There will be over 1.6 million calf births on Irish beef and dairy farms over the next few months.

It’s the busiest time of year on livestock farms and while the vast majority of cows will calve unassisted, some will require assistance.

Knowing what to do in that situation is key. We talked to Donal Lynch, the Tullamore Farm vet, about those difficult calving cases, what to do to prevent them, how to get the calf out alive and then how to keep the calf alive once they are on the ground.

We also talked to Tullamore Farm manager Shaun Diver about how he plans calving 90 cows in the next 10 weeks on the farm.

Dairy editor Aidan Brennan visited Gurteen College in Co Tipperary, where 250 dairy cows will calve over the next few months. He talked dry cow management, calving cows and calf management with the farm manager and other Gurteen College staff.

Our next webinar takes place on Wednesday 16 February and we will be talking about slurry application and fertiliser plans for dairy and beef farms over the next few weeks.