glyphosate approaches, the union calls on all Scottish farmers to promote how important this plant protection product is and why it must be re-authorised. To get behind it, and contact your MEP, details on #GlyphosateIsVital campaign are at: https://www.nfus.org. uk/glyphosate.aspx

Big night for the northeast

The Annual Joe Watson Testimonial Stockjudging and Social Evening is set IRU 0LGGOHWRQ RI 3RWWHUWRQ RQ )ULGD\ 16 June at 6.30pm. Hosts, the Thomson family, are preparing classes of cattle and sheep. Burgers provided

by McIntosh Donald and cooked by SRXOWU\ FKDLU %RE +D\ 5HIUHVKPHQWV E\ 1RUYLWH 3URFHHGV WR -RH V IDYRXULWH FKDULWLHV 5HJLVWHU E\ FDOOLQJ 4000.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

70 BUSINESS OF FARMING

Scottish weather DETAILED WEATHER FORECAST: 2 June – 4 June

Weather data courtesy of www.yr.no

NORTHEAST

NORTHWEST Fri

Sat

Sun

Fri

Sat

Sun

10°C

10°C

11°C

16°C

15°C

14°C

3 m/s SW

4 m/s SW

2 m/s SE

2 m/s W

3 m/s S

3 m/s S

30 25 20 15 10 5 0

FRI

SAT

SUN

30 25 20 15 10 5 0

FRI

SAT

SUN

EAST

WEST Fri

Sat

Sun

Fri

Sat

Sun

14°C

14°C

13°C

17°C

15°C

13°C

3 m/s SW

5 m/s SW

5 m/s S

4 m/s SW

5 m/s S

3 m/s SW

30 25 20 15 10 5 0

FRI

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30 25 20 15 10 5 0

FRI

SAT

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SOUTHEAST

Fri

Sat

Sun

Fri

Sat

Sun

14°C

13°C

13°C

16°C

15°C

13°C

4 m/s SW

6 m/s SW

7 m/s SW

4 m/s W

5 m/s SW

7 m/s SW

30 25 20 15 10 5 0

FRI

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FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

BUSINESS OF FARMING 71 Pig market: 29/05/2017

Market digest | Stories from around the world

Prices reported to IFA

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European pig prices: Week ending 27/05/2017 i NJ

1.644

Ireland N. Ireland N/A

1.820

Britain 1.595

Belgium

Grain trends

240 220 200 Corn ex-port SPOT native wheat MATIF Dec 2017

180 160 140 120 100

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export policy in the year ahead.

This time last year, wheat was well priced relative to maize, but this year maize seems more competitive, so it could take a bigger share of

N D

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Est forward price for Jun/Aug: â&#x201A;Ź206/tonne

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the total feed requirement.

Prices here are broadly similar to last week, with demand being very slow. Old-crop wheat is again put at â&#x201A;Ź180 to â&#x201A;Ź182/t, with barley at â&#x201A;Ź165 to â&#x201A;Ź170/t depending on location.

New-crop wheat is currently put at â&#x201A;Ź170 to â&#x201A;Ź173/t to the trade, with barley at â&#x201A;Ź160 to â&#x201A;Ź162/t.

Earlier this week, Glanbia oďŹ&#x20AC;ered â&#x201A;Ź172 and â&#x201A;Ź162/t for dry wheat and barley respectively for November or â&#x201A;Ź138 and â&#x201A;Ź130/t for green wheat and barley for harvest. I also heard that green barley was sold forward at â&#x201A;Ź135/t, plus haulage, to an end user. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always about location.

Soya bean meal

Rolled wheat (â&#x201A;Ź/tonne)

(â&#x201A;Ź/tonne) Est forward price for Jun/Aug: â&#x201A;Ź191/tonne

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general dryness across much of western Europe and especially in northern Spain and France. There is concern that this could leave the EU tight on supply, depending on its

Rolled barley

320 300 280 260 240 220 200 180 160 140 120

SPOT native wheat 2016

SPOT native barley

1.826

Pig Slaughterings

Grain prices: Futures wheat price (MATIF) for December 2017 (â&#x201A;Ź/t), SPOT native wheat 2016 and 2017, SPOT barley 2017 and SPOT corn ex-port (â&#x201A;Ź/t)

Physical markets remain broadly similar to recent weeks, with some movement around currency. Harvest is progressing in the US but that wheat market now has relatively little inďŹ&#x201A;uence on ours.

Soya bean prices continue to weaken and soya bean meal may well drop further. But ongoing soya bean demand, coupled with water damage to US crops, could yet cause this price trend to reverse.

Closer to home, the HGCA reports that European barley yield expectations were cut in the latest EU crop monitoring report. This is a result of the

1.610 1.616

Germany

No movement despite weather concerns ANDY DOYLE

France Netherlands

(â&#x201A;Ź/tonne) Est forward price for Jun/Aug: â&#x201A;Ź347/tonne

2016 2017 J

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SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

:HHN HQGLQJ

23/05/2016

Wholesale ex-farm potato prices reported to the IFA Rooster Box 5RRVWHU NJ .HUUV 3LQNV NJ Whites Box *ROGHQ :RQGHU NJ

or call us: Aberdeen Ĺ° Glasgow 014-13011044

Low â&#x201A;Ź320 ø ø â&#x201A;Ź300 ø

High â&#x201A;Ź360 ø ø â&#x201A;Ź330 ø

Average â&#x201A;Ź340 ø ø â&#x201A;Ź310 ø

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Scotland

25 March 2017 Vol 70 No 4

Two Schmallenberg case s

jsleigh@farmersjournal.co.uk

Total &XPXODWLYH 64189 62226 1,334,069

Potatoes: 30/05/2017

JOHN SLEIGH

Subscribe at www.farmersjournal.co.uk/subs

6RZV 2039 1710

FARMERS JOURNAL SCOTTISH EDITOR

HELPING YOU GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR FARM

3LJV

60516

EXCLUSIVE

Two Scottish sheep ďŹ&#x201A;ocks near lish border have had conďŹ rme the Engd diagnosis of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) in malformed lambs. This follows rise in numbers of aďŹ&#x20AC;ected on from a England and Wales this lambs across winter.

Cases of Schmallenberg being discovered now will have been infected last year. The Schmallenberg virus is spread by midges. For the virus to have a high impact in cattle herds and sheep ďŹ&#x201A;ocks the midge must infect pregnan t mothers at key stages of pregnan cy. For sheep this is the second month and slightly beyond of pregnancy, and for cattle they must be bitten in the monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s three to ďŹ ve of pregnancy, but can have issues slightly after this period too. This is when damage to the developing central nervous system occurs. This results in brain and limb deformities in the newborn lambs and calves.

The disease can spread sporadically, with previous outbreak s being very close to areas which have no cases of Schmallenberg. SAC Consulting vets higher risk will be to cattle expect the mated in the summer of 2017 and at the edge of the northward progression of infected midges Fortunat l th S

I think the higher grou nd is good enough to supp ort Lleyn crosses and the hill sheep should also beneďŹ t from the hybrid vigour of a ďŹ rst cross Feature>> 8

in Scotland

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017 Saturday 28 January

72 BUSINESS OF FARMING

Irish management notes

Beef

Dairy

Tillage

Aidan Brennan

Andy Doyle

awoods@farmersjournal.ie

abrennan@farmersjournal.ie

adoyle@farmersjournal.ie

Adam Woods ÊGRASSLAND MANAGEMENT: Grass has started to head out on a lot of farms this week and where fields haven’t been grazed tight in spring, stem is starting to come into many swards. There are two ways of dealing with this – either take out heavy covers as silage or top after grazing stemmy paddocks.

On lower-stocked farms it is harder to graze very tight as paddocks need to be small to match smaller groups. Once topped, these fields should get an application of nitrogen to maintain leaf in the sward and make sure animals are gaining maximum weight.

Make sure the topper or disc mower is set to cut at a low level. Disc mowers will do the best job. Aim to cut at the same level as you would graze to; around 4cm. If these fields are not topped, the proportion of stem will increase and grass will die off, meaning the field will have reduced production.

Try to stagger topping in different stages as topping a lot of fields at once could delay re-growths in dry weather and lead to a grass shortage in the next few weeks. Avoid making priority stock like beef steers or heifers graze out this stemmy material as it will hit performance. On farms where there are autumn dry cows, this stemmy grass is perfect material to dry off cows and these cows can be made graze out this material ÊAUTUMN BULLS AND HEIFERS: Every year we hear of disasters where heifer weanlings sold through marts turn up in-calf and have to be returned to the owner along with a bill for scanning and feeding and maybe a vet bill. Some finishers have stopped buying heifers because of this hassle.

Weanling heifers can reach puberty early if they are gaining weight quickly and on a high plane of nutrition. Autumn-born heifer calves and bull calves should be split up at this stage to avoid any unwanted pregnancies. Separating these animals at this stage also means you can feed the bull weanlings while keeping heifer calves on good grazing.

I have seen some farmers in recent weeks attaching a scanning guarantee that heifers are not in calf and some marts in the west provide this service at the intake pens in the mart. Take note of any heats and, if in doubt, get your vet or scanning operator to scan to be sure to avoid getting the phone call that starts: “Did you sell a heifer on the …” ÊPOST-EMERGENCE SPRAY: The best time to control weeds in a new sward is in the first six weeks when grass has reached the three-leaf stage. Seedling docks can be easily eliminated at this stage as they will not have developed a tap root.

If clover was sown as part of the grass seed mix, be careful to use a clover-safe herbicide. Make sure your sprayer has passed the spray test and you have the appropriate sprayer operator course completed. It’s also important to accurately record all herbicide usage and adhere to storage regulations.

Sheep

Darren Carty dcarty@farmersjournal.ie

ÊWEANING PREPARATION: Weaning is only a short distance away in flocks lambing from the start of March. Going on a recommended weaning age of an average of 14 weeks, flocks with an average lambing date of 1 March will be in week 14 of lactation by 7 June. A high percentage of flocks lamb from 10 to 17 March and these flocks have a few weeks extra (14 to 21 June) to put plans in place.

Some farms will consider delaying weaning to get more lambs drafted for sale before weaning. This decision should take into account grass supplies, grass quality and ewe condition. Where grass supply or quality is lacking, lamb performance will suffer, with ewes competing with lambs for

ÊHEIFER WEIGHTS: At this stage, February-born heifer calves that are expected to calve down at 24 months of age should be 23% of their mature liveweight now. If their mature liveweight is 550kg, this means the calves should be 128kg today. March-born calves are more than likely to be underweight at this time. The best policy is to weigh all calves and separate the ones that are under target weight and give them special treatment. Special treatment could be extra meal and/or preferential access to quality grass. This might mean grazing them ahead of the main bunch or the maiden heifers and not asking them to clean out paddocks. The most amount of meal I feed young calves is 2kg/day. For the calves that are on target, if grass quality is good, (1,000kg/ha to 1,200kg/ha with high perennial ryegrass content) then meal feeding is not necessary, although some farmers like to feed a small bit (less than 0.5kg/hd), to assist with herding. Calves should be moved on to a fresh break every three days to keep grass intakes high, this is the key to maximising daily liveweight gain. Bulling heifers should be 63% of their mature liveweight (around the 350kg mark). ÊANIMAL HEALTH: I have heard of a good few cases of grass tetany over the past week. The change in the weather and the massive increase in grass growth rates are the likely causes. Mineral content of grass is least when grass growth is highest. Allied to this, many farmers would have reduced meal feeding levels after the burst in growth. Other forms of supplementation should be considered. They all work well, even low-cost methods such as water dosing and paddock-dusting. It’s still early to dose calves for worms.

The timing of the first dose should be based on exposure and this can be measured in faecal egg counts. Take dung samples from the group and get them tested. Your vet will help interpret the results. The other option is to wait for signs, such as loose dungs and poor thrive in some animals.

The advantage of waiting is that the herd will have built up more immunity, which will stand to them for life. ÊFERTILISER: Many farmers took the opportunity to cut silage over the past fortnight. Thoughts are now turning to fertilising ground for second cuts. Eighty units per acre of nitrogen are required. The amount of phosphorus and potash needed depends on soil fertility. Index 3 soils need eight units/acre of phosphorus (P) and 28 units of potash (K). Index 2 soils need 16 units/acre of P and 40 units/acre of K. Index 1 soils need 24 units/acre of P and 56 units/acre of K. Remember to deduct what nutrients are provided in slurry. Every 1,000 gallons/acre of cattle slurry will provide five units/acre of P and 30 units/acre of K. The nitrogen value of slurry is hit and miss, especially when spread with a splash plate. On damp and misty days you can expect six units/acre of nitrogen per 1,000 gallons/acre of slurry.

Weather conditions are ideal for spreading urea but you should wait 10 days between slurry and spreading urea and vice versa. If spreading CAN and slurry, spread slurry first and top up with fertiliser four or five days later.

the best-quality grass while where ewes are in poor body condition overly delaying weaning will result in a shorter time frame to regain condition. Delaying weaning can work successfully in cases where lambs are allowed to creep graze ahead of ewes, with ewes then used to graze out paddocks.

The aim in the runup to weaning should be to put preparations in place that will deliver a supply of high-quality, leafy grass for lambs post-weaning. This will help limit any setback in performance post-weaning. This will be fairly straightforward in cases where silage aftergrass is coming on stream.

Where this is not the case, it is important to prioritise areas for grazing. Topping swards with a high volume of lowerquality material will help while applying a small level of fertiliser (10 to 15 units N) will help maintain grass quality.

Surplus grass should continue to be taken out for baled silage as with growth rates running anywhere from 60-70kg DM/ha to over 100kg DM/ha, quality can go out of control. ÊSELECTING REPLACEMENTS: Initial decisions on selecting potential replacements should also take place before significant numbers of ewe lambs are drafted for sale. It is worth initially selecting a higher number of replacements than

ÊRAIN WAS WELCOME FOR SOME: Much of the Leinster area got the worst of the rain last week but some land needed it badly. The recent weather patterns appear to be good for growth and most crops appear to be doing well.

However, it is obvious that some of the patches in spring fields that were worst affected by the long dry spell have been slow to recover. Some of these are not just thin but they remain relatively pale, suggesting that the root system continues to have difficulty accessing essential nutrients.

Crops continue to grow rapidly and this is especially evident in spring crops. Most tillage areas received 2in to 3in of rain in May and that should be more than enough for crops. Now let’s hope for fresh bright weather for flowering and grain fill. ÊWINTER CEREALS: Barley and oat crop spraying should now be finished but keep an eye out for any late rust that might not be adequately controlled. All winter wheat crops will have received T2 fungicides and the early ones will shortly be at T3 as we get into flowering.

T3 is the big dilemma because triazoles are the main actives used in the hope of controlling ear blight and we would want to minimise their use to help in the septoria battle. Many may also apply a strobilurin at this timing to help with stress and green leaf retention. Who knows what lies ahead weather-wise but bright and sunny for the next 10 to 20 days would be a great help. Mildew may also need to be targeted with a morpholine where it is active.

Treatments at T3 need big rates to have any chance of being successful against ear blight. Fungicide options include triazole mixtures such as Prosaro or Gleam or Magnello, possibly with a half-rate strobilurin +/- chlorothalonil. The benefit of chlorothalonil is questionable at this timing but it may help reduce late-season septoria infection if there is resistance about and with earlier timings.

Hold decisions on aphicides until just before spraying.

Only spray if numbers are very high and use a systemic insecticide like dimethoate rather than a contact pyrethroid. ÊSPRING CROPS: Most are doing very well. Crops range from flag leaf emerging back to end of tillering for late-sown spring barley. Many crops have already received a first fungicide, some of which are targeting mildew while others are prophylactic. Spring barley still to be sprayed should get a triazole plus either a strobilurin or SDHI. Some varieties will also need a mildewicide. On a mildew-susceptible variety this should mean adding either Talius or Flexity with a morpholine to add persistence against mildew.

Where there is only a little mildew on barley, Bontima could be used. All spray mixes should include two different actives to help against resistance.

Spring wheat and oat crops should have received growth regulator by now. If you don’t have mildew or rust then the first fungicide on wheat might be a triazole +/- morpholine +/- mildewicide plus a contact spray. This could be Tocata plus Bravo on wheat or Tocata or possibly Helix in oats.

required as this will allow for a further draft later when performance and suitability can be reassessed. If known, decisions should also be made on culling poor-performing ewes that have reared lambs well below average in the flock. ÊCLOSTRIDIAL VACCINATION: Lambs in many mid-season vaccinated flocks are reaching a stage where naturally derived immunity is wearing off (protection lasts from six to 12 weeks).

There are numerous products on the market and a choice should be made on which vaccine best suits your flock with products varying in the range of cover they provide for clostridia and pasteurella. A full course of two shots administered four to six weeks apart is recommended to provide lambs with maximum protection. ÊPROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT: Most flocks will be implementing some form of blowfly protection from using pour-ons to dipping. Safety precautions should come to the fore. A good face mask and filters will cost from €30 to €50 and is good value. Where masks are already present remember to check the appropriate filters are in place and still in date. It is also worth investing in gloves, goggles and protective clothing.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 28June January 20172017

BUSINESS OF FARMING 73

On the Irish market Ringside comment

In the spotlight

More activity in sales in 2017 DARREN CARTY LIVESTOCK SPECIALIST dcarty@farmersjournal.ie

While throughput in many marts continues to ease weekon-week, sales activity is still running well ahead of previous years for many.

This is being helped by continued strong cull cow entries and purchasing from grass buyers lasting for longer.

The trade is holding steady and while average prices in some sales may be slightly down, this is more a reflection of quality reducing, with equivalent cattle still by and large commanding the same price.

The favourable spring for most and burst in grass growth rates in the last week to 10

days is also said to have inserted a boost into the trade, which is helping to underpin average prices.

Autumn-born weanlings are starting to appear in some sales and this is likely to gain in intensity in weanling strongholds, with some marts holding special sales in June and July to capitalise on this trade.

As can be seen on page 58, specialised finishers and feeders are the main buyers, with live exporters active for the top bulls, while purchasing activity continues for light bulls under 320kg for shipping to Turkey.

The strong trade for slaughter-fit cows also remains a highlight of sales, as also reflected on page 58.

These Charolais heifers, born March 2016 and weighing 420kg, sold for €1,070 (€2.54/kg).

At a glance: Average price paid week ending 30/05/2017

The marts

Weight €/head € over kg Weekly diff Yearly diff

Accurate mart prices, only in the Irish Farmers Journal

550 1210 660 5 -5

S T

Weight €/head € over kg Weekly diff Yearly diff

450 1012.5 563 -1 -4

T T

Weight €/head € over kg Weekly diff Yearly diff

350 822.5 473 2 -4

S T

Steers

Heifers

Weanlings

Cattle weighing 600kg-plus are selling from €2.00/kg for aged R grading types to €2.15/kg, while top U grading forward steers requiring D VKRUW o QLVKLQJ SHULRG DUH VHOOLQJ up to €2.30/kg and as high as €2.40/kg for excellent-quality lots.

There is also more interest entering the trade for cattle suitable for o QLVKLQJ XQGHU PRQWKV RI DJH with good late 2015-born and 2016born stores particularly in demand.

Prices range anywhere from €2.20/ kg to €2.60/kg for good sucklerbred stock and back to €1.80/kg for Friesian steers.

The heifer trade is following a very similar trend to steers. Supplies are tightening faster than steers, which is helping competition. Good-quality lots weighing 400kg to 500kg are selling from €2.30/kg to €2.55/ kg on average for R and U grading lots, with Angus and Hereford types from €2.10/kg to €2.30/kg on average. Lesser-quality O grading types are selling back to €2/kg. There is strong demand for top-quality replacement heifers, but those commanding the top prices need to possess quality, with a high star rating not enough to push prices.

Farmers continue to trade lighter weanlings in higher numbers to take advantage of strong demand from other farmers and the competition generated from continued buying for the Turkish market. Average-quality bulls weighing 250kg to 300kg are selling from €2.50/kg to €2.80/kg, with farmers driving the trade for light lots to prices as high as €3.00/kg to €3.30/kg.

Bulls and heifers weighing 350kg to 420kg are selling from €2.50/ kg to €2.90/kg for the top-quality types, with very good lots exceeding €3.00/kg.

YearlyComparison Steers

250

230

240

220

230

210

2015 2017

2016

220

200

210

190

200

180

190

170

270

260

240

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

180

Average price for 300-400kg weanling heifer (c/kg)

Average price for 300-400kg weanling bull (c/kg)

Average price for 400-500kg heifer (c/kg)

250

Weanling Heifers

Weanling Bulls

Heifers

Average price for 500-600kg steer (c/kg)

270

260

260

250

250

2015

240 2015

230 220

2017

210 2016

240 230

2017 2016

220 210

200

200

190

190

180

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

2015 2017

180

2016

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017 Saturday 28 January

74 BUSINESS OF FARMING

Irish beef trends

Factory bullocks: Under 30 months R Grade factory bullocks (cent/kg) DW incl VAT 480 460 440 420 400 380 360 340 320 300

Bull and cow kill rising

2015

DARREN CARTY

2016

Cow throughput has maintained the sharp jump from a fortnight ago, with last week’s kill rising 180 head to 8,481.

Factory buyers are attempting to apply pressure on prices. In some cases, sellers with lower numbers and less negotiating power are being faced with 10c/kg lower quotes.

O grading Friesians are being quoted a price of €3.40/ kg to €3.50/kg, with P+3 grades 5c/kg to 10c/kg lower.

R grades are moving in general from €3.55/kg to €3.65/kg, with regular sellers in a stronger negotiating position continuing to command higher.

This is being reflected in the strong prices in mart sales (see page 58).

Some finishers comment that factories are taking advantage of the time of year and are not reflecting the strong demand in the market for manufacturing beef.

IFA livestock

2017

J

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

Factory cows

O Grade factory cows (cent/kg DW) incl VAT 410 390 370 350 330 310 290 270 250 230

2017 2015

2016

J

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

Factory heifers: Under 30 months R Grade factory heifers (cent/kg) DW incl VAT 500 480 460 440 420 400 380 360 340 320 300

2015 2017 2016

J

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

CUMULATIVE

22/05/2017

23/05/2016

22/05/2017

23/05/2016

4482 579 9906 8481 8102 41 31591

4268 789 9950 6780 7436 25 29248

87304 10870 235784 141729 189601 5869 671157

94641 12150 228090 125355 185069 3025 648330

Source: Department of Agriculture

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

Lambs and hoggets: Week ending 30/05/2017 c/kg

650 2017 Lambs

2015 Hoggets

600 2016 Hoggets

550 500

2016 Lambs

2017 Hoggets

2015 Lambs

450

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Livestock tool Latest mart and factory prices at \RXU À QJHUWLSV www.farmers journal.ie or our news app

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Robust northern trade The trade in the North continues in good stead. U-3 base prices for steers and heifers have increased 2p/kg to 4p/kg and now range from £3.58/kg to £3.64/kg, which is the equivalent of €4.34/kg to €4.40/kg at the weaker ster-

Live exports Meanwhile, the total number of cattle exported live up until week ending 21 May 2017 stands at 116,225. This compares very favourably to the same period in 2016, with exports running 34,961 head or 43% above last year’s levels.

The drivers of this change are 14,289 extra cattle exported to the Netherlands (39,991), 10,458 more to Spain (35,863), 5,199 to Belgium and 5,945 extra to countries outside the EU, namely Turkey and Libya.

It is important to look at exports in previous years to see the full extent of change.

Exports are similar to 2015 and 2013 levels and over 20,000 behind 2014 levels.

Bonus structure for quality assurance payment

U+

U=

U-

R+

R=

R-

O+

O=

O-

P+

24 24 24 24 18 0

18 18 18 18 12 -6

12 12 12 12 6 -12

6 6 6 6 0 -18

BASE BASE BASE BASE -6 -24

BASE BASE BASE BASE -6 -24

-18 -12 -12 -12 -18 -36

-24 -18 -18 -24 -24 -42

-30 -24 -24 -30 -30 -48

-36 -30 -30 -36 -36 -54

R= and R- carcases grading fat class 2+,3 and 4- will be paid the base SULFH 7KH o JXUHV LQ WKH VXUURXQGLQJ FHOOV UHSUHVHQW WKH YDULRXV SUHPLXPV penalties paid across the range of conformation grades and fat scores. For example an R+3 carcase will be paid 6c/kg above the base price.

PETER VARLEY

700

400

2+ 3 44= 4+ 5

2015

F

Steer and heifer prices Steer and heifer throughput has tightened marginally and reflects the gap in throughput that is likely to exist until numbers start coming off grass in any significant numbers.

More sellers are having success in securing a base of €4.15/ kg, while, at the higher end of the market, those with higher numbers are securing a

U+

U=

U-

R+

R=

R-

O+

O=

O-

P+

2+ 3 44= 4+ 5 Steers and heifers grading within the shaded area will be paid an extra 12c/ kg if they are quality-assured and under 30 months old at slaughter. Qualityassured cattle must be on the farms for at least 70 days before slaughter.

Animals over 30 months and not quality-assured will be deducted 12c/kg.

Annual attempt to pull price

2016 2017

J

chair Angus Woods said: “A concerted move by the factories to pull cow prices has not succeeded, with plants having to pay last week’s prices to get numbers.”

ling exchange rate of 87p to the euro and including 5.4% VAT. Regular sellers with greater negotiating power remain in a position to secure returns into the high-£3.60s. Cow prices are also in contrast with the south, with O grades lifting by 4p/kg to 6p/kg in some plants. Prices range from £2.70/ kg to £2.80/kg or €3.26/kg to €3.38/kg.

Irish sheep trends

Weekly sheep slaughterings (head) 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0

Cattle born on this date will be over 30 months old this week

Quality-based pricing grid for steers and heifers

Export factory disposals

YOUNG BULL BULL STEER COW HEIFER CALF TOTAL

02/12/14

base of €4.18/kg to €4.20/kg.

A similar situation is evident with heifers. The majority are selling on a base of €4.25/kg, but there are some selling at a base of €4.28/kg to €4.30/kg.

This gradual rise across base prices is resulting in average prices rising slowly by an average of 2c/kg to 3c/kg.

Bull prices are slow to lift, which is likely due in part to rising numbers and the higher cow kill.

R and U grades are moving mainly at €4.05/kg and €4.15/ kg, respectively. There are specialised finishers securing bonus payments above this range, with negotiating power having a big effect on price.

Agents remain sticky on letting the base for bulls less than 16 months exceed €4.05/kg, with very few sellers achieving more than this.

Nov

Dec

Some sheep factories have taken the decision to pull back base quotes for spring lambs as we approach the June bank holiday.

One factory agent said much of the buying for Ramadan is now complete and with bank holidays in Ireland and France coming up, the decision was taken to be extra cautious buying over the next few days.

However, the extent of the price pull is variable, with Kildare Chilling reducing base quotes by just 10c/kg on last week’s prices to a base of €6.00/ kg excluding bonus payments.

On the other hand, Irish Country Meats and Kepak have pulled their quotes back by 20c/kg to 35c/kg respectively,

to a base of €5.80/kg.

Factories claim there has been a big increase in lamb numbers being booked in for slaughter over the last few days. Higher numbers, combined with what they describe as a more difficult trade in key export markets, is their rationale for the price reductions.

However, the reductions may be a matter of factories taking a wait-and-see approach to establish if their attempts will be a success.

Farmers will be hoping this lull will only be short term and some are sceptical that the reduced quotes are an attempt by factories to reduce farmers’ price expectations as we head into June.

On the ground, farmers are securing prices of €6.00/kg to

€6.20/kg. This is a reduction of 10c/kg on prices paid last week, but is still ahead of factory quotes.

Some farmers are also successfully negotiating higher weight limits of 21kg, which is helping to offset the reduced prices.

Strong demand IFA national sheep chair John Lynskey said there is very strong market demand for lambs, with factories paying €6.10/kg to €6.20/kg and top prices of €6.30/kg to €6.35/kg this week.

He said attempts by factories to pull quoted prices were not justified in terms of the strong market demand. John said the IFA is set to meet the lamb factories later this week and

will highlight the need to ensure that prices are stabilised and that Irish factories do not undermine the market at this critical time in the season.

The IFA is also set to meet the Department of Agriculture on the clean sheep policy.

Bord Bia will be starting its spring lamb promotion to coincide with peak supplies of 2017 new-season lamb and will co-ordinate its TV quality assurance promotion campaign for three weeks in June and also in October.

Cull ewes Cull ewe prices remain steady, with prices ranging from €2.50/kg to €2.70/kg, with demand reportedly high in the west. Carcase weight limits range from 40kg to 45kg.

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 28June January 20172017

BUSINESS OF FARMING 75 Exchange rate

Northern Ireland Report

€1=£0.8733

Cattle in demand as quotes rise to 364p/kg KIERAN MAILEY

Deals are being made which include transport. There have also been several reports of farmers selling at a flat rate price on certain types and grade of cattle. Farmers are quite rightly bargaining hard when selling animals. Although prices have been rising, farmers should still be offloading cattle as they come fit for slaughter.

Base quotes for prime cattle now stand at 356p to 364p/kg for U-3 grade animals. As has

NORTHERN DEPUTY EDITOR kmailey@farmersjournal.ie

Once again, there has been upward momentum in the cattle trade, with processors adding 4p to 6p/kg to base quotes for prime cattle.

Such is the demand for cattle, farmers have been reporting that factory agents are willing to negotiate on price, carcase weight limits and age of animal.

NI beef base quotes: Week ending 03/06/2017 (p/kg inc VAT) 0 E U R O P

+=+ = + = + = + = -

22= 2+ 3+=- 44= 4+ 358 360 362 364 362 358 354 356 358 360 362 360 356 352 354 356 358 360 358 354 350 352 354 356 358 356 352 348 350 352 354 356 354 350 346 348 350 352 354 352 348 344 346 348 350 352 350 346 342 340 342 344 346 344 340 336 334 336 338 340 338 334 330 328 330 332 334 332 328 324 322 324 326 328 326 322 318 316 318 320 322 320 316 312 310 312 314 316 314 310 306

2IoFLDO 3ULFHV 1, Week ending 27/05/2017 (p/kg ex VAT) Category

Steers

Heifers

Young bulls Cows

U2 U3 U4 R2 R3 R4 O2 O3 O4 P2 P3

363.9 366.9 361.3

361.1 366.2 360.5 356.8 360.3 357.1 337 350.7 351.8

354.7 359.6

362.3 358.2 349.6 351

350.5 355.3

296.5 296.6 271.2 278.4 281.9 242 259.8

328.3 336.9

Note: EU deadweight price reporting – the prices in this table are around 3p/kg below the prices actually paid by NI factories, all of which trim carcases to the UK spec, removing brisket and bed fat before weighing.

The reported factory prices have been adjusted downwards by 1% to allow for the greater EU reference weight of the carcase.

2IoFLDO 3ULFHV %ULWDLQ Week ending 27/05/2017 (p/kg ex VAT) England/Wales Steers Heifers 365 363.2 361.4 361.2 364.3 367.5 349.8 356 360.3 317.1 320.3 315.7

370.1 368.8 365.3 361.3 362.1 360.9 348.9 355.8 360.4 312.4 334.9 330.7

Steers U3 U4L U4H R3 R4L R4H O+3 O+4L O+4H O-3 O-4L O-4H

Scotland Heifers

376.1 377.7 377.6 377.5 379.6 380.7 365 374.6 366.5 336.8 332.9 353.5

386 385.2 378.4 378.7 380.2 378.6 374.4 370.9 372.3 311.5 332.3 337.7

been the case in recent weeks, farmers should be pushing for more.

Most indications are that factories are opening on a base of 362p to 365p/kg. They are securing cattle at this level, but mostly from farmers with limited numbers or for animals that are being sold through premium breed schemes.

Most farmers indicate that steers and heifers are moving from 365p to 370p/kg with

relative ease, while more regular sellers have managed to secure 2p to 4p/kg beyond this.

Factory agents are heavily reliant on specialist beef finishers at present. Reports indicate that factory agents are being extremely pro-active in offering deals to these suppliers to ensure that they can secure cattle over the next month.

The average price for cattle last week was 354.73/kg, up

Boosting performance with highquality swards BETTER Farm Beef Challenge NI >> P51

0.6p/kg. However, the average price paid for U3 steers rose by 5p/kg to 369.1p/kg. The average price for U3 heifers was 368.4p/kg.

Cows Quotes for cows have jumped this week, with 280p/kg on offer for O+3 animals, while other plants hold at 268p/kg.

Average prices paid last week for the same grade of animal was 280p/kg, with R3 cows on 298p/kg.

MartWatch: Prices in p/kg week ending 30/05/2017

Mart comment

Mart prices for various weight categories and difference in p/kg on last week

STEERS

HEIFERS

400-500kg Top1/3 208 5

400-500kg

Avg Bot1/3 165 123 -15 -31

500-600kg Top1/3 221 9

Avg Bot1/3 191 181 14 19

500-600kg

Avg Bot1/3 190 153 2 -8

600kg plus Top1/3 221 4

Top1/3 202 10 Top1/3 213 -1 Top1/3 – –

WEANLING HEIFERS

200-300kg

200-300kg

Top1/3 270 -19

Avg Bot1/3 220 146 -34 -64

Top1/3

259 -1

Avg Bot1/3 197 182 5 9

Top1/3

266 5

Avg Bot1/3

232 -6

Top1/3

189 -23

237 2

400kg +

Avg Bot1/3 – – – –

Top1/3

221 -13

Avg Bot1/3

235 -1

208 -2

300-400kg

300-400kg

600kg plus

Avg Bot1/3 189 152 -8 -20

WEANLING BULLS

Avg Bot1/3

208 -4

175 -11

400kg + Avg Bot1/3

201 -15

Top1/3

178 -18

208 –

Avg Bot1/3

193 –

177 –

The Marts: The tables are based on data from: Ballymena, Clogher, Dungannon, Kilrea, Markethill, Omagh, Rathfriland and Enniskillen marts.

Slaughterings of sheep and cattle in Northern Ireland Week ending Cumulative 20/05/217 21/05/16 2017 Prime cattle * 6,832 5,793 129,735 Cows 1,755 1,339 35,453 Sheep & Lambs 5,496 5,736 122,178 Ewes and rams 623 357 9,453 (prime cattle includes steers, heifers and young bulls) Imports and exports of cattle for direct slaughter Week ending Cumulative 27/05/217 28/05/16 2017 From GB 147 129 2812 To GB 39 35 682 From ROI 246 141 5,098 To ROI 235 354 3,229 Imports and exports of sheep for direct slaughter Week ending Cumulative 27/05/217 28/05/16 2017 From GB 0 0 637 To GB 0 0 0 From ROI 0 0 0 To ROI 5,755 4,483 141,497 Figures are subject to change

2016 128,526 34,088 107,692 10,181

Difference 1% 4% 13% -7%

2016 1,437 2,896 6,816 6,593

Difference 96% -76% -25% -51%

2016 875 257 0 150,949

Difference -27% -100% -6%

Strong trade for beef cattle

There was a small show of beef cattle in Ballymena Mart this week, with 270 cattle coming forward for sale. With limited numbers, trade was strong, with some exceptional prices being paid.

Beef cows sold to a top price of 214p/kg for a Charolais animal weighing 830kg (£1,776).

The general trade for fat cows saw prices of 160p to 200p/kg for continental-type animals.

Friesian cows sold to a top price of 146p/kg for a 660kg animal (£963), with general sale prices ranging from 119p to 146p/kg.

Beef heifers sold to a top price of 226p/kg for a 570kg Limousin animal (£1,288), with the general run of trade from 184p to 217p/kg, depending on quality.

Beef bullocks sold to a top price of 232p/kg for a 580kg Limousin animal (£1,345). Topquality fleshed bullocks sold from 220p/kg to 230p/kg, with plainer types selling back to 218p/kg. Friesian bullocks were a solid trade with a top of 181p/ kg for a 650kg animal (£1,176).

SHEEP COMMENT

See page 60

North price trends at a glance Source DARD Finished sheep: Deadweight price (p/kg)

Steers: Deadweight prices (p/kg) 390 380 370 360 350 340 330 320 310 300 290 280 270

450

2017

2017

150 2017

2016

400 140 350

2015

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

130

2016

120 300

250

2015

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Dropped calves: (£/hd)

Finished pigs: Deadweight price (p/kg) 160

110 100

2015 2016 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

260 250 240 230 220 210 200 190 180 170 160 150 140 130 120

2017 2016

2015

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017 Saturday 28 January

76 BUSINESS OF FARMING

Camera at the mart St Boswells Monday 29 May

This 21m/28d Belgian Blue heifer weighed 568kg and sold for £1,306.48 (£2.30/kg)

This 21m/26d Limousin heifer weighed 496kg and sold for £1,175.52 (2.37/kg)

This 18m/5d Limousin weighed 582kg and sold for £1,338.60 (£2.30/kg)

This 25m/4d Limousin heifer weighed 570kg and sold for £1,197 (£2.10/kg)

This Limousin heifer weighed 564kg and sold for £1,331.04 (£2.36/kg)

This 13m/25d Limousin heifer weighed 546kg and sold for £1,227.64 (£2.34/kg)

This 13m/5d Limousin heifer weighed 460kg and sold for £1,076.40 (£2.34/kg)

This 17m/14d Limousin heifer weighed 598kg and sold for £1,441.18 (£2.41/kg)

This 18m/15d Limousin steer weighed 580kg and sold for £1,293.4 (£2.23/kg)

This 22m/13d Aberdeen Angus heifer weighed 592kg and sold for £1,290.56 (£2.18/kg)

This 23m/2d Aberdeen Angus heifer weighed 582kg and sold for £1,251.3 (£2.15/kg)

This 58m/3d Simmental cow weighed 704kg and sold for £1, 133.44 (£1.61/kg)

Store cattle: week ending 30 May 2017 Ayr Tu Caithness Mo Castle Douglas Mo Dingwall We Dumfries Mo Forfar Sa Huntly Th Kirkwall We Lanark Th Lockerbie Fr Newton Stewart Fr Newtown St Boswells Th Stirling (caledonian) Mo Stirling (ua) We\Mo Thainstone Fr

Continental steers 716.43 -163.6

806.67 971.11 1053.64 877.93 939.17 952.92 884.67 928.9 924.67

-67.94 64.71

-36.98 -25 24.12 13.28 -24.39 -30.13

Continental 10to 14-months

742.5 809.3 900.71 950.83 843.41 850 934.72 928 924.1 903.89

-131.04

-63.88 3.95

-59.31 -136.67 -26.11 75.55 -23.1 -46.44

Continental heifers 506.46 -335.49 700.27 -249.73 763.08 9.56 986.1 832.84 -41.91 875.36 -43.69 863.08 -18.05 830.5 495.5 837.88 -32.41 915.57 39.42

Continental 10- to 14-month heifers 660 -165.61

700.22 854.17 873.75 762.46 802.86 841.07 822.67 830.09 846.23

-163.24 85.98

-90.55 -237.14 -65.83 32.53 5.8 -32.75

Native steers 250 -599.38 826.67 269.07 907.59 101.88 783.94 955 58.33 786 -15 969.46 -128.87 690.88 0.29 863.75 60.15 909.13 23.96

Native 10- to 14-month steers 798.41 264.41 914.71 104.1 762.73 853.75 -23.75 765 -36 914.66 -197.7 718.75 -5.54 801.08 99.55 928 86.7

Native heifers 516.43 -201.9 666.05 -1.82 851.47 114.33 719.46 884.29 81.52 787 11.29 857.88 117.88 638.75 32.81 818.88 -63.62 952.83 112.73

Native 10- to 14-month heifers 520 -108 633.21 55.88 736.67 713.27 810 73.52 720 -41.43 834.58 563.33 -26.67 777.35 -77.65 878.33 80.12

Store cattle numbers 79 0 0 294 178 0 144 0 211 30 0 141 110 556 401

Store cattle price 424.3 -374.82 758.55 115.6 778.93 33.22 886.74 837.46 -39.9 858.5 -21.02 919.5 -28.42 767.65 583.77 873.32 -11.42 903.64 -13.44

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 28June January 20172017

BUSINESS OF FARMING 77

Irish mart report – Gortatlea

Irish mart report – Fermoy

This 380kg Limousin bull was born April 2016 and sold for €950 (€2.50/kg).

These three young December 2016-born Limousin bulls weighed 235kg and sold for €750 (€3.19/kg).

This 660kg Belgian Blue-cross feeding cow sold for €1,040 (€1.58/kg).

This 655kg Friesian cow sold for €990 (€1.51/kg).

This good-quality July 2016-born Belgian Blue bull weighed 425kg and sold for €1,300 (€3.06/kg).

This 380kg Parthenaise-cross bull was born September 2016 and sold for €1,050 (€2.76/kg).

This 630kg Friesian cow sold for €1,030 (€1.64/kg).

This heavy Friesian cow weighing 725kg sold for €1,100 (€1.52/kg).

These four good quality Charolais heifers were born July 2016, weighed 374kg on average, and sold for €990 (€2.65/kg).

Four Limousin heifers born September 2016 and weighing 292kg, on average, sold for €700 (€2.40/kg).

This good-quality 795kg Simmental cross cow sold for €1,470 (€1.85/kg).

7KLV pHVKHG +HUHIRUG FURVV FRZ ZHLJKLQJ 680kg sold for €1,230 (€1.81/kg).

Autumn bulls out in force at Gortatlea High cow numbers in Fermoy Mart There was close to 700 weanlings on offer at last week’s special E and U grade weanling sale in Gortatlea Mart, Co Kerry. The yard of cattle on offer was top-quality and was every bit as good as peak autumn sales.

Exporters were very active for younger stock in the 250kg to 320kg bracket, while specialised bull finishers were to the fore and the main buyers for heavier bull weanlings.

Most cattle made between €400 and €900 over the €/kg. Prices ranged from €2.90/kg for good-quality U grades, rising to a top of €3.39/

kg for E grading stock.

Most of the plainer-quality export-type lighter bulls sold from €2.60/kg to €2.80/kg.

R grade bulls were selling for similar money, with dairy-cross stock a tougher sell than suckler-bred progeny on the night.

Heifers made from €250 to €990 with their weight. Price per kilo ranged from €2.40/kg to €2.80/kg for the most part, with exceptions for heavily muscled Blues and Blondes.

— Tommy Moyles

There was 100 cows available in Fermoy Mart on Tuesday. The majority of Friesian cows over three years of age sold from €1.45/kg to €1.60/ kg.

Well-fleshed Friesian cows consistently made from €300 to €350 with their weight, with some making up to €450 over the €/kg.

Feeder cows were selling in the main for between €120 and €220 with their weight, depending on condition, with young cows most sought after.

These cows were picking up an extra 10c to

20c per kilo over older stock. Suckler cows, while scarce, sold for between €435 and €675 over the €/kg. Overall, cows made from €90 to €675 over their weight.

With regular manager Sean Leahy on holidays, Tom McCarthy of Cork Marts said: “There has been a great trade for cows in recent weeks and we are seeing more farmers selling cows through the marts. I thought cow prices had peaked a few weeks ago, but this week has seen excellent prices.

— Tommy Moyles

Store sheep: week ending 30 May 2017 Numbers

Ayr Caithness Castle Douglas Dingwall Dumfries We Forfar Huntly Kirkwall Mo Lanark Lockerbie Newton Stewart Newtown St Boswells Mo Stirling (caledonian) Tu\Mo Stirling (ua) We Thainstone Fr

0 0 0 0 11 0 0 37 0 0 0 0 250 67 107

Store sheep average price 92.05 8.55 45.76 11.23 50.83 -8.62 59.47 0.99 61.11 3.57

Continental & Suffolk 45.67 14.04 56 -9.63 65.82 5.26

Halfbred & Mule - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cheviot 50.14 -3.86 48.6 -7.65 40.5 -20.11

Blackface 50.32 35.86

-5.93 -24.31

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017 Saturday 28 January

78 BUSINESS OF FARMING

Deadweight cattle Average Scottish deadweight price for steers

WWorld cattle prices: Week ending 27/05/2017

R4L (£/kg)

W

c/kg

400 375

422

403

2017

423

374

420

387

365

327

323

350

2016

300 Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

UK deadweight reporting: Week ending 27/05/2017 Steers

Southern England Midland and Wales Northern England

R3 Young Bull

Fr

Ger Italy Nld

R3 Young Bull

Av. Steers

R3 Steer

GB

Steer

R3 Steer

NI

Pol AUS US

Brz

Dec

Averages (£)

Scotland

3

4L

3

4L

3

4L

3

4L

-U

369.6

367.1

366.0

365.9

360.3

361.4

376.1

377.7

R

361.7

362.0

362.0

359.5

358.9

368.3

377.5

379.6

O+

346.7

349.8

347.2

346.3

355.9

362.3

365.0

374.6

Steers

Heifers Young bulls

Cows

-O

314.6

319.5

314.0

314.8

320.4

323.3

336.8

332.9

374.2 +2.2S

337.7 +1.1S

272.3 -1T

Southern England Midland and Wales Northern England

Heifers -U

4L

3

4L

3

4L

3

4L

367.2

366.9

372.8

373.3

366.0

365.5

386.0

385.2

R

361.2

360.6

364.6

364.6

354.0

360.3

378.7

380.2

O+

352.2

350.5

345.3

347.8

350.2

365.3

374.4

370.9

-O

311.0

328.7

305.0

318.4

316.4

349.6

311.5

332.3

Young bulls

Scotland

3

4L

3

4L

3

4L

3

4L

-U

355.6

352.0

357.8

356.8

354.3

356.1

369.9

366.8

R

347.0

346.0

348.0

348.2

346.7

348.3

365.5

364.4

O+

328.0

327.0

325.9

321.0

320.1

306.7

340.1

-

-O

324.5

-

304.1

306.0

302.7

310.0

307.1

-

Southern England Midland and Wales Northern England

Cows

Scotland 357.2 -0.7T

Scotland

3

Southern England Midland and Wales Northern England

Steer

R3 Steer

Irl

R3 Young Bull

R3 Steer

325

R3 Young Bull

222

350

Northern England Northern Ireland (R grade) Steers

Heifers

Young bulls

Cows

362.3 +2.3S

360.3 +1.6T

355.3 +4S

296.5 +3S

Steers

Heifers Young bulls

354.5 +2.3S

356.4 +1.1S

335.6 +1.4S

Cows 250 -0.7T

Central and Wales Steers 351.1 +2.8S

Scotland

Heifers Young bulls 356 +3.1S

338 +3.7S

Cows 240.6 +0.7S

Southern England

3

4L

3

4L

3

4L

3

4L

R

286.4

293.9

295.3

296.3

289.7

290.3

297.5

294.4

O+

279.9

276.8

284.9

285.4

280.0

278.2

287.6

289.0

-O

270.4

270.3

266.9

271.2

265.9

267.6

272.1

273.0

P+

244.3

248.8

236.0

253.0

251.9

247.5

260.6

-

Steers

Heifers Young bulls

Cows

345.4 -0.4T

346.7 -0.4T

239.9 -7.1T

343 +0.5S

Prime cattle: week ending 30 May, 2017 Steers Market Ayr Mo\Tu Caithness Castle Douglas Tu Dingwall We\Tu Dumfries We\Tu Forfar We Huntly We\Th Kirkwall Mo Lanark Mo Lockerbie Newton Stewart We Newtown St Boswells Mo Stirling (caledonian) Th\Tu Stirling (ua) Th Thainstone Th

Heifers

Young Bulls

370-550 kg

551-650 kg

>650 kg

330-500 kg

501-590 kg

>590 kg

>370kg

Total cattle Number

208 148 211 161.3 197.88

207 221 222.8 174.17 225.62 220.89 205.47

228 149.94 228 200.59 187.25

205.67 222 230 235.83 202.2 180 192

228.17 214.2 239.64 224.03 226.1 220.7 133.15 217.95

207 200 230.14 212.6 212.36 232.5 169.9 187.13

197 206 194.44 178.33

15 0 0 4 8 33 0 0 45 0 0 63 105 5 74

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 28June January 20172017

BUSINESS OF FARMING 79

Liveweight sheep Average price for prime old-season lamb

Average price for cull ewes 80

200 190

70

180 60 170 50

160 150

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

40

May

Jan

Feb

Mar

Numbers of prime old-season lamb

Numbers of cull ewes

30000

8000

22500

6000

15000

4000

7500

2000

0

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

0

May

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Apr

May

World lamb prices: (p/kg) New Zealand 17.5 kg lamb (26 May)

336

Ireland lambs (28 May)

456

France butchers lamb (28 May)

523

US lambs (26 May)

285

UK price

489

Data provided by

British deadweight lamb price reporting (Old Season Lambs) Final SQQ: week ending 27 May, 2017 (12.0 - 21.5kg) 1 E U R O P

Num 7 25 200 239 55

p/kg 458.6 469.4 461.5 385.0 322.5

Num 665 1860 4685 1960 182

2 p/kg 510 502.5 483.5 440.3 329.1

Num 1886 6552 9928 2527 35

3L p/kg 510.3 503.0 482.4 439.5 332.9

Num 695 2658 3708 445 1

3H p/kg 493.9 489.8 474.3 439.8 320.0

Num 104 446 611 37

4L p/kg 474.8 469.4 461.4 437.5

Num 9 42 99 11

4H p/kg 446.1 444.7 437.3 391.4

Num 1 6 10

5 p/kg 410.0 419.2 414.0

Prime Sheep: week ending 30 May, 2017

Ayr (Mon) Caithness Castle Douglas Dingwall Dumfries Forfar Huntly Kirkwall Lanark Lockerbie Newton Stewart Newtown St Boswells Stirling (caledonian) Stirling (ua) Thainstone

Hoggs 25.5-32kg

Hoggs 32.1-39kg

Hoggs 39.1-45kg

Hoggs 45.6-52kg

Average price

Average price change

134.23 159.2 146.56 132.14 167.27 166.42 166.7 153.47 119.44 132.64

188.48 174.03 168.72 198.13 180.44 179.8 150.8 171.83 199.55 190.96 168.36 182.21 177.74

190.95 197.5 200.73 190.93 189.9 204.06 177.75 189.81 197.48 185.23 188.64 191.69 195.41

179.65 184.76 176.37 186.67 179.86 164.79 196.78 184.27 191.72 198.52 183.79 209.56

186.38 171.27 187.15 192.04 184.6 197.15 175.14 181.93 195.18 187.36 176.27 184.99 188.15

-12.29 13.71 -13.19 0.56 2.18 14.96 -3.35 -23.21 20.38 27.49 -16.49 -8.1 -11.71

Total old season lambs 474 0 58 162 482 232 836 67 620 0 315 474 531 1102 984

Total ewes 419 0 136 40 169 36 220 126 202 0 202 309 358 697 0

Total ewes average price 65.8 63.14 60.65 72 56.69 63.99 51.4 72.01 61.32 79.07 57.67 61.06 -

Total ewes average change -3.39 3.77 3.15 14.29 -12.05 2.7 1.35 4.43 -5.67 10.84 -4.51 0.4 -

FARMERS JOURNAL Saturday 3 June 2017

80 BUSINESS OF FARMING

Market view

£1= €1.15 | $1.29

Rising demand for beef in lead-up to the Highland Show BEEF John Sleigh

The cattle trade is slowly building as we head towards the Highland Show. There is a general shortage of cattle across the country, with waiting times cut significantly for those with stock ready to go.

R grade steers are up weekon-week with a base price of £3.73/kg, with most abattoirs starting deductions over 400kg.

This is 6p above the UK average price for R grade steers of £3.67/ kg. The base price for R grade

heifers is at £3.78/kg. This brings a 350kg heifer carcase to over £1,300. U grade carcases from steers and heifers are getting an extra 10p/kg.

Last spring abattoirs were resolute in recommending farmers cut their male calves. The tight supply of beef could be a result of many farmers having listened to their processor’s request. Nevertheless, those who decided to keep their males entire may be in a stronger po-

sition. This week, under 16 month old continental bulls are up 5p to £3.70/kg for an R grade.

Furthermore, with a shortage of cattle, some abattoirs are looking less strict at weight specification.

The cow trade is still strong across Scotland, with R grade cows making £3/kg, which is significantly up year-on-year.

Poorer-grading dairy cows are making between £1.40/kg and £1.80/kg. The weak sterling

Deadweight cattle in Scotland:

Store cattle in Scotland:

Week ending 27/05/17 (£/kg)

Week ending 27/05/17 (£/hd)

+2p

+1p All young bulls

All cull cows

Continental 10 to 14 months steer average

£3.52 £2.72 £3.74 £3.78 -0.7p -1p 878 All steers

All heifers

Sheep in Scotland: Week ending 27/05/17 (£/kg)

+38p Deadweight lambs

Hoggets LW

Total hogg live sales

811

Continental 10 to 14 month heifer average

828

Native 10 to 14 month heifer average

718

RL steer international: Week ending 27/05/17 (£/kg)

NC Total number new season live sales

Native 10 to 14 month steer average

is making importing manufacturing beef less attractive so driving domestic demand to ensure supply.

The store trade remains strong, with quality continental 12- to 14-month steers and heifers continuing to make over £1,000. There appears to be a continuation of more store producers selling their stock younger, with fewer farmers putting their stock out to grass for a second summer before selling.

S England

+1p N England

+1p

NC NI

ROI

£2.41 1,942 £1.85 6,337 £3.62 £3.68 £3.68 £3.51 -9p

Supply and demand push lamb price up SHEEP John Sleigh

As our hogg trade starts to dry up and the new season lamb is yet to get going, sheep prices are strengthening.

Nevertheless, some abattoirs have already switched across from hoggs to new-season lamb, with another big plant making the change this week.

In the last week, marts sold 1,942 new-season lambs compared to 6,337 hoggs sold

through the prime ring. Plainlooking blackface hoggs were going for around £88 this week, with good ones going for over £100.

This is a dramatic change from the Easter trade a month ago, when farmers were going home with £70 a life.

Supply and demand seems to be at play here, with buyers willing to pay to ensure they

get lamb to fulfil their orders.

New-season lamb is one of the highest trades in years, but prices can vary. Good-quality new lambs weighing 40kg to 46kg are making from £100 to £124 each. This is up £16 per head year-on-year.

Meanwhile,the cast ewe trade is similarly buoyant, with heavy ewes averaging £75 around the country.

Starting the 2017 season off with such high prices for lamb is a boost for everyone. Eid is on 25 June this year, so this may help boost prices again before Scottish lambs start coming forward in significant numbers.

As the UK kill rises towards the back end, prices will inevitably fall, but the high starting point is a good springboard.

OIE awards BSE negligible-risk status to Scotland JOHN SLEIGH SCOTLAND EDITOR jsleigh@farmersjournal.co.uk

Scottish farmers are expecting a boost after the country received BSE negligible-risk status last week.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has awarded Scotland the much sought-after status.

Along with Northern Ireland, Scotland is the first region of a member state awarded BSE negligible-risk status. It was awarded thanks to Scotland being BSE-free since 2009, and having no cases of BSE in animals born since 2005.

The status could be worth millions of pounds to the beef sector as more parts of the animal could be used and more export markets could be opened up.

Currently, a considerable amount of specified risk material (SRM) from bovine carcases have to be destroyed.

BSE negligible-risk status allows these SRMs to be reviewed with the potential for more material being utilised.

The most likely destination would be pet food and oil extraction.

International reputation The international reputation for Scottish beef will be strengthened with the negligible-risk status.

Overseas markets could open up as new destinations for beef and beef products.

Jim McLaren, chair of Quality Meat Scotland.

Once again, this is not a simple picture, as BSE status is often just one of suite of non-tariff barriers which hold up trade preventing exports.

Nevertheless, this is clearly a step in the right direction.

Enhanced reputation Jim McLaren, chair of Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), said: “The announcement that it has officially recognised the BSE negligible-risk status of Scotland is a welcome boost for the Scottish red meat industry.

“The Scotch Beef PGI brand is underpinned by world-leading levels of traceability, assurance and animal welfare standards and this status will certainly enhance the already high reputation of the brand in current and new international markets,” McLaren said.

“Along with our whole of life farm assurance, it will act as a further important point of differentiation from beef produced in other parts of the UK,” McLaren told Farmers Journal Scotland.