Latest news with #IrishCountryMeats
Agriland
03-07-2025
- Business
- Agriland
ICM to sponsor 3 sheep classes at Tullamore Show
Irish Country Meats (ICM) is set to sponsor three classes in the sheep section at this year's Tullamore Show and FBD National Livestock Show. The annual event is set to return to the Butterfield Estate, Blueball, Tullamore, Co. Offaly on Sunday, August 10. Following on from a record-breaking entry of over 1,000 sheep at the 2024 event, it is hoped that this year will see the sheep section showcase an even bigger and better selection of sheep across the various different classes. Once again this year, the Navan, Co. Meath and Camolin, Co. Wexford-based sheep processor has committed to sponsoring a number of classes on the day. The deadline for online entries is this Friday, July 4, and the following classes will be sponsored by ICM this year: Class 528 : 4 Star or 5 Star Multi-Breed Shearling Ram and Upwards; : 4 Star or 5 Star Multi-Breed Shearling Ram and Upwards; Class 529 : 4 Star or 5 Star Multi-Breed Ram Lamb; : 4 Star or 5 Star Multi-Breed Ram Lamb; Class 395: Junior Stockperson of the Sheep Section Class 528 is open to all 4/5 star genotyped Shearling rams and class 529 is open to all 4/5 star genotyped ram lambs. Exhibitors in class 395 must be aged 16 or under on the day of the event with proof of age available. Entrants in this class must present a pedigree or commercial sheep in the ring. Sustainable Livestock Village returns to Tullamore Show The Sustainable Livestock Village is set to return to the Tullamore Show and FBD National Livestock Show on Sunday, August 10. This year, there will be a strong emphasis placed on the role of young farmers in delivering sustainable change, with Macra joining the village for the first time to highlight generation renewal and youth-led innovation. Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Noel Grealish, officially launched the 2025 village on the farm of FBD Young Farmer of the Year 2024, dairy farmer, Christopher Cahill.
Agriland
21-04-2025
- General
- Agriland
ICM Lamb Sustainability Trial: Lamb births and hogget sales
The lambing season is progressing well on each of the three hill farms involved in the Irish Country Meats (ICM) Lamb Sustainability Trial. Farm liaison officer with ABP Food Group, Gavin Healy is involved in the project and explained the purpose of the research. He said: 'As part of the trial, each flock runs a bunch of ewes with two, 5-Star rams purchased through the Sheep Ireland Multibreed Ram Sales. 'The performance of the offspring from these 5-star rams is then compared to the other lambs on the farm bred from the conventional sires.' The aim of the project is to demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of using 5-star rams across a range of sheep-farming systems. To date, just over 500 lambs have been born into the trial. Each lamb will have its individual birth date, weight, health and lambing-difficulty recorded. All lambs are tagged at birth for ease of data collection. The farm liaison officer said: 'So far, lamb birth weights have been averaging 5.5kg and 4.5kg for single and twins respectively across the farms. 'The average lamb birth weights have been the same for both the 5-star and conventional-sired lambs. All lambs born into the trial were remarkably healthy and hardy lambs that came with very little assistance required.' Lambing is expected to draw to a close on these trial farms by the end of April and at that point, the ewes and lambs will be turned out to the mountains for Summer grazing. A keen eye will be kept on lamb performance over the next two months until they are weighed mid-season as the ewes are down for shearing. Following on from this, all lambs will be weighed at weaning and on a monthly basis from there to finish. Healy said: 'Lambing is a very busy time on farms with an intense labour requirement. Weather has been on-side this year which has made it much easier for both the farmers and the animals.' On the ABP Demo Farm in Carlow, farm manager Sean Maher gave an update on the store lamb performance. He said: 'We are nearing the end of the store lambs with 595 lambs slaughtered to date this year with just 70 left to be drafted. 'Lambs are being drafted at approximately 51kg live weight whilst also being assessed for fat cover around the tail-head and back. 'Carcass weights have been steady at 23kg, with a ratio of 4:1 of Rs vs Us.' 'Lambs are drafted every week or second week and this has been crucial in slaughtering lambs at the desired weight, ideally not over 23kg and not sending underweight lambs either.' 'The good, dry weather has been a great help to thrive and has helped reduced waste at the feed troughs. 'Lambs have been consuming 1kg/head/day of 14% protein hogget pellets along with access to grass and silage. As numbers dwindle, grass picks up and spring grass for the lambs is doing a service on performance' All lambs had their bellies and tails shorn in late September which is essential in keeping them clean and allows a true weight to be recorded on the scales as they are not dragging clay and muck around with them. The farm manager noted that lameness was an issue in the lambs this spring despite the dry conditions. He said: 'A small amount of foot-bathing has been carried out but perhaps not enough. 'Lame sheep receive an antibiotic and foot spray. Once the final lambs are slaughtered it will be interesting to crunch the numbers and analyse performance of our ICM trial rams.'
