The farm is involved in the Advantage Beef Programme and ABP Food Group's farm liaison officer Sean Cassidy recently visited the farm to meet Carty and review the kill-out performance of the dairy-beef cattle.

Commenting on the performance of the cattle, Cassidy said: "Pat's system is working very well and is showing how a blend of sucklers and calf-to-beef can be profitable in the west of Ireland."

The table below details the average performance of the 2024-born dairy-beef heifers and steers from Carty's farm:

These cattle were sourced for the farm as calves through the ABP Dairy Beef Calf Pilot Programme from a dairy farm in Co. Meath.

Cassidy said: "The linking of dairy farmers with beef farmers is very important and the relationships are proving to be invaluable for both sides."

The batch included a mix of Angus and Hereford-sired calves and these were selected based on sire and cow type.

Importance of Year 1 in the dairy beef system

According to Carty, the first year is where the real work is done in the calf-to-beef system and believes that you cannot make up for lost weight in the later stages.

The calves were fed 1.5kg concentrates/head/day at grass for their first summer and were kept moving in a rotational grazing system.

In the first winter, calves received 2.5kg/head/day concentrated along with good-quality silage.

For their second summer, the cattle were grazed well and only started receiving meal from August onwards.

Carty purchased an automatic meal feeder to leave feeding concentrates at grass much easier as he also works full-time off farm.

The bullocks were housed on September 10 and weighed 588kg at housing. Heifers stayed outside on the feeder and were being fed 2kg concentrates/day at this stage, and slowly built up to 9kg/head/day.

The bullocks were drafted on January 13 and averaged 382kg carcass-weight at 23 months-of-age.

The heifers were drafted in mid-November and averaged 294kg at 21 months-of-age.

The heifers graded an 'O+4-' on average, and both bullocks and heifers received the following top-ups to their grid price:

Advantage Beef Programme 20c/kg bonus;
Hereford and Angus breed bonuses where eligible;
Bord Bia Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS) bonus.

Carty is now looking forward to getting in his spring 2026 batch of calves. The weanlings are performing well and receiving around 2kg/head/day concentrates along with quality silage.

These weanlings were bought off the same farm as the year before.

Carty's suckler cows will be calving from around March onwards. All male progeny from the suckler herd are finished as bull beef.

Cassidy said: "Many of our farmer suppliers are achieving great results with their calves sourced through the ABP Dairy Beef Calf Pilot Programme.

"The performance of Pat Carty's cattle is proof that careful calf selection and good management can help to achieve great results."