A number of Fermanagh farmers travelled to Portrush last week to attend the Ulster Grassland Society’s (UGS) Summer Meeting, which took place at the farm of Bill Harpur, Ballymagarry Road, Portrush, Co. Antrim.

The UGS President, John Egerton, from Fermanagh, welcomed everyone who attended and introduced Bill Harpur to outline his farm management plan, which had some key points.

These included the following:

- Maintain output and reduce inputs;

- Operate a system for one person to manage;

- Maintain focus on individual animal health and performance;

- Maintain soil health; and

- Increase use of white clover and mixed swards, thereby reducing fertiliser usage.

The farm extends to 170 acres with 155 acres down to grass and a further 15 acres of winter cereals grown annually.

The farm is very exposed on the North Coast, overlooking Skerries Islands and the Atlantic Ocean, with soil type ranging from silty loam to sandy loam.

The main farming enterprise is a beef herd of 44 suckler cows with all progeny finished on the farm together with a calf to beef system finishing dairy-bred Aberdeen Angus calves.

The herd of cows are mainly Limousin and Simmental crosses, which are mated to Aberdeen Angus stock bulls selected on conformation with calving ease considered important.

Mr. Harpur also purchases 30 Aberdeen Angus calves for finishing each year with all calves (home-bred and purchased) finished on the farm for an Aberdeen Angus beef scheme – steers at 23 months and heifers at 21 months.

Grazing management centres on a paddock grazing system with the use of electric fencing to subdivide larger areas.

A two-cut silage system is in operation with first cut (50 acres) taken in mid-May followed by a second cut in mid-July and up to 100 bales can also be made annually from surplus grass on the grazing platform.

Silage ground normally gets 2,500 gallons of slurry in late February/early March.

Last year, the first cut silage had a Dry Matter 27 per cent; Crude Protein 14 per cent; D-value 71 and ME of 11.3MJ/Kg.

Fields are reseeded in the autumn after three years in winter cereals, with clover included in grass seed mixtures and old silage awards rejuvenated by stitching in clover.

Mr. Harpur also outlined his protocols on animal health, with cattle wormed at three, five and 13 weeks after turnout, and routinely vaccinated for Blackleg and Botulism.

Suckling calves are also wormed at the end of June and vaccinated in September against pneumonia.

Finishing cattle are housed on slats (rubber covered) from mid-October and fed 40kg silage plus 2kg barley, increasing to 3kg in the final six weeks before slaughter.