Tom Halpin farms 63 Ha of mainly free draining land just outside Kells, Co Meath. He operates a suckler to weanling system calving a split calving herd in February/March and June/July. Up until this year there was also a sheep enterprise on the farm however to further increase cow numbers he choose to opt out of sheep this year. Suckler cows on the farm are extremely functional with excellent fertility and very good 200 day weights on calves demonstrating excellent milking ability. Cow type is mainly Limousin/Simmental cross and these are mated with a terminal sire charolais bull to breed top quality weanlings. A limousin bullwas purchased in 2012 to breed replacements from within the herd. In 2012 the decision was made to drop rented ground and as a result this increased stocking rate from 1.49 L.U./Ha in 2011 to 2.09 L.U./Ha in 2013. Gross Margin also increased during this time from €575 /Ha to €757/Ha or a 31% increase over 3 years. Topics and stands to be covered on the day include:
Farm System and Farm Plan- “How to increase output in a weanling system”
Grassland Management-” Paddocking my farm”
Sire Choice and Weanling markets-” The €1000/Ha challenge
Herd Health- “A Healthy Suckler Herd”
Breeding and Genetics- “The ideal suckler for a weanling system”
Experts from Teagasc, Bord Bia, ICBF and other stakeholders will be available on the day for questions
The event IS BTAP approved.
Food and refreshments will be available on the day.
First farm tour at 2pm and 2nd farm tour at 6pm
GPS co ordinates for the event are (53.798041,-6.807979) and the farm will be sign posted from Kells and the N52 from Ardee
