Dairy

Weaning calves successfully and target weights

Weaning calves successfully and target weights During the first weeks of life, the calf is entirely dependent on milk as a source of nutrition, with the digestion of milk occurring in the abomasum. Young calves have little to no rumen capacity in early life. Careful nutritional management before weaning ensures that the […]
29 March 2023

Watch: Identifying your herd’s strengths and weaknesses ahead of breeding

Watch: Identifying your herd’s strengths and weaknesses ahead of breeding With the calving season entering its final phase on many dairy farms, the next task on the horizon is breeding. Kevin Downing, ICBF HerdPlus Manager, joined Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, as part of a Breeding Week webinar to explain how to […]
28 March 2023

Keeping grass in the cow’s diet with on-off grazing

Keeping grass in the cow’s diet with on-off grazing The last two weeks have been tricky when it came to grazing, Sandra Hayes, Co-ordinator of the Teagasc/Tírlán Future Farm Programme, explained in a recent update. What has worked well for the monitor farmers is on-off grazing. Once cows have been milked, they […]
28 March 2023

Let’s Talk Dairy – nutrition of the spring-calving cow ahead of breeding

Let’s Talk Dairy – nutrition of the spring-calving cow ahead of breeding On this episode of Let’s Talk Dairy, George Ramsbottom, Teagasc Dairy Specialist, was joined by Joe Patton, Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer, Teagasc, to discuss the nutrition of the spring-calving cow ahead of breeding. Elsewhere in the webinar, Joseph Dunphy, […]
27 March 2023

Future-proofing through breeding

Future-proofing through breeding The Economic Breeding Index (EBI) has revolutionised dairy breeding in Ireland. It has become the go-to tool when selecting dairy sires. Robert Prendeville, Alan Twomey and Adrian Curtin explain more in this article from the March/April edition of Today’s Farm. The EBI of dairy females continues to increase by […]
26 March 2023

Everycalf project – contract rearing of dairy beef calves

Everycalf project – contract rearing of dairy beef calves Increased cow numbers on dairy farms coupled with increased adoption of improved breeding technologies have resulted in consistent improvements in the six-week calving rates on Irish dairy farms in recent years, resulting in large numbers of additional male calves being born each spring. […]
25 March 2023

CAP 2023-2027: How is your farm affected?

CAP 2023-2027: How is your farm affected? On the 1st of January this year, a new five-year CAP period started. Andy Ryder, Drystock Advisor, tells us there are a number of important changes occurring in relation to the distribution of CAP payments that farmers need to know about. The majority of farmers […]
24 March 2023

Getting Ready for weaning

Getting Ready for weaning Weaning can be a stressful time for calves as they make the change from a liquid to a solid feed diet and move from a pre-ruminant to the ruminant phase. Much of the skill in calf rearing is making this diet transition as smooth as possible, without set-backs […]
22 March 2023

Breeding Considerations for the 2024 Calf Crop in Dairy Herds

Breeding Considerations for the 2024 Calf Crop in Dairy Herds Imagine milking a herd of cows and selling 550kg of milksolids from each with an annual profitability of €500 per cow more than the Irish Base cow. All that prevents you from achieving this, is your management and breeding decisions. These cows […]
21 March 2023

How pedigree herds are preparing for future challenges through their breeding

How pedigree herds are preparing for future challenges through their breeding Laurence Feeney, CEO of the Irish Holstein Friesian Association (IHFA), is on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss how pedigree herds are preparing for future challenges through their breeding. Laurence started by telling us a little bit about his background […]
20 March 2023