Summer Beef Series is in conjunction with Teagasc’s DairyBeef 500 campaign

The busy calf-rearing period has come to an end on the majority of dairy calf-to-beef farms around the country and calves are now commencing their first season at grass.

In this article, Teagasc DairyBeef 500 advisor Tommy Cox offers advice on making a smooth transition from the shed to grass for dairy-beef calves.

It is critically important to ensure calves suffer no setbacks as they make the transition from indoor to outdoor life during this phase of the calf-rearing cycle.

Calves that suffer a setback at turnout are generally playing catch up for the remainder of the grazing season.

Starting calves on grass

The recent fine weather has left excellent conditions for turnout but with temperatures forecast to rise in the coming weeks, farmers need to monitor calves to prevent overexposure to the sun.

If the hot weather forecast does come to fruition, farmers may need to need to move calves to a paddock with shade access to allow them to acclimatise.

Ideally, fields in which calves are turned out to should be alternated every year. However, many farms have a preference for using the paddock closest to the shed or yard.

If this is the case, farmers should be mindful of the build-up of pathogens and diseases.

The recommended sward type for calves initially post-turnout is slightly stronger or ‘stemmy’ swards.

These swards allow the developing rumen to become accustomed to grazed grass. Paddocks that have high levels of nitrogen applied or have very lush covers should be avoided immediately post-turnout to prevent any digestive upsets in dairy-beef calves.

Once calves become accustomed to grass, more of a focus needs to be placed on grassland management.

Calves are selective grazers and need to be offered fresh, leafy grass every three to four days, once they become acclimatised to the outdoors.

They should be going into light covers no more than 1,000-1,400kg dry matter (DM)/ha.

Ideally, they should not be forced to graze out paddocks and another group should follow them to graze the last of the grass.

Concentrates

Concentrate supplementation should be maintained post-turnout for at least five to six weeks in order to aid in the transition to grass and minimise any potential digestive upset, with a recommended feeding rate of 1.5-2kg/head/day, depending on weather conditions.

After this, the decision to continue with meal feeding should be made on the basis of calf performance and the quality and quantity of grass available.

Offering calves straw for five to six weeks post-turnout can also be beneficial as it will provide a source of fibre, especially where grass covers are lush, but this not nearly as fundamental as concentrate feeding.

Getting to grass in Mayo

Teagasc Dairybeef 500 participants Jarlath and Austin Ruane farm part-time just outside of Claremorris, Co. Mayo, where they operate a calf-to-beef system.

The calf-rearing phase on the farm is fully complete at this stage and the majority of calves are out at grass.

Approximately 80 calves were reared this year on the farm. These were a mix of Holstein Friesan, early maturing and continental male calves, all of which are slaughtered as steers at approximately 24 months of age.

Calves arrived on the farm at approximately three weeks old and were fed on an automatic milk feeder until they reached their targeted weaning weight of 85-90kg, generally at 55-60 days.

From arrival, calves are introduced to a highly palatable calf nut. Initially, calves can be slow to consume any significant levels of concentrates but once they start, intakes increase rapidly especially when milk volume starts to reduce.

Jarlath beleives that keeping the troughs clean and presenting feed fresh from the start is important to get calves to begin consuming concentrates.

Generally at weaning, calves are consuming over 2kg of concentrates/day and should be kept on this level until turnout.

Straw is used as a fibre source for calves on the Ruane’s farm and calves have access to clean, fresh water at all times.

When calves are let out to grass first on the farm they are put out to stronger covers in a paddock close to the farmyard at first. This is to ensure calves have an extra bit of fibre and the grass isn’t too lush, which helps prevent any potential issues with summer scour.

Concentrates are fed at a rate of 1.5kg/day and this is continued for the first five to six weeks post-turnout. Once calves get accustomed to the diet, concentrates are reduced and the quality of grass that they are grazing is improved.