Calf rearing and health will be a major focus of the upcoming DairyBEEF2019 open day to be held in Teagasc Johnstown Castle later this month.
Speaking ahead of the open day and outlining what visitors might expect from the Calf Rearing / Calf Health Village, Teagasc’s Ruth Fennell said:
“The health of the calf is a major determining factor in the success of the calf rearing period and the overall profitability of a dairy calf-to-beef enterprise, and with the rise of Antimicrobial Resistance worldwide it is ever more important to ensure preventative health practices and bio-security are optimal on all farms.
“The main talk within the Calf Rearing Village will be delivered by Caroline Garvan and Julie Boltan of the AMR Resistance Section, Department of Agriculture.
“There will be various other stands on important topics, including: nutrition; weaning; housing; health and welfare; calf procurement; and calf rearing targets.”
- Optimising calf immunity;
- Nutritional management of dairy-bred beef calves;
- Calf housing;
- Managing the health of young dairy-beef calves;
- Calf disbudding and castration – welfare implications;
- Roundworm control in dairy calf-to-beef systems;
- Factors to consider when buying calves;
- The rising problem of antibiotic resistance.
Commenting further, she said: “Our goal is to equip farmers with the most recent research, knowledge and tools to ensure that they purchase the correct calves for their system, manage these correctly in the first number of months so that the calves reach their lifelong performance targets and leave a margin behind them.
“Farmers will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss any concerns with experts in the various fields.”
When and where?
‘DairyBEEF2019’ will take place at the Johnstown Castle Research Farm, Co. Wexford, on May 21. Starting at 11:00am, the event is Department of Agriculture KT approved for beef and dairy.