The next 12 weeks will see over 1.6 million births on Irish beef and dairy farms. It’s one of the busiest times of the year and when things go well during calving season it’s a great time of the year, but when things go wrong it can take its toll on both farmer and animal. It’s the old story: prepare, prepare, prepare.

Have the calf jackets been washed? Is the faulty bulb replaced in the calving shed? Is there an extra set of ropes for the calving jack? Is the freezer full of colostrum for that heifer that calves at 3.30am with no milk?

It’s the simple things that can catch you out, so it’s important to be on top of it from the off. Having no tags catches some farmers out every year and that can delay calf sales, so order now if you haven’t already.

Getting 3l of colostrum into the calf in the first two hours of life is vital to avoid health issues down the line.

Draw up a list of cows with service dates or scanning dates and work off that in terms of night checks and penning.

Colostrum and straw are probably the two most important items to pay attention to over the next few months. Getting 3l of colostrum into a calf within two hours of birth is the minimum in terms of trying to avoid issues with calves later on.

Ample bedding is also important. Using enough straw may seem like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how some farms try to cut corners in terms of straw usage.

Ensure you have enough bedding for the weeks ahead.

It’s understandable given its cost but the calving pen and calf pens aren’t the place to skimp on straw over the next few weeks.

In this week’s Focus we take a look at milk replacer costs. Darren Carty has a look at the latest calf birth data. Tommy Moyles was in Bandon Mart this week to check out the 2025 calf trade.

We also report from an AHI Calf Care event in Donegal which took place last week and Martin Merrick has the top five tips on getting calf housing right in 2025.