Dairy
Dairy replacement heifers under-target in their first winter could affect farm profitability by more than €2,000/head.
The Dudley farm in Co. Tipperary saw a sale of 20 elite pedigree heifer calves conclude with a top price of €1,500.
With rain forecast once again after the warm weekend, parasites will be thriving and putting young calves at risk.
Coming into the June bank holiday a lot of farmers often stop using dairy AI, and just let the stock bulls clean up the rest.
The poor spring has lead to a lot of farms still having calves housed despite weaning taking place a number of weeks ago.
Contract rearing is becoming more and more of a popular option for Irish dairy farmers who are struggling with stocking rates.
Farmers must be mindful of targets for their yearling heifers as they are turned out to grass for the first time once the weather improves.
Mastitis can cost farmers over €60/cow/year, so preventing heifer mastitis is crucial in maintaining a top producing dairy herd.
Agri-Business
The Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) has described the data on dairy herd replacements as a serious “wake up” call...
