Dairy
Coming into the autumn months, it is a good idea to take out the scales and weigh your replacement heifer calves...
In light of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation's (ICBF's) statistics on the shortage of dairy replacement heifers being born on dairy...
The majority of calves born on dairy farms that stay on the farm are dairy replacements, typically born in February which means that the...
The breeding season of 2024 saw many farmers complain about conception rates and in-calf rates which was somewhat blamed on sexed semen...
The preparation for the breeding season is well underway on many dairy farms throughout the country as we head towards the end of March...
As the 2025 dairy breeding season approaches, the Irish Cattle and Breeding Federation (ICBF) and Teagasc urge farmers to begin planning...
We are coming to the end of March now, and the likelihood is that all the dairy replacement calves are on the ground...
Your yearling heifers have just completed their first winter and are coming up on a year old, which means that farmers may be thinking...
While grass is the predominant crop on the Co Down dairy farm of Philip Tinsley, winter oats are the cereal crop of choice
Your replacement weanling heifers are now coming into their first winter and now that cows and young stock are coming in for the winter...
At this time of the year the farmers focus is scanning cows and extending the grazing season, but your replacement heifers must not be...
A flying herd is where the dairy herd is kept only for milk production with all calves being sold and all of the replacement heifers are...
Beef
There is often much debate round calving replacement suckler heifers at 24 months of age and while it is seen as standard...
Dairy Technical
Getting the stock bull out at the right time is crucial, as if he is let out too early, there is the possibility that there will be too many
The focus on dairy farms is on calving, but it is important not to forget about your yearling replacement dairy heifers...
Heifer mastitis can be an issue on some farms, with heifers often calving down with cases, or developing them shortly after calving.
The autumn-calving period is underway and ensuring that calves off to the best start is vital to ensure continued growth performance is achieved.
As we move into autumn it is important to ensure that your replacement heifers are achieving their growth targets.
You need to check that your replacement heifers are achieving there targets, as if they are not there could be an issue.
Your replacement heifer calves that were born in January and February should now all be at grass and weaned from milk.
The weather has been somewhat unsettled of late, making many farmers hesitant to let replacement heifers out to grass.
Autumn-calving is well underway on farms, but as the calving season heads towards the breeding season it is important to complete these jobs.
Culling cows based of performance alone is a mistake, but this is often the tendency on Irish farms, rather than looking at other traits.
