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Calving is almost finished, with only two cows left to calve.
I have my fingers crossed that I’ll be finished before the end of January, although it’s not looking good at the minute as neither of them are making much of a shape.
AI seems to be going fairly well also, with a 77% submission rate in the first three weeks. Some of these cows are only calved six weeks. Whether they’re in calf or not is another matter, but it’s nice to see them showing heat again so quick after calving. It makes you feel like you’re doing something right.
I have my fingers crossed that I’ll be finished before the end of January, although it’s not looking good at the minute
I’m waiting hard on the first of February as my tanks are more or less full and I could do with getting some slurry out. Trafficability, however, is far from ideal. The umbilical system would be the only hope as bringing a tanker into one of my fields at the minute just wouldn’t be possible. Even the pipeline could struggle.
Land has dried a bit over the last week but the forecast for the coming week does not look overly promising.
Election
The election has been called and the politicians are on the campaign trail. One small issue or maybe not so small, depending on your viewpoint, that we farmers should be hitting them with, when they come to our doors, is the EU regulation due to come into effect on 27 January 2022.
This regulation will mean that anti-parasitic drugs such as sheep and cattle wormers will no longer be able to be sold as non-prescription medicines. This will undoubtedly come at extra cost to the farmer as licensed merchants such as co-ops will no longer be able to sell these products.
This regulation will mean that anti-parasitic drugs such as sheep and cattle wormers will no longer be able to be sold as non-prescription medicines
They will only be available from your veterinary practitioner under prescription. As far as I’m aware at the moment, your vet will have to have been on your farm in the last 30 days prior to signing the prescription, adding extra cost and making more work for our already busy vets. I’m fully aware that some farmers have a tendency to overuse such products and that anthelmintic resistance is becoming a problem. But I find it hard to believe that there isn’t a better solution than making these products prescription only.
Faecal eggs counts are very useful in determining whether these products are required to be used and surely could have a place.
Competition
I was delighted to be selected as one of the finalists in the FBD €200 replacement index competition. The finalists were narrowed down from the top 150 herds in the country based on performance figures and an on-farm interview by a team of judges from Teagasc, ICBF and the Irish Farmers Journal.
The winners were announced at the ICBF genetics conference held in the Heritage Hotel Co Laois on 17 January.
Fellow Donegal man Paul McLaughlin from the Isle of Doagh was a finalist in the pedigree Simmental section. I have to say it was nice to get a bit of recognition. It makes all the late nights and early mornings seem just that little bit more worthwhile.
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