Over 70 farmers join dairy calf-to-beef farm walk

Over 70 farmers attended a GrassCheck farm walk on the farm of James Henderson near Kilkeel, Co. Down recently.

James farms 150ac with an autumn-born dairy calf-to-beef enterprise and lowland sheep enterprise.

James gave an introduction to the farm before the group headed out to view some of the swards on the farm.

First up was a red clover reseed that had recently been established on the farm. John Morrow (agriculture manager at AgriSearch) gave an outline of the key results from AgriSearch’s red clover project ZeroNsile and the key steps to take when establishing and managing a red clover silage sward.

He explained that it is important to minimise machinery use in the field to avoid damaging the crown (growing point) of the red clover.

To avoid leaf shatter, James does not tedd the silage and aims for a 24- to 48-hour wilt.

Farm walk

At the next stop of the farm walk the attendees viewed the dairy-origin beef enterprise on the farm. 

John Morrow outlined the importance of good grassland management and how James Henderson uses this to achieve excellent performance from his cattle.

James measures the grass on a weekly basis throughout the growing season and uses the grazing wedge to make timely decisions ensuring a steady supply of high-quality grass.

James finishes his cattle from 22-24 months. Since introducing paddock grazing in 2016 the meal fed to cattle has fallen from 1,500kg to 500kg per head.

John Morrow emphasised the importance of going into a paddock at the right cover and avoiding having too high covers which will lead to a loss in grass digestibility and a drop in animal performance.

The next stop was a multi-species sward which was being grazed by sheep. Claire Bailey from Germinal discussed the components of the multi-species sward and how to ensure sward performance and longevity.

This includes leaving higher post grazing residuals. This field was sowed out after winter barley in 2024. 

This mix includes 8kg of perennial ryegrass along with 2kg of red clover, 1 kg of white clover, 2kg of plantain and 1kg of chicory.

The multi-species sward helps the farm cope with the periods of dry weather that they experience most summers.

The final stop looked at James’s sheep breeding strategy. James buys performance-recorded rams for the flock.

With relatively few performance-recorded rams available locally, James has imported sheep from outside of Northern Ireland.

Current rams include the Aberfield, Meatlinc, Primera and Belclare breeds.  In recent years James has brought his days to slaughter down from 200 days to just 168 days last year.

A copy of the handout from the event is available to view on the AgriSearch website.

Further GrassCheck farm walks are planned for the coming weeks.  The next farm walk will be held on the farm of Gregg O’Boyle near Randalstown on 17^th July at 7pm.  Further details can be found on the Agrisearch website.