ABP Demonstration Farm reports 32% lower emissions, while producing heavier, more profitable cattle

ABP Food Group today marked a decade of research on their Demonstration Farm in Co. Carlow, with a special event highlighting progress made to date on reducing climate emissions and improving on farm efficiency.

The Sheppard family-owned, 280-acre dairy-to-beef farm, has partnered with ABP since 2015. The partnership was established to test and validate practical on-farm solutions in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from beef production, whilst increasing on farm efficiency. The ABP Demonstration Farm’s research is in collaboration with, and is independently verified by, Teagasc and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).

The establishment of the ABP Demonstration Farm followed findings from ABP’s work with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), which revealed that over 90% of emissions across its supply chain occur at farm level.

Stephen Connolly, Agri Sustainability Manager at ABP, said: “The ABP Demonstration Farm is a long-term investment in the future of sustainable beef production in Ireland. Our objective is to develop systems and share solutions that support farmers and allow their businesses to grow. The key focus of our projects is economic and environmental sustainability and in this, our key areas are animal breeding and grassland management. Although this farm is focused on dairy beef, many of the practices developed here can be transferred to suckler beef systems, which remain an integral part of Ireland’s beef sector.”

The research findings from the ABP Demonstration Farm have directly contributed to the creation of ABP Beef Benchmark Report and support the ICBF Gene Ireland Beef programme which aims to identify the most suitable beef bulls for use on the dairy herd.

The success of the ABP Demonstration Farm has also led to the creation of the ABP Advantage Beef Programme, an enterprise partnership that assists farmers to build a sustainable beef business. The programme now includes over 1,000 participating suppliers and is a key element in expanding the research findings of the ABP Demonstration Farm across the family farm supply chain. In 2024, the 35,000 cattle produced as part of the ABP Advantage Beef Programme were on average, 85 days younger at finish, with just a 4kg lighter carcass weight.

ABP is currently working with Teagasc, ICBF and Meat Technology Ireland (MTI) on new projects focused on genetic selection for earlier finishing and animals that emit less methane per day, as well as projects focused on improving water and soil quality.

Key achievements of the ABP Demonstration Farm:

- The farm’s carbon footprint is 32% lower than the average beef farm in Ireland, based on Bord Bia data, with steers finished 180 days earlier (ABP Beef Benchmark Report).

- High genetic merit beef sires, compared to lower merit sires, produce cattle that are on average 38kg heavier and worth €301 more at the same age.

- The gap between the best and worst sires reached 62kg in carcass weight and €511 in carcass value.

- Hereford cattle ranked in the top third of the Commercial Beef Index delivered €220 more in returns than those in the bottom third.

- Over 5,500 cattle have gone through the trial programme to date.

- More than 80,000 liveweights recorded from the trial farm alone.

- 150,000 doses of semen distributed through the Gene Ireland Programme.

- Progeny from 279 AI beef bulls have been tested, and calves sired by these bulls have resulted in 885,000 calves born on Irish farms.

Ongoing and future research initiatives at the ABP Demonstration Farm:

- Working with ICBF, Teagasc and Meat Technology Ireland (MTI) to develop genetic strategies for earlier finishing and lower daily methane emissions.

- Participation in the Water EIP Programme with Teagasc and LAWPRO to enhance water quality without compromising productivity, with three ABP team members currently training to support farmers through this scheme.

- Being the first beef farm in Ireland to adopt the Glasport Bio GasAbate slurry inoculation system, which Teagasc has shown reduces methane emissions by 80% and ammonia by 50%.

- Running a second-year grazing study in partnership with UCD and BiOrbic, comparing multi-species swards and perennial ryegrass in terms of animal performance, grass growth, fertiliser use, and environmental impact.

- Measuring soil carbon stocks through 273 soil samples across different depths (0–30 cm and 30–60 cm) to track future gains in carbon sequestration.