It will be one of the busier weeks of the year in terms of putting animals through the yard. Pneumonia and IBR vaccinations are due and all cows and calves will be weighed. Scanning of the heifers and younger cows will also take place this week, so we’ll be able to get a handle on who will possibly be staying or going for next year. I say possibly because the annual herd test is due later in the year and we all know the surprises that can throw up.
Cows on Tommy Moyles farm have been thriving well this summer.
For the replacement heifers it will be their first time in a yard since they were put on the out-farm. The bull was removed from them in the field so that saved a bit of hassle.
He spent just under six weeks with them this year, so at least heifers will be finished calving within the first six weeks. Any empties will be put in the finishing group.
It was the first time we had only the one bull running on the outside block. Usually, there would be one with the heifers and one with the young cows. This year, we did a swap between the two groups.
The older bull will be sold this week. He was becoming a bit of a luxury. Most cows held to AI, so he was more redundant than he liked and he was related to a good proportion of the younger herd too.
A break in the weather allowed a chance to empty slurry tanks ahead of the autumn on the farm farm at Ardfield, Clonakilty.
While he was quiet to deal with, he enjoyed nothing better than rubbing up against walls, troughs and pillars. With no choice but to use a public road to get stock to the yard in Ballinascarthy and a bull with a nose for stone walls, he was kept at home this year.
A young bull was purchased this summer and was tested on some young cows so the intention is to run one bull in each location. Both are polled and all future AI will be the same.
While the cows are in the yard, I’ll take the usual dung samples and do the few extras for BEEP-S. On first reading of the terms and conditions I thought taking individual samples was a great idea.
You could sample the worst-case cows and view the variance of fluke in a herd regardless of its size. Then you dose the cows that require treatment and skip those that don’t need it.
The heifer calf group on the move.
After speaking to the lab, it turns out the individual samples will be pooled by the lab.
I understand it’s an introduction to the practice for some farmers but I feel an opportunity has been missed.
TB letters
Like other herd holders I got my TB herd history risk statement. For transparency’s sake, I’ve a C2 herd. We were locked up in 2015 and 2017 with a single animal each time and both ended up clear.
With beef price turning in the wrong direction, Brexit, CAP and COVID-19 challenges among other things, who would have thought TB letters would be the burning issue.
It will be one of the busier weeks of the year in terms of putting animals through the yard. Pneumonia and IBR vaccinations are due and all cows and calves will be weighed. Scanning of the heifers and younger cows will also take place this week, so we’ll be able to get a handle on who will possibly be staying or going for next year. I say possibly because the annual herd test is due later in the year and we all know the surprises that can throw up.
Cows on Tommy Moyles farm have been thriving well this summer.
For the replacement heifers it will be their first time in a yard since they were put on the out-farm. The bull was removed from them in the field so that saved a bit of hassle.
He spent just under six weeks with them this year, so at least heifers will be finished calving within the first six weeks. Any empties will be put in the finishing group.
It was the first time we had only the one bull running on the outside block. Usually, there would be one with the heifers and one with the young cows. This year, we did a swap between the two groups.
The older bull will be sold this week. He was becoming a bit of a luxury. Most cows held to AI, so he was more redundant than he liked and he was related to a good proportion of the younger herd too.
A break in the weather allowed a chance to empty slurry tanks ahead of the autumn on the farm farm at Ardfield, Clonakilty.
While he was quiet to deal with, he enjoyed nothing better than rubbing up against walls, troughs and pillars. With no choice but to use a public road to get stock to the yard in Ballinascarthy and a bull with a nose for stone walls, he was kept at home this year.
A young bull was purchased this summer and was tested on some young cows so the intention is to run one bull in each location. Both are polled and all future AI will be the same.
While the cows are in the yard, I’ll take the usual dung samples and do the few extras for BEEP-S. On first reading of the terms and conditions I thought taking individual samples was a great idea.
You could sample the worst-case cows and view the variance of fluke in a herd regardless of its size. Then you dose the cows that require treatment and skip those that don’t need it.
The heifer calf group on the move.
After speaking to the lab, it turns out the individual samples will be pooled by the lab.
I understand it’s an introduction to the practice for some farmers but I feel an opportunity has been missed.
TB letters
Like other herd holders I got my TB herd history risk statement. For transparency’s sake, I’ve a C2 herd. We were locked up in 2015 and 2017 with a single animal each time and both ended up clear.
With beef price turning in the wrong direction, Brexit, CAP and COVID-19 challenges among other things, who would have thought TB letters would be the burning issue.
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