Dairy bulls lift output in Longford

Dairy bred calves can make a contribution to farm output and with the correct management can be tailored to fit, without great difficulties, into existing enterprises.

This was one of the many lessons for participants of the Dairy Calf to Beef Programme at last Tuesday's Technical Information Day in Ballymahon, County Longford.

Despite farming a suckler herd of 70 cows and early and mid-season flocks totalling 230 ewes, Kevin Farrell has managed to successfully implement a dairy calf to beef enterprise without negatively affecting existing enterprises.

''I am trying to drive as much grass growth as possible and utilise it in the best manner to increase total farm output,'' Kevin said.

Operating a dairy calf to beef system is not straightforward. It requires a flexible attitude and the ability to change and adopt practices that best suit the overall farming system.

This approach has shaped the dairy calf enterprise on the Farrell farm to where it stands today and will undoubtedly lead to many more future changes.

Autumn borncalves

As can be imagined there is a very high labour requirement with calving 70 suckler cows and lambing 230 ewes. Purchasing spring born bulls is therefore not an option.

Autumn born calves fit the system best in terms of labour availability for rearing calves. Purchasing at this stage also utilises existing shed space without having to build specialised calf rearing units.

Autumn born calves are also capable of utilising grass much earlier in spring and capitalise on cheap weight gain.

In 2010, Kevin purchased 18 autumn born bulls but this figure has increased to 50 in 2011. Twenty five of the oldest weaned calves are currently at grass by day and housed by night. The remaining 25 calves will be released once weaned sufficiently and eating adequate concentrates. The intention, should weather conditions allow, is to have calves out permanently in early February.

Kevin said that calves quickly settle into a routine of going to grass by day and weather is not an issue. These animals will spend the summer at grass with a target grazing period of 200-230 days. This should leave bulls weighing about 360-390kg at housing.

Improvinggrassland

Autumn 2010 born bulls were turned out to grass in February 2011 and grazed as one batch for the summer months. They were strip grazed using an electric fence and fed 2kg of concentrate throughout the summer.

Kevin stresses the importance of keeping a supply of fresh grass ahead of bulls to keep them content and achieve maximum performance.

Bulls were weighed on 27/09/2011 with an average weight of 333kg giving an average lifetime gain of 0.92kg/day.

When grass quality began to deteriorate from mid-September, meal levels were increased gradually with 4-5kg/head fed by housing in mid-October.

Kevin is hoping that getting 2011 autumn born calves out to grass earlier this year can build on this performance. Plans are already in place to split a large area of grassland into paddocks for grazing through the summer.

Temporary electric fencing will be used with paddocks designed to allow the water troughs move with the stock.

This will provide an opportunity to keep calves moving continuously to fresh grass while a paddock system means dry cows or sheep can be used to graze down paddocks and maintain excellent quality regrowth.

From a management point of view, it also allows calves to be grazed in batches of 25 which facilitates easier feeding at grass.

The focus is on maximising gain from grass but Kevin also feels that there is merit in feeding 1kg meal per head to calves as it keeps calves more content at grass.

Hitting 16 monthtarget

2010 born bulls were weighed on 19/01/2012 and weighed on average 484kg. This represents an average daily gain of 1.26kg since the first weighing or a lifetime gain of 1.03kg/day (assuming birth weight of 45kg).

It is estimated that bulls were gaining about 0.85-1kg per day for a period pre and post housing and that performance has lifted to 1.3-1.4kg since bulls have been transferred onto the ad-lib diet (mid-December).

These bulls have an average DOB of 13/11/2010 and are on track for finishing by 16 months of age. Bulls are currently on ad-lib meals and have access to haylage and silage.

The advice is to remove silage from the diet as it is limiting the dry matter intake and resultantly the overall energy consumed.

Bulls are 40 days on the finishing diet (gaining approx 1.4kg/day) and will be retained on ad-lib meals with only haylage as a fibre source for the next 40 days.

Attention to detail

Attention to detail and prompt action to treat any signs of disease are vital in getting the calves thriving during the rearing stage.

This year, the total milk replacer fed has lifted from about a bag to a bag and a quarter and Kevin feels it has paid dividends and calves are the better for it.

Calves receive 1kg of meal pre weaning and this is stepped up to 2kg post weaning. This will be cut back to 1kg per head when calves enter the main grazing season. Weaned calves are approximately 100kg at weaning.

Kevin purchased a mixture of calves from the mart and directly off farm. He feels the calves bought directly off farm have done slightly better.

Some of the calves purchased in the mart experienced slight problems with pneumonia, something he feels can be attributed to higher stress levels. Calves have come out of this and have performed adequately since.