Enniskillen
Enniskillen Campus Beef Unit
Introduction
Enniskillen College’s beef enterprise is a key educational lifelong learning resource for the agri-food industry in the west of the Province where suckler calf production is the predominant enterprise. The Beef Unit demonstrates the production of high quality suckled calves and beef cattle using minimal cost grass-based systems. The College places emphasis on providing students with opportunities to learn by doing through their involvement with the management of the beef enterprise, which also provides a facility for students and farmers to develop practical skills and also technical and business competence’s.
The 72 hectares area allocated to the College’s beef and sheep enterprises is stocked with 80 suckler cows and their calves. These cows are split equally between the Aberdeen Angus and Premium Quality Simmental/Limousin herds. All calves from the Aberdeen Angus herd are finished to slaughter on the College farm while the calves from the Premium Quality Sim/Lim herd are transferred to Greenmount after weaning. The Aberdeen Angus herd calve from January to March and the Sim/Lim’s calve in October/November. Replacements for both herds are reared from within.
The sheep enterprise is made up of 50 Rouge cross ewes sired by a Suffolk ram. The ewes lamb in early January with the aim of having the lambs ready for the Easter market.
