Calf-to-beef could earn up to €1,000/ha
Margins Produce Teagasc To Net Well Were Managed Johnstown Grange Calf Over Direct At Castle To And Before Found Hectare Systems Payments €1,000, Of Profit Per Dairy Beef
A Teagasc course starting in December could be the gateway to earning €1,000 per hectare from your farm. However, about €500 per hectare is a more likely outcome. These are the possible earnings, before direct payments, from rearing dairy-bred calves to beef.
But there is a "health warning" from Teagasc, that there has been a high attrition rate in this business, in past years. In 2015, for every 10 farms that reared dairy beef calves, only four were left by 2019. Poor financial returns, problems with animal health, labour, and dissatisfaction with the beef genetics from calves coming from the dairy herd were a few of the reasons for dropping out of calf-to-beef production.
Five years on, farmers trying dairy calf-to-beef will hope that better genetics and other improvements will help them succeed.
"For many new entrants to dairy calf-to-beef, there is a whole new skillset that needs to be learned in order to run a successful operation. Even for existing calf-to-beef producers, there are always areas for improvement in calf-to-beef production," is the advice from Teagasc.
They want to hear from people interested in the dairy-beef course, with a view to commencing a dairy calf-to-beef enterprise or seeking skills and advice to improve their existing enterprise.
According to Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Campaign advisor Fergal Maguire, well managed dairy calf to beef systems at Teagasc Grange and Johnstown Castle were found to produce net profit margins per hectare of over €1,000, before direct payments. And in 2023, the 16 DairyBeef 500 participating farmers generated an average net margin before scheme payments of €542/ha.
There are five fundamental principles for profitable and environmentally sustainable calf to beef enterprises, and these are built into the calf to beef course designed by the DairyBeef 500 team.
Those five principles are animal health, beef genetics, calf rearing, grassland management, and quality silage.
In October 2022, the first Teagasc Dairy Calf to Beef course commenced in the southeast and southwest. Students visited DairyBeef 500 demonstration farms in their region, and the dairy calf to beef unit at the Teagasc Grange Research Centre, the Tipperary Dairy Calf to Beef Demonstration Farm, and the Dawn Meats facility in Grannagh, Co Waterford. Topics covered included choosing the right calf to beef system for your farm; calf rearing; required infrastructure; grassland management; winter nutrition; and assessing animals for slaughter. Specialist speakers from Teagasc, MSD, Volac Milk Replacers Ireland, and Dawn Meats gave lectures on calf to beef production.
Another course commenced in December 2023, with 36 students enrolling.
The cost of the next course, planned to commence next month, in December, is €200 (€150 for Teagasc clients) per participant.
The first day of the course will be in the Teagasc Animal and Grassland Research Centre, Grange, Co Meath. The remaining four days will be held regionally in the north, south east and south west, the locations depending on demand from participants.
Participants will engage with leading Teagasc and industry beef experts. This course is designed to help you maximise your resources and hit the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that ensure your farm operates at a high level of profitability.
Participants will learn about setup costs for dairy calf to beef, expected costs and returns, clover management, the importance of silage quality, animal health and biosecurity, housing, calf rearing, grassland management, and finishing diets. Up to date research findings will be used throughout, to steer you in the direction of profitability and a sustainable work-life balance.
To express your interest in doing the course, or for more information on it, visit the www.teagasc.ie/dairybeef500course website.
Dairy beef farmers purchase young calves from the dairy herd, which are then raised to maturity, either to be sold for slaughter, or for finishing on another farm.
According to Teagasc, this is an increasingly significant component of Irish agriculture, because of the increase in calves from the dairy herd, and a simultaneous decline in calves from the beef herd.
The uncertain future of live calf exports from Ireland to continental Europe underscores the need for a robust domestic dairy beef system, with improvements in the quality of calves supporting this development.
Teagasc has just published a range of farm enterprise factsheets for the year 2023, and the Dairy Beef factsheet shows that in 2023, the average enterprise achieved a gross profit margin of €884 per hectare, and an average net margin of €162 per hectare. But the top one-third performing enterprises achieved a gross margin of €1,496 and a net margin of €458 per hectare. All of these figures exclude decoupled payments and family labour costs.
This data came from farms participating in the Teagasc National Farm Survey.
Output increased by 10% to €2,046 per hectare in 2023. Concentrate costs increased by 7%, due to higher feed volumes. Pasture and forage costs increased by 4%. The average gross margin increased 9%, to €884 per hectare.
Total fixed costs decreased by 7% on average, partly due to 10% cheaper electricity and fuel. Average net margin per hectare was €162 per hectare in 2023, an increase from the average of only €40 in 2022.
The purchased calves were 8% cheaper than in 2022. Weanling prices decreased by 16%.
Prices for finished animals increased 3% for males and 6% for females.
Output per hectare varied significantly from the best performing to the poorest performing farms. This was mostly linked to stocking rate variation.
The top third of performers averaged a €458 per hectare net profit margin, €229 better than in 2022. But the average net margin was negative for the bottom performing third (minus €134 per hectare).
