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Younger, mainly Limousin calves from first and second calvers. Performance of calves is relatively good given the challenging weather.
Cows have access to a couple of magnesium lick buckets in each grazing area.
A batch of older Charolais and Limousin calves. There are 104 live calves on the ground from 102 cows calved.
Priority remains with keeping cows and calves outdoors, with a decision taken to graze areas where yearling steers and heifers should have been grazing.
Cows are unsettled during heavy winterly showers.
Mature cows grazing a fresh paddock. Calving has gone well, with 90% of the herd calved in three weeks.
One of the first paddocks grazed on 13 March. This area received a second allocation of 35 units of nitrogen and while it has greened up, growth remains sluggish.
A paddock grazed during heavy rainfall. Cows and calves have been moved through paddocks quicker and retaining cows outdoors will be touch and go if heavy rain persists.
Newford Farm is contending with challenges on two fronts – grass growth rates are running well behind normal and utilisation of what grass is available has deteriorated significantly in the last week. Last week’s growth rate was recorded at just 11kg DM/ha, only a quarter of the growth rate recorded for the corresponding week in 2017. Demand on this block was running at 26kg DM/ha earlier in the week, when there were about 50 cows and their calves grazing.
Newford Farm is contending with challenges on two fronts – grass growth rates are running well behind normal and utilisation of what grass is available has deteriorated significantly in the last week.
Last week’s growth rate was recorded at just 11kg DM/ha, only a quarter of the growth rate recorded for the corresponding week in 2017. Demand on this block was running at 26kg DM/ha earlier in the week, when there were about 50 cows and their calves grazing.
One of the first paddocks grazed on 13 March. This area received a second allocation of 35 units of nitrogen and while it has greened up, growth remains sluggish.
One of the first paddocks grazed on 13 March. This area received a second allocation of 35 units of nitrogen and while it has greened up, growth remains sluggish.
Farm manager Matthew Murphy described conditions this week as touch and go. Cows were being grazed in 24-hour paddocks, but even with this utilisation was suffering and cows had to be moved slightly quicker from wetter paddocks to limit sward damage.
With the farm cover reducing to just 374kg DM/ha and poor utilisation eating faster into grass reserves, a decision was taken to move a batch of cows and calves to the Tuohy’s outfarm block. There is a good cover of grass on this block, with an average of 1,203kg DM/ha.
It was hoped to get steers turned out here, but a decision has been taken to prioritise grass supplies for cows and calves, and to keep yearling steers and heifers housed for longer. This also contributed to a decision to move a batch of 25 cows and their calves to the Gort Na Habhainn block last week. There is a lower farm cover here of 851kg DM/ha and this batch is currently grazing paddocks which will be closed for silage.
Outside of the three batches of cows and their calves grazing, there is another batch of over 20 cows and calves still remaining indoors. Poor ground conditions mean that these cows will not be turned out for at least a week, with Matthew facing a challenge on the Newford block to keep one batch grazing if ground deteriorates further. There are a few drier paddocks with heavier covers that have been saved from grazing and these will hopefully provide a reprieve for the next week. If heavy rainfall continues, then keeping all cows outdoors will be touch and go.
Priority remains with keeping cows and calves outdoors, with a decision taken to graze areas where yearling steers and heifers should have been grazing.
Priority remains with keeping cows and calves outdoors, with a decision taken to graze areas where yearling steers and heifers should have been grazing.
Calving progress
Calving has slowed significantly, with just five cows left to calve. There are 104 live calves on the ground with a second calf mortality recorded last week. This was a calf which Matthew says was never right from the day it was born and was failing to thrive. The average weight of bull calves born to date is 45kg, with heifer calves averaging 41kg. The breakdown in calving scores shows 82 cows calving unassisted, while 12 required some assistance and eight were recorded as considerable difficulty. There was no calving which required veterinary assistance.
Younger, mainly Limousin calves from first and second calvers. Performance of calves is relatively good given the challenging weather.
Younger, mainly Limousin calves from first and second calvers. Performance of calves is relatively good given the challenging weather.
This is a subscriber-only article
One of the first paddocks grazed on 13 March. This area received a second allocation of 35 units of nitrogen and while it has greened up, growth remains sluggish. 
Priority remains with keeping cows and calves outdoors, with a decision taken to graze areas where yearling steers and heifers should have been grazing. 
Younger, mainly Limousin calves from first and second calvers. Performance of calves is relatively good given the challenging weather. 
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