1 Calf sickness: some vets and farmers would say the prevalence of coccidiosis is increasing in young calves. Coccidia are single-celled parasites which are common on farms. These parasites damage the gut wall and if calves are infected with large numbers, severe damage, resulting in scours, straining and bloody diarrhoea occurs.
Often, a farmer will recognise coccidiosis in calves with unusually dirty hocks or legs.
Calves that are reared in the paddock beside the yard (the calf graveyard) with access to meal and shelter are often worse off.
The healthiest calves I see are often those calves that are kept out of sheds and moved around in clean paddocks.
Animal Health Ireland suggests coccidiosis is largely self-limiting as the parasites are active in calves for a relatively short time (three to four weeks) while they complete their life cycle in the host animal.
The onset of immunity (where the calf fights the disease itself) is quite rapid and the disease is uncommon in cattle over six months of age.
If calves can be protected from excessive levels of exposure by avoiding faecal contamination of feed or water, it can go a long way.
I know some farmers that feed a powder premix with the active ingredient ‘‘Decoquinate’’ if coccidiosis has been confirmed from dung samples submitted.
2 Worm burden in calves: farmers have different set-ups for rearing calves and different rearing methods. Worm treatment will differ depending on help available, handling facilities, cost and where calves will be grazed.
Plenty of the farmers in the groups I was with this week are still using white drenches. It means the dosing interval is short – every three to four weeks. If you have help and calves are near the crush at all times, it can work.
A number of the farmers had moved to using something from the Ivermectin range (injectable or pour-on). This extends the dosing interval to five or six weeks.
Then there is the Dectomax and Cydectin LA range where the dosing interval is eight weeks or up to 17 weeks protection for Cydectin LA.
Often, these are used where calves are transported to an outfarm with no facilities or where no help is available to handle calves.
3 Breeding: breeding was going well on all farms visited (at least to the extent stock were submitted for AI).
One of the farmers had slipped behind on writing down the serves. Record-keeping is important so try to stay on top of it. It helps decision-making later in the season.
Many farmers are using the ICBF app on their phones to input a record of the serves or have a chart in the parlour.
4 Shed building: if building a shed or milking parlour this summer not alone plan with cow flow in mind but think of the shed or yard that is to come after that one.
It might never come, but, always build with subsequent sheds or yards in mind so the space is there if it is required.
I have spoken to so many farmers who have put up an overground steel slurry store or a parlour in the wrong place and now they can’t put a new shed where they want it.
5 Refining the farm map: having and using a detailed map of the farm gives you a helicopter view of the farm and where the existing farm roads and water infrastructure are located.
What I see some farmers doing now is writing in the soil fertility status (lime, P and K) and the tonnes of grass grown on to the map.
This helps decision-making on fertilisers and slurry.
What I saw this week on a Kilkenny farm was a Google image-type map printed and delivered from a website ‘‘hello.com’’ but there are plenty of options available to get this done.
People a priority
As opportunities arise, finding people to work in the business is often one of the first challenges. When there are multiple owners (as more and more Irish farms have), it can be harder to plan strategically for the future. The key is to sit down and talk to all partners who have a part to play. If a growing business is employing labour, the first part of this is knowing what you want them to do. Do you want a contract milker, someone who can take on decision-making and planning, a tractor driver, someone to rear calves or look after youngstock? Get an answer to this question before hiring.