Beef management: Keeping calves healthy, flooded yards and the mart trade

Shed space

Another wet week has meant shed pressure has increased on many farms around the country. Creep areas are filling up and with this increased stocking rate in sheds, the chances of a disease outbreak also increases.

Make sure young calves have access to a clean dry creep area with plenty of straw.

Don’t skimp on straw in creep areas over the next two weeks. If calves are stressed lying in wet, cold conditions, the chances of them picking up scour or pneumonia will be a lot higher.

Remember, if cows are housed and are being fed average-quality silage, meal will need to be fed to maintain milk supply and body condition. Feeding 2-3kg per day of a simple ration with 14% protein will be needed.

Try and aim to give the best quality silage to the most recently calved cows.

Offering creep areas to stronger calves will also help to take the pressure off the cows sucking these calves. Herd very closely during the next few weeks. Calves can get sick very quickly and the key to successful treatment is spotting them early and treating correctly.

I know of a few farmers who have let out cows and calves to small sheltered areas of the farm and are feeding silage via a round feeder on a hardcore area. If cows are being turned out, don’t forget to guard against tetany. Boluses or feeding cal-mag are the best options.

Calves will be fine once they have a dry place to lie and are able to suck their mothers. These fields may have to be reseeded in the spring but if sheds are full it’s the only option on some farms. If numbers are small calf jackets could be an option. Cows will generally cope fine in tough conditions once they have a dry area to lie.

Flooded slurry tanks

Keep a close eye on slurry tanks over this wet period. Stormy weather can mean tanks fill up very quickly. If your yard is flooded the advice is to contact the Department of Agrculture or the local county council to alert them of the problem or impending problem.

During previous flooding incidences, there has been dispensation to pump slurry out of tanks based on animal welfare grounds.

However if yards are already flooded, animals will have to be moved and no pumping should take place until water levels have reduced. Seek help early and don’t try and fight the problem on your own.

Mart trade

The mart trade is continuing to perform strongly for all classes of stock.

Dry cow rings are especially lively with an abundance of factory agents and feeders looking for stock. Good-quality, young continental cows are crossing the €2/kg mark, with heavy cows coming into great money.

It could be a good time to offload some empty autumn calving cows or any cows that have lost calves in the last few months. At current prices, it’s hard to see a margin in feeding them for an extra few months.