Farming
Pre-calving management and good planning are key building blocks for suckler success
WITH 70% of suckler cows calving in the months February to April, most suckler cows are now in mid or late pregnancy. Pre-calving management and preparing for calving are hugely important in order to avoid problems in the coming months. Management aspects to be considered include:
Stocking rate in pens: Most suckler cows are housed by now. As the calf foetus grows, so too does the space required by suckler cows. If pens are overstocked, cow performance will suffer. This is due partly to restricted movement in pens reducing free access to forage and reducing intakes.
Body condition score (BCS): Spring calving suckler cows need to be at BCS 2.5 at calving. Suckler cows should be divided and fed according to their BCS status. Over-fat cows may experience calving difficulties while thin cows may suffer depressed milk yield and may be delayed returning to heat for the next breeding season.
Restrict feed to fat cows, while thin cows may need concentrates in order to meet their BCS target at calving time. Grouping cows on body condition will allow feeding levels to be targeted to nutritional demand. The ideal situation is where cows can be split into three groups – cows in excessive condition that can be restricted; cows in ideal body condition and fed to maintain that; and under-fleshed cows requiring preferential treatment. Shy feeders, older cows in the herd and first calvers will likely be in this latter group.
It is important to act early – there is little point trying to starve cows or pump cows up in the weeks approaching calving in the hope of getting cows into the required body condition. Cow condition need to be monitored right throughout the winter so that cows are fit and not fat before calving.
Parasites: Fluke and lice are the most troublesome parasite of mature suckler cows. Well fed, healthy cows should have strong immunity to worms. All housed cows should have been treated for fluke at this stage with products that are effective against immature and adult flukes. If treating cows now, consult your vet on the best product to use. When treating for lice, make sure to cover all the stock in the shed at the one time.
Mineral/trace element supplementation: Silage is generally well balanced in major minerals but is deficient in trace elements such as Copper, Selenium and Iodine. Pre-calving mineral licks (in buckets) can be offered to cows 4 to 6 weeks prior to calving. Alternatively, if feeding a coarse ration, a dry cow mineral mix can be sprinkled on the ration or silage at a rate of 100grams per head/day for 4 to 6 weeks before calving. Compound rations will contain minerals.
Vaccination: Where there has been scour outbreaks in young calves in the past, vaccines can be used in combination with good nutrition and hygiene to combat these infections. Vaccines against E.coli, Rotavirus, Coronavirus and Salmonella will give passive immunity to calves via colostrum. These vaccines generally have to be given 1-3 months prior to calving to be effective so may sure you give them on time.
Calving area: Good hygiene is all important. Have calving boxes power washed and disinfected (1 calving box per 10 cows). Ensure sufficient straw is in store. Don’t skimp on straw for very young calves.
Safety: Cows have a strong maternal instinct and can become aggressive in protecting their calves immediately after calving. Ensure cows are safely secured. Check out calving gate to see if it works properly and is secure. Cows showing prolonged calving aggression should be culled and slaughtered after weaning the calf.
*Anthony O’Connor is a Teagasc Adviser, Galway/Clare Regional Unit. Comments to anthony.oconnor@teagasc.ie
GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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MINISTER for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, has been asked to review a decision taken over recent weeks to exclude the sheep farming sector from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR).
East Galway Independent TD, Seán Canney, has called on the Agriculture Minister and Government to ‘revisit’ the issue of sheep farmers and the BAR fund.
Galway IFA Chair, Stephen Canavan, also said that a mistake had been made in terms of excluding the sheep sector from the BAR funding.
“I think that there is no doubt whatsoever that Brexit had a major impact in terms of New Zealand lamb exports flooding the UK market.
“The knock-on affect of that on Irish sheep farmers was a serious fall-back on lamb and hogget prices through the early months of this year.
“There are now serious concerns that the farmers who buy in store lambs through the early autumn period will just pull out of this market after getting such a scalding over the past six months or so,” said Stephen Canavan.
According to Deputy Seán Canney, all of the Regional Group of TDs are backing the move to get the Government to have another look at the use of the BAR fund for the sheep sector.
“The evidence that sheep farming was affected by Brexit is strong and the decision not to support people in this sector needs to be reversed immediately.
“Brexit negotiations began in June 2016 and caused turmoil in the sheep trade as it weakened the currency making UK lamb far more competitive.
“The notion or threat of ‘a no deal ‘ in Brexit caused the price of sheep to fluctuate repeatedly in the trade and resulted in lambs selling for an estimated €30-€50 lower per head each year during the entire Brexit process,” said Deputy Canney.
WITH the exception of Leitrim, Galway was marginally the cheapest county in the west and north-west to buy non-residential farmland during the course of 2022, according to the latest national survey of prices.
The survey showed that the average price of an acre of ‘good land’ in Galway last year, for holdings under 50-acres, was €9,500 – the dearest was Donegal at €12,143 while the cheapest was Leitrim at €6,140 an acre.
Jointly researched by Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCCI) and Teagasc, the survey also indicated that only 0.5% of land in Ireland goes up for sale each year, a major factor in terms of demand for leased land.
‘Good land’ in Mayo [under 50-acres] averaged out at €10,092; the figure for Roscommon was €9,938; with Sligo coming in at €9,550.
When it came to a comparison of poorer quality land in Connacht [under 50-acres], Mayo was the cheapest at €2,886 followed by Leitrim on €3,300 while Galway topped ‘poor land price league’ at €5,375 per acre.
Auctioneer Martin O’Connor of DNG O’Connor, Oughterard, said that the market was being driven by dairy farmers ‘who are continually ranked throughout the survey as the most likely purchasers of land across the country’.
He said that changes in the European Nitrates Directive in relation to improving water quality meant that many dairy farmers needed more land to comply with this directive.
“In order to maintain current levels of milk production – and to comply with the directive – many dairy farms will need to either increase their land area or reduce milk production.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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