The First Open day of the year brought us to the the Farm of Vincent and Barry McDonnell in County Westmeath. The weather was changeable with brief sudden downpours followed by some nice spells of sunshine. There was a good turnout of members. Barry gave an overview of his Droimeann herd. Barry also runs a finishing unit of Droimeann Steers. The finishing regime consists of the following.
Weanlings/ stores are purchased at the back end of the year, these are vaccinated, dosed and de-liced. They are kept on a maintenance diet for the 1st winter, and they are let out to a paddock based grass system in early Spring. Those for finishing are housed from the end of August, when they pass a target weight of 450kg. The bulls are fed twice daily, totaling 10.5kg of 40% maize ration along with baled silage. Droimeann bulls are slaughtered after 90-100 days of feeding. We aim for a minimum fat score of 2+, confirmation is usually either an R or an O, with KO weights averaging 325kg. Slaughtering Droimeann bulls under 16 month following a similar feeding regime has produced carcass ‘s of 240kg.
Following the open day, the AGM for 2023 took place in the Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore, Co Offaly, with a good turnout of members.