Straw supplies

Straw supplies are extremely tight throughout the country, and where it can be sourced prices are extremely high with 4x4 round bales trading at €50 and 8x4x3 bales trading at €100 and above. As we are entering the calving season, it’s important to try not to skimp on straw as the knock-on effect will be increased disease pressure, especially on young calves. Calving boxes and creep should be well bedded and frequently cleaned out to prevent naval infections and scours.

Where straw supplies are tight, look at ways of stretching what you have. Chopping straw will increase the absorption rate by 10-15%. Alternative bedding can also be used, with some farmers opting to use miscanthus straw or woodchip as a base layer and adding a layer of cereal straw on top. For autumn calving herds, giving calves access to a sheltered field adjoining the creep area will help reduce straw usage. For later calving autumn cows, this may also be beneficial to get the oestrous cycle going again.

Hygiene at calving

Starting out, everyone aims for good hygiene practices during calving, but as time slips on, we tend to become more complacent which is when disease and infection can creep in. As mentioned above, straw and plenty of it will go a long way to keeping infection at bay. Calving pens should be cleaned out after every cow passes through them. Some farmers are a lover of power washing in sheds, but you need to remember that wet areas are a greater harbour of bacteria than dry floors and walls.

Only power wash pens where there is sufficient time to allow the pens to dry in between cows calving. Pens should be disinfected, with white lime being one of the most common and cost-effective disinfectants. Spread it amply on the floor, walls, gates and barriers and if possible leave it a while before bedding with straw. Calving jacks, ropes, stomach tubes and teat bottles should be thoroughly washed and disinfected between uses. A helpful tip is to place calving ropes in a jam jar of disinfectant between uses.

Slurry spreading

Farmers in Zone C (Donegal, Leitrim, Cavan and Monaghan) can now legally spread slurry, though ground conditions may not allow this. If you are coming under pressure with slurry and ground conditions remain tricky it may be a case of lowering tanks until weather and ground conditions improve. Dry fields with a cover of grass between 500-1,000kg DM/ha can be targeted with slurry using LESS equipment. The cover of grass will help prevent excessive damage and the use of LESS will reduce the contamination levels. Farmers must not spread when the land is waterlogged, flooded or likely to flood, frozen or covered with snow or heavy rain is forecast within 48 hours.

A buffer zone of 10m from watercourses must be maintained in the two weeks after the slurry spreading period opens. After the two-week period, a 5m buffer zone must be maintained.