Farmer Profile: Paul Farrell

Having had experience of finishing Continental breeds Paul Farrell has now switched to breeding his own Aberdeen-Angus cross cattle, a move that he feels was a must to improve his bottom line.

Although the switch from finishing Continental and native stores to breeding his own Aberdeen-Angus sucklers happened just four years ago, Paul Farrell is already more than convinced of the commercial attributes of the breed.

“With grass in abundance and a need for an easy fleshing breed capable of producing quality carcasses at less than 24 months old, the Aberdeen-Angus suits our system perfectly,” he says.

Paul Farrell & Son

The 90 suckler cows running at Whitechurch, Gowra in County Kilkenny, are a mix of Limousin and Simmental cross dairy bred females, with a handful of three quarter bred beef cows. Most cows are put to an Aberdeen-Angus bull, with a select few managed on a different holding put to a Limousin bull to breed replacements from.

With just himself and his 11 year old son Jeremy – a young livestock fanatic in his father’s eyes – the system has to be simple. “We rely on our plentiful supply of grass and grow our own cereals, so require a sire that suits the system – the Aberdeen-Angus does the job perfectly for us,” he reckons.

Grazing the 200 acre farm in New Zealand style paddocks means offspring have to be good foragers, capable of growing good frame before finishing. “The system works well for us, with cows following yearlings in the grazing process. Paddock grazing also helps grass management. ” explains Paul.

“Most producers talk about easy calving as their priority, but for me its fleshing ability. Calving ease is still important, but our cows have a large enough frame to calve without assistance, so I look for a quality bull from a proven pedigree herd that will produce me with carcasses capable of grading R and above.”

A believer in performance figures, Paul is incredibly choosey about the stock sires he buys. “I always buy in Ireland, but I’m happy to travel for the right bull.”

Paul's Angus Calves

Equally he is prepared to pay well for the right bull. “There are plenty of Aberdeen-Angus bulls out there that suit the dairy job, but I’m looking for one with power, flesh and frame, from a reputable source with high health status, so handing over up to 4000 euro isn’t a problem for me.”

Calving between January and March cows and calves are turned out at the end of February. “It sounds early, but we have incredibly free draining land. Calves are out to grass within 24 hours of being born, so they too have to be hardy enough to cope with an early turnout, again another advantage of the Aberdeen-Angus,” he adds.

Calves are weaned in November on to slats and are fed silage. “The following spring, yearlings are turned out and most heifers finish off grass at 20 months old with little supplementation if required. Steers come in for a short feeding period to add an extra bit of cover before slaughter at 24 months old.”

The finishing diet consists of 5kg crimped wheat, 0.5kg soya and minerals along with adlib silage. “I’m looking to keep costs down as low as possible, but produce the right type of carcass required by our processors,” he explains.

Supplying Slarney Meats in County Wexford, Mr Farrell is looking for an R grade carcass. “We often get a few U’s thrown in as well, these would be offspring from our three quarter bred cows, and the Angus just adds that quality of finish to them.”