January 15, 2021, 6:30 am
As we pass the mid-way point of housing, it is time to see if your work in dosing for fluke and worms back in the months of October and November was effective.
Controlling these parasites is crucial, especially during the housing period in order to enable better animal performance.
By checking the effectiveness of your dosing strategy, it will identify if there are any levels of anthelminthic resistance from internal parasites such as fluke and worms on your farm. It will also identify if any further action is necessary in controlling these parasites.
From a financial aspect, it will provide you with some peace of mind that your selected dosing product has worked and that you have gotten value for your money.
2 reference farms
Apart from supplying high-quality products, the Auctus team supports a huge number of farmers throughout Ireland in relation to calf management, husbandry, diagnosis of health issues and monitoring calf performance.
On an on-going basis, Auctus uses two reference farms for monitoring product performance, health status and measuring calf weight gains to exceed targets.
Firstly, Brian Geraghty, Auctus business development manager, farms in Dysart, Co. Roscommon, covering the West of Ireland and Donegal, is part of the Thrive – Dairy calf-to-beef programme.
Last spring, Brian reared 92 Aberdeen Angus heifer calves. They arrived on the farm from 10 days to three weeks old. All calves were vaccinated against pneumonia and clostridial diseases in the days after arrival.
Milk recording uptake stalls in 2020
Milk recording has become an important management tool used on many dairy farms nationally and internationally.
Based off the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation’s (ICBF’s) latest milk recording statistics less than 40% of dairy farmers in Ireland milk record their herds, accounting for just 7,000 dairy farms. Whereas in New Zealand, over 70% of its herds carry out milk recording.
The low levels of participation thus far may be worrying for the Department of Agriculture, as it aims to have 90% of the national herd milk recording by 2030.
Image source: ICBF
The number of cows being recorded has increased by 2.8% overall when compared to last year; with some milk recording companies seeing a decrease in their number of animals recorded.
The national dairy herd has increased significantly in the last 10 years. This has been helped by the increased use of dairy artificial insemination (AI) genetics on farms.
The rapid increase has slowed down as of late with replacement rates levelling off, due to increased fertility and longevity within the national dairy herd.
The Irish dairy industry has benefited greatly from the increase in the national herd’s economic breeding index (EBI) since it was established in 2001. According to a recent Teagasc report, there are still significant benefits to be gained by increasing the nationals herd’s EBI further.
Planning for 2021 breeding season