The first silage in Newford Farm was harvested in the last week. Twelve acres of ground on the outfarm known as Tuohy’s block was harvested early in the week, allowed to wilt for 36 hours and baled. Farm manager Iarlaith Collins reports that silage was picked up in excellent condition and yielded six bales per acre.
The first silage in Newford Farm was harvested in the last week. Twelve acres of ground on the outfarm known as Tuohy’s block was harvested early in the week, allowed to wilt for 36 hours and baled.
Farm manager Iarlaith Collins reports that silage was picked up in excellent condition and yielded six bales per acre.
The main cut of silage was walked last week to assess the cover present. It is currently yielding in the region of 4.5t/ha and will be allowed to bulk up for another 10 days or so. This was closed in late April so quality remains good.
Sufficient supplies
This silage is also earmarked for feeding to cows, so the focus is more on ensuring sufficient supplies are present, while still maintaining quality at a relatively good level.
Breeding is progressing well, with 90 out of the 93 cows put forward for breeding served. The three remaining cows were scanned this week to check for problems.
Two cows received estrumate, while the other cow received a Prid. Iarlaith reports that 16 cows have repeated so far, which is broadly in line with previous years.
Weight performance
This year’s calves were also weighed in the last week. Teagasc's Michael Fagan reports that bull calves weighed 166kg on average, which represents a daily liveweight gain of 1.58kg since birth. Heifer calves weighed 151kg and averaged 1.38kg since birth.
The 2019-born heifers were also weighed recently and averaged 474kg liveweight. This represents an average daily gain since turnout of 0.74kg per day. Meanwhile, 2019-born bullocks were weighed on Friday and their performance will be detailed in next week’s update.
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