‘There was never more money involved in the whole [weanling and beef] business, the risks were never as high and the amount of money involved [in buying weanlings] is shocking. To to keep the whole thing going everybody needs to get on board and do their end of the job. We will try and do ours as well as we can but it’s a two-way thing and to keep those customers in place we need healthy cattle to work with”.

This was the challenge which set the scene for a good interactive discussion on preparing weanlings for sale at Monday evening’s joint Milford Mart and Teagasc suckler event in Donegal by well-known weanling and cattle buyer Leo Colhoun.

A large crowd of farmers attended the event from the suckler stronghold where mart manager John Stewart explained that producing top-quality, high-value weanlings is the dominant production system. He outlined that farmers in the region are reliant on both local bull beef producers and live exporters and that to ensure this trade remains farmers need to deliver healthy animals.

Teagasc adviser Shane McHugh outlined that many beef producers purchasing top-quality weanlings are witnessing the sum of money invested in buying 10 bulls running in to €20,000 while Leo added that the average truckload of high-value weanlings being exported out of the country has amassed costs in the region of €120,000 to €140,000.

The narrative around healthy weanlings has in recent times focused on vaccination for pneumonia and IBR (Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis). Leo outlines that while vaccination is important for safeguarding the longer-term health of animals it is of much lesser benefit where the basic principles of dosing animals for worms, getting animals accustomed to meal feeding pre-weaning and weaning properly before sale are not adopted.

“The quality of the stock being produced each year is getting better and that is great to see. But there are problems that are creeping up and are becoming more prevalent as time goes on. One of the biggest problems for producers I buy cattle for and the live exporters I talk to is worms and this is where a lot of issues can start from,” said Leo.

Treating worms is best carried out at source or the farm of origin as a worm burden can escalate the stress associated with animals moving in to a new environment and in most cases contending with new herd mates and establishing a pecking order.

“Everybody needs to start with a dosing programme and the one person to bring on board is your vet. It doesn’t matter if you are selling them or keeping them – if you dose properly you will find that animals perform much better and you will have better animals to sell whenever you decide to,” he added.

Leo says that vaccination becomes more important as the year progresses in line with an increasing risk of pneumonia and IBR outbreaks. He cautioned that many live exporters have already stated that they will not be in the market for unvaccinated weanlings from 10 October onwards.

“You are talking about a complete programme – two shots for IBR and RSV. Bluetongue [vaccination] is a different story altogether and what we are talking about now is protecting animals for pneumonia so that customers have confidence and keep buying,” he said.

Creep feeding

Farmers were told that with up to €75 of a payment on offer in the 2026 Beef welfare Scheme, joining should be a ‘no brainer’. Aidan Murray, Teagasc Head of Schemes Unit highlighted that feeding weanlings the advised rate of 1kg concentrates daily for four weeks pre-weaning and 2kg daily for two weeks post-weaning totals in the region of 70kg concentrates per calf.

He said that this costs in the region of €28 per calf and farmers are getting paid €35 under the scheme. The direct costs of concentrate feeding are covered without taking account of the production benefits.

If we assume a conversion rate of 5kg concentrates to 1kg of liveweight gain it will support an increase in the weight at sale of 14kg. At a sale value of €4.50/kg to €5.50/kg it will boost the sale value by €60 to €80 per head at no additional cost.

Leo commented that the percentage of animals being weaned in advance of sale has reduced in recent years. He says that this is a huge disadvantage to buyers as it greatly increases the stress associated with buying animals.

“We should come in to this sale [in Milford] on a Saturday with 300 weanlings in that yard and there should be silence up the yard, not 200 of them balling their heads off. That doesn’t work for everybody’s future – my future, the feed producers, the live exporters and ultimately your future - the calves must be weaned, dosed and vaccinated. No body in their right mind wants to deal with unhealthy cattle”.

Leo concluded by saying: “The price of cattle is the price you can achieve for them on that day. There is no point in talking about your neighbour’s bull that maybe weighed 500kg and sold for €4/kg or €5/kg or €6/kg – that’s no good for you.

“For you to achieve the maximum price possible for your animal, you present them the best you can and in the healthiest state that you can and you will find that your prices will be as good as your neighbour’s or even better because you done your job properly, it’s a simple as that.”

This statement triggered a final discussion and some strong views regarding the practice of dehorning cattle pre-sale. Manager John Stewart commented that cattle with horns are a health and safety risk with Leo adding that cattle should be dehorned in the spring time and not the week you plan to sell them.

“Those calves are under enough stress coming to the mart and mixing with other cattle. Dehorning calves in the previous couple of weeks to bringing them out for sale is an absolute disaster and in my mind you shouldn’t be allowed to present an animal that hasn’t been dehorned and allowed time to heal – if you can’t do that then leave the horns on them.”

Adam Conlon from Carn Vet Clinic advised farmers that the starting point in a dosing programme at this time of year is to take a dung sample to see the level of worms present. For lungworm he cautioned farmers to be aware of the classical symptoms of disease and calves coughing. He said that once you hear that cough, act quickly.

According to Adam, product selection is vital at this time of year. He said that ivermectin-type products such as Ivomec and another product, Levafasc Diamond, should not be used at this time of the year in the face of a lungworm challenge as they bring about too rapid of a kill of worms and actually end up putting the animal under greater stress.

“If you look at your levafasc and your ivermectins, your yellow and your clear doses they are extremely strong, especially on recently weaned animals. They are under enough stress, they may not be scouring just yet but they definitely have a worm burden. Every animal [that hasn’t been treated] has a worm burden, without a doubt. Once they are weaned the worms can work harder on them because their immune system drops. After you do your dung sample the vet will give you a report and advise you on what to give”.

Adam added: “Ivermectin should only really be used in June and July time because the worms aren’t incredibly strong or high at that point but once you go in to August to October there are stronger (higher in number). This time of year you are looking at the likes of your Zerofen, your Albex. You should be looking for a weaker dose”.

Adam says that using a levamisole-based product for lungworm paralyses the parasite and does not kill them. This he says maintains an ability for calves to cough up the worms with greater ease. However he warned that such products give no coverage and commented that an ivermectin-based product can be used three to four weeks later to give longer-term protection and at which stage calves will be developing immunity to lungworm.

Patricia Van Veen, Zoetis told farmers that “dosing and vaccinating calves, starting at least six weeks before weaning and sales, helps ensure immunity is established before the major stress event on your farm and the next stages after sale”.

She added that “as long as calves are healthy dosing and vaccination can happen at the same time” and advised to administer the correct volume for the weight of calves.