Mourne View Farm is a third-generation beef farm on the western edge of Lisburn, Co. Antrim run by brothers Jonathan and Kyle Price. Committed to producing beef of the highest quality, the brothers recently installed a new purpose-built handling facility as part of a major investment programme.
Mourne View Farm is a specialised finishing unit which supplies 400 cattle to the ABP processing facility in Lurgan, Co. Armagh annually. The farm was purchased by Joseph Price who passed it down to his son Henry. About a decade ago, Henry handed over the reins to his sons Jonathan and Kyle, who buy in quality Limousin and Charolais bullocks at around 500 kilos and take them through to slaughter weight over a period of six months.
“We buy at 500 kilos and sell at 750 kilos live weight, or an average of 410 kilos dead weight,” Jonathan Price explains.
“Between the months of October and June, we send 15 cattle – between the ages of 20 and 24 months – to the factory every Monday morning. By the end of the week, they’re replaced by 15 more which are bought at Enniskillen Mart. The cattle are fed on a diet consisting of grass silage, home-grown barley and concentrates. The concentrate component is added to balance both the energy and protein available in the diet. The bullocks received 10 kilos of feed per day and gain one-and-a-half kilos on average.
“Cattle bought in between February and August are usually let out to graze, but most are finished out of the house.”
The Price brothers farm 450 acres (150 is rented), which is used for grazing and growing silage and barley. The farm is divided between Glenavy Road and Ballantine, which are two miles apart. It’s just a 10-minute drive from Belfast, while the Mourne Mountains provide a stunning backdrop.
“We do everything ourselves, from cutting our own silage and barley to ploughing and spreading slurry. We have five tractors – four Fendt 724s and a New Holland 6080 – as well as a Claas forage harvester and a New Holland combine harvester. We have a wide range of machinery to cater for all our own needs,” the affable beef farmer continues.
Because the brothers are working all year round with heavy cattle, they have two key management requirements – the availability of excellent handling facilities and the provision of optimal comfort for the cattle while they are housed. In the past year, they installed a new, bespoke handling facility at the main yard of the farm. They also laid 350 square metres of Easyfix slat rubber on a newly-built shed. All of the work was carried out by Teemore Engineering. A leading manufacturer and supplier of livestock housing handling equipment, the Co. Fermanagh-based company has been at the forefront of the industry for many years, paving the way for new developments in animal comfort and increasing efficiency, animal comfort and handler safety.
The new handling facility was both designed and manufactured by Teemore Engineering and features a circular collecting pen that can hold up to 30 mature cattle with ease. It also features a unique one-way operational mode when working with cattle. The gate cannot be pushed back by the cattle which makes this a key safety feature.
“We installed it last summer and it has been money well spent,” Jonathan says.
“When you’re handling cattle as often as we are, it made perfect sense to invest in this facility. Cattle are getting stronger and heavier, and we needed to upgrade. We also installed a weighbridge, so we now know the exact weight of every beast when they come in and go out.
“All of our sheds now have rubber slats. The first ones were laid about 10 years ago and there is no comparison between them and concrete slats in terms of comfort. The installation of rubber slats reflects our commitment to the wellbeing and welfare of our stock.”
He continues: “We have found over the years that if you look after your stock, they will look after you. It’s a stress-free and pleasant environment here. We need thriving, healthy animals to achieve optimum price when we sell them. When the cattle arrive here first, they are on straw for the first three weeks. Once they have settled into their new surroundings, they’re vaccinated, wormed and have their backs and tails clipped. We don’t take any shortcuts.”
Jonathan and Kyle continue to receive great support from their parents Henry and Olive with the running of the enterprise. The family has worked hard to make Mourne View Farm one of the top-performing beef units in Ulster and is focused on maintaining and improving current production levels.
Mourne View Farm
23A Glenavy Road,
Lisburn,
BT28 3UT
Telephone: 028 92671433
Mobile: 078 41926266
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 5, July/August 2017
