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“BREEDING FOR PERFORMANCE” BEEF EVENTS IN BALLYMENA AND CLOGHER MARTS
“Breeding for Performance” will be the title of two events targeted at beef farmers, that are being organised by AFBI, CAFRE and AgriSearch.  The events will be held on Tuesday 28th May in Ballymena Livestock Market and Wednesday 29th May in Clogher Livestock Market.  Both events start at 7pm and will last for approximately two hours.    These events are part of a series on “Future Proofing Beef & Sheep Farming” which are being held during 2019 to communicate the latest findings of beef and sheep research.  Prof. David Kenny from Teagasc Grange will give an update on ongoing research into...

OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN AGRISEARCH COMMITTEE
The farmer funded research body, AgriSearch is inviting forward looking farmers to join its advisory committees and help shape the future of the sector. The successful candidates will be dairy, beef and/or sheep farmers with a track record of implementing best practice on their farms. “There are many challenges and opportunities facing our Agri-Food sector and AgriSearch’s innovative work can play a central role in addressing these issues,” explains AgriSearch’s Chairman, John Henning. “We want to hear from farmers who are strong advocates of evidence-based farming and can help shape...

INVESTING IN GRASSLAND MANGEMENT YIELDS DIVIDENDS FOR BEEF FARMERS
A small investment in grassland management can yield a very large return.  That was the key take home message at the “Grazing for Growth” Beef farm walk at John Egerton’s organised by AFBI, CAFRE and AgriSearch. At the first stop Elizabeth Earle from AgriSearch discussed the findings of the “Beef from Grass” project which forms part of the GrassCheck programme.  In 2018 John grew an average of 13.3t DM/ha of grass on his farm with a utilisation rate of 88%.  This is achieved by ensuring that cattle enter and leave the paddock at the right covers.  With a pre-grazing target of between...

“GRAZING FOR GROWTH” BEEF FARM WALK IN SOUTH DOWN
The second “Grazing for Growth” farm walk being organised by AFBI, CAFRE and AgriSearch will be held on the farm of Philip Truesdale, Ballyward, County Down on Wednesday 1st May 2019 at 2pm.  Philip (who farms in partnership with his father Harold) farms 70 suckler cows, with all progeny taken through to beef.  He also has a sheep enterprise consisting of 200 ewes. Philip is one of 21 beef farms participating in the GrassCheck project which involves the recording of grass growth and quality across the grazing platform.  Philip has been measuring grass growth on his farm for several years as...

GrassCheck Dairy Farm Walks
AgriSearch, AFBI and CAFRE will be hosting two GrassCheck farm walks next week on 25th and 26th April on the farms of Joe Cush (Pomeroy) and Harold Johnston (Ahoghill). Several topics will be addressed during the farm walks, including an overview of the data gathered from the 20 GrassCheck dairy pilot farmers over the course of the last two years.  This highlights the variation in grass growth and weather conditions across Northern Ireland during two very different years. The walks will demonstrate how to grow high yields of grass.  The considerable variation of yields from paddock to...