Latest news with #ABPDemonstrationFarm
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Demo farm reports 32% lower emissions with more profitable cattle
Research produced by ABP, from the 5,500 cattle that have gone through its Demonstration Farm over the last decade, has shown producing younger, heavier animals leads to earlier finishing times, potentially significantly reducing carbon emissions by 32%. The announcement came as ABP Food Group marked a decade of research on its Demonstration Farm in Co Carlow with a special event highlighting the progress made to date in reducing climate emissions and improving on-farm efficiency. The 280-acre dairy-to-beef farm, which is owned by the Sheppard family, has partnered with ABP since 2015, with the aim of testing and validating practical on-farm solutions in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from beef production, while increasing on-farm efficiency. The ABP Demonstration Farm's research is in collaboration with, and is independently verified by, Teagasc and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF). The establishment of the ABP Demonstration Farm followed findings from ABP's work with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), which revealed more than 90% of emissions across its supply chain occurred at farm level. So far, more than 80,000 liveweights have been recorded from the trial farm alone. Its key achievements include the findings the farm's carbon footprint is 32% lower than the average beef farm in Ireland, based on Bord Bia data, with steers finished 180 days earlier. It also found high genetic merit beef sires, compared to lower merit sires, produce cattle that are on average 38kg heavier and worth €301 more at the same age. The gap between the best and worst sires reached 62kg in carcass weight and €511 in carcass value. Hereford cattle ranked in the top third of the Commercial Beef Index delivered €220 more in returns than those in the bottom third. About 150,000 doses of semen were distributed through the Gene Ireland Programme. Progeny from 279 AI beef bulls have also been tested, with calves sired by these bulls resulting in 885,000 calves born on Irish farms. ABP agri sustainability manager Stephen Connolly said: 'The ABP Demonstration Farm is a long-term investment in the future of sustainable beef production in Ireland. Our objective is to develop systems and share solutions that support farmers and allow their businesses to grow. The key focus of our projects is economic and environmental sustainability, and in this, our key areas are animal breeding and grassland management. Although this farm is focused on dairy beef, many of the practices developed here can be transferred to suckler beef systems, which remain an integral part of Ireland's beef sector. The research findings from the ABP Demonstration Farm have directly contributed to the creation of the ABP Beef Benchmark Report, and support the ICBF Gene Ireland Beef Programme, which aims to identify the most suitable beef bulls for use on the dairy herd. The success of the ABP Demonstration Farm has also led to the creation of the ABP Advantage Beef Programme, an enterprise partnership that assists farmers to build a sustainable beef business. The programme now includes more than 1,000 participating suppliers and is a key element in expanding the research findings of the ABP Demonstration Farm across the family farm supply chain. In 2024, the 35,000 cattle produced as part of the ABP Advantage Beef Programme were on average 85 days younger at finish, with just a 4kg lighter carcass weight. ABP is currently working with Teagasc, ICBF and Meat Technology Ireland on new projects focused on genetic selection for earlier finishing and animals that emit less methane per day, as well as projects focused on improving water and soil quality. The firm is also participating in the Water EIP Programme with Teagasc and LAWPRO to enhance water quality without compromising productivity, and currently has three ABP team members training to support farmers through this scheme.
Agriland
4 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
ABP Demo Farm reports 32% lower emissions while producing ‘heavier cattle'
New research released by ABP Food Group today (Tuesday, June 10 ) shows that producing 'younger, heavier animals' leads to earlier finishing times, which in turn can potentially significantly reduce emissions. ABP Food Group today hosted a special event on its Demonstration Farm in Co. Carlow to celebrate a decade of on-farm climate research. Over the last 10 years, 5,500 cattle have gone through the demonstration farm. The latest research published today shows the farm's carbon footprint is lower than the average beef farm in Ireland, based on Bord Bia data. The farm reported 32% lower emissions while producing 'more profitable cattle'. ABP Demonstration Farm The ABP Demo Farm was established in 2015, when ABP Food Group joined a partnership with two beef farmers based in Co. Carlow. The farm manager is Sean Maher. The farm size is 280ac and it is laid out in two separate blocks. The farm operates a dairy calf-to-beef system where approximately 400 calves are purchased every year and are reared to finishing. The enterprise also runs a store lamb operation finishing 600-700 store lambs/year. While the farm is operated independently, support in gathering data is provided by way of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) and Teagasc. Why was the farm established? In the post-quota era of Irish dairy expansion, an increase in the supply of beef cattle from the dairy herd was forecast. ABP Demonstration Farm In 2014, there were 1.25 million dairy cows in Ireland and 416,000 dairy-beef calves were born in Ireland that year. In 2024, there were 1.67 million dairy cows and 885,000 dairy-beef calves born in the country -showing the scale of the increase in dairy breeding in the overall Irish cattle herd. At the time the farm was being established, there was no index available for selecting or breeding dairy-beef bulls, and beef-breed sires were selected predominantly for calving ease and gestation on Irish dairy farms. ABP Demo Farm achievements The ABP Demo Farm has compiled data on progeny performance from different beef sires used on dairy cows to identify the most suitable beef bull genetics for crossing on dairy herds. The demo farm has also come a long way in understanding the impact of sire genetic merit on progeny with a focus on performance and environmental sustainability. Through its collaborations with the Gene Ireland Dairy Beef Programme, the ABP Demo Farm has also managed to: Support the progeny testing of new beef breeding bulls; Gather data on key livestock performance traits; Collect on-farm data such as live weight gain and methane emissions; Collect and disseminate carcass data; Collaborate with ICBF, Teagasc and leading AI companies to help improve the beef merit of calves bred from the dairy herd. The farm is also working to identify what works 'at farm level' in relation to proactive animal health as well as good soil health, grassland management, biodiversity, and water quality. In addition to this it is exploring ways to increase the level of high-protein feed that can be grown on farm to reduced the need for more-expensive soya-based imports. While more work has still to be done, the ABP Demo Farm has played no small part in delivering genetic gain in pedigree AI beef bulls as well as improving the quality of beef cattle from the dairy herd while combining calf ease, short gestation and improved carcase merit. All this work is being delivered with a central focus on improving the economical and environmental sustainability of these cattle. A key part of the ABP Demo Farm is knowledge transfer and the farm is committed to sharing its learnings with ABP suppliers to be implemented across its family-farm supplier base. Supported by the ABP Demo Farm, the Gene Ireland Dairy Beef Programme has distributed 279 test AI sires to date to 600 participating dairy farmers. Sires to come through the Gene Ireland Dairy Beef Programme have went on to sire over 885,000 calves to date. Over 1,400 of the progeny of these bulls have gone through the ICBF Progeny Test Centre at Tully, Co. Kildare. In the Gene Ireland programme, over 150,000 AI straws have been distributed. Economic and environmental value Research from the ABP Demo Farm has shown that there is a €301/animal difference in carcass value between dairy-beef cattle sired by the top 25% of high beef index bulls and the bottom 25% of beef index bulls, based on current beef prices and using sires available in AI within breed. For a calf-to-beef farmer finishing 50 cattle/year, this equates to €15,050/year. Looking solely at the Commercial Beef Value (CBV), data from the ABP Demo Farm shows that the top third of Angus sires on CBV would leave a farmer €240 more money for the farm than the bottom 33% of Angus sires for CBV. This figure is similar for Hereford sires at €220. Water quality The farm, which is in derogation, is conducting research to demonstrate that highly efficient and productive farming can work hand-in-hand with high water quality standards. ABP Food Group has three trained water quality advisors on-hand to assist farmer suppliers in best practice in this area. ABP's agri-sustainability manager, Stephen Connolly said: 'Irish beef has a carbon footprint which is half the global average and is among the most sustainable in the world. 'Working with the Science-Based Targets Initiative, ABP mapped out the emissions across its full supply chain and found that 90% of emissions occur at farm level. 'In response, ABP established the ABP Demo Farm to carry out research into more sustainable farming practices.' Connolly said the Demo Farm acts as a testbed and monitoring station for ways in which these emissions can be reduced. 'There has been significant progress made which has been shared with the wider farming community, with the hope that they will be adopted on a larger scale,' he said. 'When the ABP Demo farm is compared to the national average carbon footprint for beef farms, the figure comes in at 32% lower. 'Our dairy-beef steers have an average slaughter age 180 days younger than the national average. 'Our research is implemented in the sector with our farmer-suppliers through the Advantage Beef Programme and we are continuing to invest in this sustainability initiative,' Connolly added.
