Buying young dairy-bred calves for rearing is becoming popular once again on many beef farms, according to Teagasc.

It advises that how these calves are managed and fed up until they are weaned off milk replacer is critical to their lifetime performance subsequently.

The experience of the Teagasc Green Acres Calf to Beef Programme in 2015 was that the farms that vaccinated their calves against the common respiratory diseases at purchase tended to have healthier calves.

These calves also had better daily gains throughout the year.

It recommends speaking to your vet about the vaccination programme that would be most suited to your farm.

Teagasc has 10 great tips on managing bought-in calves: