2012 UGS Conference - Speakers
Michael Doran
Michael Doran from Duncormack, Co. Wexford is a suckler and beef finisher, and also farms sheep and
cereals with his wife Ciara. The business consists of a total of 310 acres, 200 of it owned and other 50 acres
on lease and 60 acres rented. On this he stocks it with 110 suckler cows, 45 March lambing ewes and grows
50 acres of cereals, 20 acres of maize, 5 acres of kale and 45 acres of grass silage. The beef enterprises
comprises of 70 spring calvers and 40 autumn calvers, served by three bulls - Simmental, Limousin and
Charolais. He produces bull beef at 18 to 23 months old, with carcase weights ranging from 360 to 440kgs
and heifers killed at between 19 and 26 months, with carcase weights from 310 to 370 kgs. One of Michael’s
priorities is to get as much leafy grass into animals throughout the growing season using a paddock grazing
system.
Over the years developments have taken place within the farmyard. A new silo pit to hold 1500 tonnes has
been built, as well as a new slatted unit for 80 weanlings. This complements a slatted unit for 80 beef cattle
built in 1995 and a slatted cubicle shed for 80 cows in 1996. Straw-bed sheds for cows and sheep were also
constructed in recent years.
Michael is the Chairman of the IFA National Livestock Committee, which represents Ireland’s 100,000
livestock farmers. He also represents Irish Livestock farmers on the COPA Livestock Working Party in
Brussels. He is a member of the EU Commission Beefmeat Advisory Group and was elected Vice-Chairman
in 2010. He is the IFA livestock representative on the Meat & Livestock Board of Bord Bia, which has
responsibility for Irish meat promotion.
Michael is a member of the Department of Agriculture Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Committee. He is
also a Council member of the Irish Grassland Association and is Chairman of the Teagasc Beef & Livestock
Advisory Committee based in Grange County Meath. He was elected Vice Chairman of ICBF (Irish Cattle
Breeding Federation) in April 2011.
Chris Duller
Chris Duller is a DairyCo extension officer covering South Wales. One of his main tasks as an extension
officer is to communicate knowledge of best practice to farmers.
His background in agriculture began as a soil scientist before beginning work for IGER in 1994 where he
helped farmers make informed fertiliser decisions and help with slurry analysis. He is keen to help farmers
get world class knowledge to help plan strategies.
In this role he already has experience of delivering information on slurry and nutrient management and
grass-based systems to producers across the country.
DairyCo
DairyCo is a levy-funded, not-for-profit organisation working on behalf of Britain's dairy farmers. Their
remit is to solve 'market failure' in the dairy industry - to tackle issues not currently being dealt with
sufficiently to meet the needs of the industry.
They have four main strategies:
 The provision of a world-class information service
 Helping dairy farmers meet and manage environment needs and regulatory requirements
 Helping dairy farmers increase their profitability through better business management
 Promoting the positive perception of dairy farming with the general public
Michael Shannon
Michael Shannon of Thankerton Camp, Lanarkshire operates a complete forage based beef finishing system,
selling most of his produce through his butchers shop and online business. Originally from Rathfriland,
Michael bought the 150-acre Lanarkshire property in 1996, but as he had a full time job in the grass seed
business he initially farmed it part-time with 350 ewes and rented out his cattle accommodation on a bed and
breakfast basis.
When he started his business Michael decided to operate a New Zealand beef fattening unit, out- wintering
on kale, supplementing with silage in the winter months and on grass all summer. His silage is made in big
bales and the bales are stagger across the field – a concept he brought back from NZ. It is then strip grazed
with bales of silage fed out with each strip. Whole crop is then under-sown and acts as a nurse crop to the
grass.
Michael’s fields have all been measured and divided into equal paddocks. Using electric fencing he moves it
daily, lining it up to pre-painted fence posts. “Treat them like dairy cows – they are on a rotational system
getting moved every day. At the peak-growing season the cattle gain 2kg/day. When the cattle come off the
kale there is no check like from indoors to outdoors so all the cattle that were on kale are killed early in the
summer.
His butchery business operates under the name “damn delicious”. The cattle are killed and then hung for a
month. Two years ago Michael opened his own High Street Butchers shop to complement the existing
online business. He now employs 5 staff including 2 butchers and a baker.
Michael feels that to survive in farming you have to have a willingness to open your mind to new ideas.
Rodney Elliott
Five years ago, Rodney Elliott was running Drumgoon, a successful, 180-acre, dairy farm near
Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh which had been in his family for three generations. Today, he manages 30
staff, more than 3,000 animals, 2,000 of which are dairy cows, at his farm in South Dakota. When the
Elliotts moved out to Dakota land was about 11 or 12 hundred pounds per acre whereas land in Northern
Ireland was £10,000-£11,000 per acre.
When Rodney and Dorothy bought the land in South Dakota, there was literally nothing on it and they had
to build completely from scratch. They began with 1,400 dairy cattle and they’ve now expanded to 2,000.
They buy about $4.5 million worth of corn, corn silage, hay and other feeds from their neighbours and agriprocessing plants in northeast South Dakota each year instead of growing their own feed.
They employ 30-35 people fulltime and part-time. About 1/3 of their staff are neighbours or are from nearby
towns. Some are sons and daughters of local farmers.
Rodney says there is much less legislation and paperwork in Dakota and there is also no Government
support for agriculture while in Europe there is still some support from the EU. Farming the American way,
on such a huge scale, has required Rodney to become a businessman first and foremost. He now admits it is
about managing people.
His present farm is a huge operation with a substantial turnover of money and he has to be very focused on
monitoring the results and doing all the business things. He says a lot of his time now is spent on a
computer analysing data – the output from the herd and the feed analysis and answering emails.