Animal Health Ireland is organising a programme of ‘CalfCare’ workshops throughout the month of January, focusing on calf health.
There will be a total of 13 workshops between January 8 and January 25, which will be dotted throughout the country, though the majority of meetings will be in Munster.
Various speakers will address attendees on a number of issues at the workshops, which are run on the theme of “Calf Rearing: Steps to success for improved calf health”.
According to the programme for the events, the workshops aim to educate farmers on the causes, effects, and possible control measures for various infections and diseases in calves.
Findings from the on-farm risk assessment from the Johne’s disease control programme have identified some interesting facts in relation to good management practices. Concentrating on pre and post calving, we will discuss key management decisions required for improved calf health.
The programme highlights that the issue of calf health is especially important in the context of dairy herd expansion, which may result in a farmer’s calf accommodation being “inadequate” to deal with an increased number of calves.
“With dairy herd expansion, will your calf accommodation be inadequate for the numbers of calves born next spring? What options have you to house the extra calves and feed them quickly and efficiently?” it says.
High standards of calf welfare are essential for our industry. It is vital that the best practice is observed at all times to ensure these high standards are maintained.
The full schedule of workshops are below. Note that all the events kick off at 11:00am.
