A farm walk held on a Co. Down sheep farm will be focused on getting profit from pasture, the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) has said.
The event forms part of a series of farm walks organised by CAFRE with the aim of demonstrating a range of grassland management and livestock technologies and the role they can play in sustainable and profitable beef and lamb production systems.
The farm walk, which is being hosted by father and son Seamus and Paraic McNeill, will take place on Wednesday, July 10, from 7:30p.m on their farm in Annaclone, Co. Down.
The main enterprise on the McNeill farm is the 230-ewe spring lambing flock. The focus in recent years has been on streamlining management and taking steps to improve grass performance across the farm.
Steps taken include developing a rotational paddock grazing systems and introducing multi-species (MSS) and red clover swards.
AgriSearch
The red clover swards were introduced as part of the current AgriSearch project ‘ZeroNsile’, looking into the feasibility and practicalities of producing silage without the use of manufactured nitrogen (N) fertiliser.
Paraic McNeill is also part of the AgriSearch GrassCheck project, focusing on measuring and monitoring grass growth on a weekly basis, and the Beacon Farm Network, with a carbon footprint completed to help inform a resilient and sustainable farm system.
Until recently, the farm was involved in the NI Better Sheep Programme where the business seen its gross margin per hectare more than double from 2019 to 2022, CAFRE said.
CAFRE advisers have said the farm walk is a great opportunity to see a “very efficient” sheep production system.