BY ANNE SEXTON
IF you are a beef farmer, ‘Beef 2022’ is your opportunity to see first-hand the results of Teagasc’s comprehensive research and innovation programme and to meet Teagasc research, advisory and education staff.
The event, on Tuesday July 5th in Teagasc Grange is a free event, not to be missed.
The theme of this year’s event is ‘Supporting Sustainable Beef Farming’.
There are significant challenges in relation to overall profitability, market disturbances, Cap reform, climate change policy and input price rises.
However, the market for grass-fed beef as a high quality, sustainable human food protein source is strong. The focus of Beef 2022 will be on the application of technologies that will help beef farmers increase the profitability and environmental sustainability of their family farm businesses.
Technologies in relation to grazing management, animal nutrition, beef genetics, reproductive management, animal health and farm planning will be essential to increase the competitiveness and sustainability of the Irish beef sector which will form the main focus of the day.
This major open day will provide the roadmap to deliver these goals for the Irish beef industry.
There will be four main stands highlighting beef systems for your farm, performance targets and achieving the targets while optimizing beef profitability.
Following on from the boards, a variety of information villages have been set up.
For example, the environment village Signpost programme focuses on pathways to carbon neutrality, improving water quality and managing biodiversity on your farm.
Grassland management, clover and multi-species pastures will be demonstrated in the grassland village. If you operate a suckling system there is a village on suckling systems with cow type and sire selection being discussed on the day.
Calving at 24 months workshops will be run throughout the day.
Speak to some of the Future Beef programme monitor farmers and get updates from Derrypatrick and Newford suckler herds.
The new DairyBeef 500 campaign will feature with topics such as calf quality, calf rearing and housing and the latest findings from the Grange dairy calf-to-beef system.
If you are buying weanlings/stores or finishing cattle the growing and finishing cattle village will be of interest with demonstrations on maximising performance and a cattle display on meeting carcass specifications.
Producing quality beef is key to the success of the industry. Factors affecting meat quality, Grass-fed’ beef and PGI and quality-assured beef will be the topics of the day in the meat quality village. T
he Teagasc advisory, education and policy village will be focused on pathways for a career in agriculture succession and inheritance and implications of Cap reform for beef farms.
A must visit for all attending is the farming lifestyle village focusing on health and safety on beef farms, labour, work life balance and well-being.
There will be live displays in relation to low emissions slurry spreading, use of protected urea, reseeding, farm infrastructure, grazing management and health and safety throughout the day.
Biogas can be used to replace fossil fuels in the fight against climate change. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a natural process whereby anaerobic bacteria convert organic waste to a mixture of methane, carbon dioxide and other trace gases.
The mixture of gases produced is called ‘biogas’. Teagasc Grange have recently completed the building of a pilot-scale anaerobic digestor and you can visit and learn about this plant on the day.
Further information www.teagasc.ie/beef2022
• Anna Sexton is a business and technology beef and sheep advisor based in the Teagasc office in Skibbereen.
