As the saying goes, ‘March is the month of many problems’, and this is true most years. It’s peak lambing season, just after peak calving season on dairy and beef farms. That means there are more calves around the farm and as a result more opportunities for problems. It’s also the month where we see animals return to grass in their droves, which is great to see, but the change in the diet can also be a problem for some animals. It’s obviously a critical time of year for animal health. Get things wrong and subsequent performance can suffer. On pages 54 and 55, Adam Wood chats with Shaun Diver, the farm manager on the Irish Farmers Journal Tullamore Farm. So far there are 35 cows calved, with two losses to report. The full details of the calf health programme are outlined, including the vaccination protocol for young calves.

Meanwhile, on pages 52 and 53, Darren Carty looks at the impact of liver fluke in the sheep flock and reports on what was said at the recent Teagasc Hill Sheep Conference. On page 56, I take a look at some of the common questions we get asked at this time of year around calf care, with a specific focus on illness prevention, especially scour. We also look into the role of calf jackets and artificial ventilation systems.

Speaking of calf problems, Declan Collins has an update on the BVD eradication programme on page 48; detailing the number of calves testing positive so far in 2024 and what the protocol is when calves test positive for BVD. The key message is that calves that test positive cannot be retested and need to be put down as soon as possible to reduce the risk of spread. It is the failure of farmers with test-positive animals to dispose of them that means the BVD eradication programme is still ongoing.