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Winter performance key in dairy beef systems

SHARING OPTIONS: The target is to have bullocks at 353kg and heifers at 338 kg on 11 March at turnout. With beef finishing margins extremely tight, there is no room for error or poor performance in any beef system. This is particularly true in a dairy-calf-to-beef system. A prolonged period of poor performance or what is often referred to as a store period will have a severe impact on animals’ ability to hit weight targets and will significantly increase the costs to get that animal finished at the other end. This is especially true for farmers in a 19- to 20-month finishing system. The idea in this system is that most animals are slaughtered off grass at the end of the second grazing season. If target weights are not met along the way, this will mean housing, which will increase costs significantly. Many of the Thrive programme farmers have gone down this road as housing space is limited on farms and they don’t have the option of ho

The final finish: feeding strategies for the finishing phase

SHARING OPTIONS: Holding off concentrate supplementation until early- to mid-September resulted in fewer cattle being slaughtered off grass. In the previous pages we have outlined what needs to be done to remain on target up to the final phase. Here we outline finishing targets for stock 19-month system For cattle on target to be slaughtered at the end of the second grazing season, concentrate supplementation will more than likely need to be introduced from early August. In recent years on the demonstration farm, introducing concentrates a fortnight earlier in the season increased the proportion of cattle slaughtered off grass and reduced the overall concentrate input compared to cattle housed for finishing.

Dairy markets: French milk supply down more than 3% in January

Calf Care webinar: feeding soya pre-calving to boost colostrum quality

SHARING OPTIONS: Feeding 200g to 300g/head/day is typically sufficient to boost colostrum quality where silage quality is quite poor. The level of protein in the diet of the cow for the last few weeks prior to calving will have a huge influence on both the amount and quality of the colostrum the cow produces. While feeding soya for the final two to three weeks prior to calving is a great way to increase the overall protein level of the diet and therefore colostrum quality, there are certain situations where the benefit of feeding soya pre-calving should be questioned.

79% of farmers want further guidance on improving sustainability

/Donal O Leary A survey conducted by Bord Bia has revealed that 79% of farmers feel that more guidance is needed on how to improve their environmental sustainability. With over 650 participants, the survey - ‘Farmer Sustainability and Engagement Tracking’ - showed a strong appetite among farmers to improve the environmental friendliness of their farms. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed believe that farmers should do more to improve their sustainability and 88% are confident in their ability to adopt sustainable farming practices. Farm practices The results show a reasonably high degree of adoption of sustainable practices, with 40% of farmers using water meters, 51% had soil tested in the last 12 months and 46% are using low emission slurry spreading.

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