Last Tuesday and Wednesday night, Animal Health Ireland ran two beef health events in Claremorris and Tullamore. The evenings were organised in conjunction with Teagasc, the Irish Farmers Journal and Veterinary Ireland, and were sponsored by Bord Bia.

Roscommon and Galway-based vets John Gilmore and Conor Geraghty spoke on parasite control and pneumonia in cattle. Gilmore outlined the damage which can be caused by parasites and the protocol to follow when creating a dosing strategy for the farm.

Geraghty spoke about the causes of pneumonia at farm level and how farmers can reduce the risk of an outbreak occurring.

Teagasc research officer Mark McGee discussed cow and calf nutrition, and how it can impact calf health. He focused on the importance of body condition scoring and nutrition during and after calving, and how these also affect cow and calf health. He also outlined the importance of colostrum quality and ensuring calves receive a minimum of two litres of colostrum in the first few hours of life to build up their immune system.