Creep feeding weanlings

On farms selling autumn born weanlings it’s close to the time where creep feeding can start. If you have a good supply of quality grass, you may get good calf liveweight gains.

Autumn calved cows’ milk yields will be low on a lot of farms, and many will have been weaned at this stage. You can expect a conversion rate of 6kg meal to 1kg of concentrates if 2kg is fed across the board to bulls and heifers.

Bulls will have a better conversion ratio. If we take current weanling rations at €470/t, it costs €2.82 to put on 1kg of liveweight. Top quality weanlings are currently making €2.80-€3.30 depending on quality, so it’s a positive return but very tight.

Weanlings for sale will benefit from extra feeding. Aim for a simple ration with a good cereal like barley, a source of digestible fibre like soya hulls or beet pulp and a good protein source like soya bean meal.

Allowing calves to creep graze into adjacent paddocks will help boost weight gains and also to reduce the cow/calf bond in advance of weaning. This will help reduce stress levels around weaning and hopefully lead to healthier weanlings for sale.

Intakes in creep feeders can be variable, with stronger calves hogging the trough. Feeding in a trough in an adjacent field, while more labour intensive, is a better way of making sure all calves are eating.

If selling autumn born weanlings, don’t forget the BEEP requirements. Animals must be fed meal four weeks prior to weaning and two weeks after. The weight of the cow and calf must be recorded on the same day prior to weaning.

Second cut silage fertiliser

Reports are that first cut silage yields have been good. With ration prices heading for north of €500/t next winter, it will be very important to have enough silage in the yard.

Don’t take your foot off the pedal and make sure you plan for fertilising a second cut crop to maximise fodder supplies next winter.

If you are targeting a 6t/ac crop of grass for your second cut (most crops will yield between 4-8t/ac) you will need about 60 units of N, 10 units of P and 50 units of K/ac. Spreading 2,000 gallons of slurry/ac if you have it will supply the P and K requirements, which means you will need 1.5 bags of protected urea/ac or 2 bags of CAN/ac to meet the crop’s demand.

Maximise cattle slurry application at this time of the year so that slurry tanks are emptied before next winter.