Visited a herd of cows in Kerry. The farmer has hereford cows and Friesian Bull calves. These were fattened and fed a mixture of rolled barley, maize meal and soya beans. The calves reached an a weight of 520 kilograms for average age of 13 months. The economies of this system of production should be evaluated as it provides an outlet for male offspring from the dairy herd and with these weights being achieved,is an acceptable finishing weight for processing at a factory. The system suits the farmer in question as he grows his own barley on an outside farm and the hereford results in ease of calving and it is still suitable for beef production. The farmer prefers the hereford over the limousin as a cross as the stock are more docile and the calves are alot easier to rear on milk replacer.