Watch: Farmer Writes – still coming to terms with dairy heifers

The dairy heifers were artificially inseminated on 8 May, nine days after the synchronisation programme started.

Despite being my third crack at this procedure, the beef farmer in me still cannot get used to the difference in temperament between hand-reared cattle and those that are suckler-bred.

When you’ve spent decades trying to handle nervous stores, it’s hard to accustom yourself with animals that wander into the yard, irrespective of what happened to them the previous day.

Imagine walking into a hospital appointment that involved an uncomfortable internal examination, along with an injection in your hindquarters. Then, a few days later, consecutive injections followed by another internal process.

The thought of trying to coax nervous continental cattle into a yard for the second part of a routine TB test is enough to give beef farmers the night sweats

You’d imagine that trepidation and fear would the main emotions by the third or fourth visit, and surely wariness and suspicion would dictate that you’d be somewhat apprehensive. Well, these heifers show no signs of caution, and it’s as if someone has hit the “delete history” button in their memory.

By contrast, the thought of trying to coax nervous continental cattle into a yard for the second part of a routine TB test is enough to give beef farmers the night sweats.

Lunatic

I remember feeding certain batches a lick of meal for days (or even weeks) before a herd test, so that all of them could be presented for inspection. Even then, all that hard work was sometimes undone during the initial part of the test, where the occasional lunatic exited the crush at top speed, determined never to be caught out like that again.

I sometimes wonder just how big a part temperament plays in the decision to switch to all-year-round housing for beef finishers?

Different problem

The heifers can be problematic in a different sense. While you’re filling the syringe, or writing something down, they are liable to give you a friendly thump in the back, presumably as a form of seeking attention.

But once placed in the crush, most of them stand quietly, with no need for the handler to worry about ‘climbers’ or ‘burrowers’ disrupting the rest of them. When the end gate is opened, there is no scraping of hooves as they panic to escape. In fact, some of them even require a bit of encouragement, as they can hardly be bothered wandering down the race.

Daily gain was in the region of 0.5kg, which meant they averaged just short of 300kg each

Letting beef cattle out to the field often resembled the start of the Grand National, whereas the dairy heifers have to be driven away.

These heifers were turned out to grass on 13 April and were weighed as they left the house. Daily gain was in the region of 0.5kg, which meant they averaged just short of 300kg each.

They are not big – this is a spring-calving system along the New Zealand style of breeding, so large animals are very much frowned upon. Some of them will be 500kg in the autumn, while anything with large amounts of Jersey genetics could be well short of 400kg. My job is to keep them growing and healthy, and simply carry out whatever processes the owners decide.

One of the bulls is a youngster, while the other is now mature and needs watching

Sexed semen was used this year, which makes no difference to my routines, but may result in a slightly lower conception rate.

Two bulls were introduced after insemination, and they should sweep up any repeats. One of the bulls is a youngster, while the other is now mature and needs watching.

He’s not cross (yet) but he’s a peculiar way of staring at me that is slightly disconcerting. Perhaps that is a good thing, as he and I get to know one another.

At this early stage, I am social distancing from him by keeping a few heifers between us, just as a precautionary measure – I have no intention of picking a fight with him. Respect – that’s the key to most relationships.

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