BEAM

Farmers who applied for the BEAM scheme in 2019 will have to start thinking of how they will reduce cattle numbers to comply with the conditions.

Total farm bovine nitrogen production must be reduced by 5% for the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 as compared to the period 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019. Exporting slurry or renting additional land will not suffice. It is the overall farm bovine nitrogen production figure that must reduce.

This presents challenges for anybody who has increased the size of their holding or increased stocking rate. For suckler to weanling producers, there aren’t a lot of options except to reduce cow numbers from July 2020 onwards.

More than 34,000 farmers applied and for the vast majority of suckler herds a reduction of two to three cows will hit the target. For finishing farmers, there is an option to finish animals younger over the next 12 months or reduce numbers.

If you are unsure of what you need to reduce by, there is a section on agfood.ie where you can view the reduction needed in your herd.

Remember, if you don’t reduce stock numbers from the beginning of the reference period, you need to reduce more as the year goes on to hit the 12-month average. For example, if you don’t reduce stock until December 2020, you will have to reduce numbers by 10% for the first six months of 2021 to hit the target.

Put a plan in place on how you will meet the target to avoid BEAM money being clawed back in 2021.

BDGP

Letters have been sent to BDGP participants outlining where herds are in relation to meeting programme requirements and deadlines this year.

There are two important dates. Herds using stock bulls must have an eligible (genotyped four- or five-star on terminal or replacement index within or across breed) in their herd on 30 June 2020. For herds using AI, 80% of the progeny in your herd must be sired by eligible AI bulls. The next important date is 31 October 2020 which is when you need 50% of the reference number of females for your herd genotyped four- or five-star.

There are just two genetic evaluation runs before this date. Samples need to be returned by 8 May for the July evaluation and 10 July for the September evaluation. Heifers must be a minimum of 16 months old (born before 30 June 2019) to be eligible on 31 October 2020. You can check your eligibility status via your herdplus account on www.icbf.com

Sore teats

The warm weather seems to have increased the incidence of cows with chapped and sore teats. This can lead to mastitis where a cow isn’t letting a calf suck a teat. I have heard of a few cases of mastitis already this year and with rain forecast, the problem is likely to continue.

Cows with sore teats will have to be put in for a few consecutive days for treatment. When udder ointment is applied, calves should ideally be separated for a few hours to let it work.