Calf Prices

This week we take a look at Friesian bull calves and what they are worth if you are finishing them at 24 months as steers. While dairy-cross calves are cheap to get into, they can be expensive to bring to finish and could take between €800 and €1,000 depending on the system. If you purchase 20 calves at €100, it’s €2,000. But to get these calves through to finish will take an extra €12,000 to €18,000. It’s important you draw up a rough cashflow budget to see where the pressure points will be.

As with all beef systems, margins are tight. Technical efficiency needs to be high and a large proportion of liveweight gain needs to come from grass if margins are to be positive. Do the sums before purchase to see what you can afford to pay for a calf. Current calf prices seem high for a beef farmer to make any money. Do some homework on the farmer you are purchasing the calves from and make sure enough colostrum has been fed. Try to buy in batches. Buying ones and twos here and there is a recipe for a disease outbreak on your farm.

Coccidiosis

Keep an eye out for coccidiosis in calves. It usually presents itself with a black/mucus scour. Infected calves will often appear to be pressing or straining. It can occur in calves from three weeks to about nine months of age and infected calves can excrete large amounts of ocytes. These calves infect other calves in the group quickly. Build-up of bedding and contaminated material in autumn-calving herds with creep areas can increase the risk.

Stress or other disease burdens can all affect how hard the disease hits. In terms of treatment, there are oral doses on the market with the dose rate based on the weight of calves. Sulfadimidine powders are also sometimes prescribed to aid treatment.

Sick calves can become dehydrated quite quickly so fluids may need to be given to very sick calves. If you have to treat some calves in a group, you are probably better to treat the entire group as their risk of infection will be a lot higher.

Hygiene is extremely important in the prevention of the disease. Disinfected pens and plenty of clean bedding are important.

Take care not to crowd sheds too much and also keep an eye around troughs where there is a higher chance of infection being harboured.

Slaughtering cattle

If slaughtering cattle, make sure to follow up and see them killed in the factory. Grading the cattle yourself for conformation and fat score before slaughter is a good way of getting your eye in and will help better selection in the future.

Seeing what a 5- in fat class is in an animal hanging up can be a good guide for selecting animals at the right stage in the future. Follow up with liver health and lung issues. Animal Health Ireland will issue reports indicating liver and lung damage on slaughtered animals, which can be an indicator of issues developing on your farm.