On its annual outing, Fermanagh Grassland Club visited the Co. Down dairy farm of Robert Bryson, near Loughbrickland and the beef and sheep farm of Murtagh Walls near Hilltown. Robert Bryson, an agriculture graduate, and the fourth generation on this farm runs a 165-Holstein/Friesian cow dairy herd on 97 ha of which 49 ha are rented. Robert’s system makes good use of grass, is uncomplicated and its performance is regularly monitored. His cows average 89,21l with an impressive 34,61l from forage. Annually, cows are fed 2.46 tonnes of concentrates and £225 of every £1,000 of milk cheque is spent on meal feeding - all of which is fed in the parlour and managed by computer.

Turnout in 2014 on March 12 was the latest for several years and cows were out full time from April 7. Strip grazing is used to allocate grass with back fences erected in larger fields. Robert does not buffer feed silage throughout the grazing season.

Simple mixes of 2/3 diploid and 1/3 tetraploid varieties with similar heading dates are used when reseeding. Mixes of Spelga/Boyne and Spelga/Tyrella are used for silage and grazing swards respectively. Last year minimum cultivation was used to establish new swards. This included burning off, two passes with power harrow, sowing and rolling.

Murtagh Walls farms 65 ha in the foothills of the Mournes where the farm is 600 feet above sea level. The stock on the farm include 45 suckler cows – 25 and 20 spring and autumn calving respectively, a Limousin bull and 75 March lambing ewes. Murtagh targeted different market outlets in the past and has sold calves for the export market but recently most males were finished as bulls (350-380 kg at 15-16 months) and heifers were also taken through to finish.

With a commendable Calving Index of 371 days output from the herd is well above average and despite higher concentrate costs from last spring a gross margin of £630 was achieved. Compact calving (12 weeks in spring and nine weeks in autumn) produces even sized batches of calves, reduces labour and contributes to the fertility of the herd.

A paddock system is used to manage the grazing area with up to eight paddocks per cattle group. Murtagh is focused on providing stock with the highest quality leafy grass and achieving high weight gains at low cost. By keeping a count of the “Grazing Days Ahead” he can monitor grass supply and demand and make timely adjustments.

To promote good grass production fertiliser and slurry has been targeted to raise P and K indices to a minimum of 2. “Stitching in” of grass and clover seeds has been used to improve the productivity of the swards and some subsoiling was carried out last May to alleviate soil compaction.

Both farms visited were very well managed and functioned as profitable businesses. Providing stock with high quality grass and forage is a key element of both farming systems and is something we can also implement on our local farms.