Breeding: This week’s Focus is on breeding with some must-read articles on synchronisation, sire advice and the use of triple-mix semen straws.

First things first, Teagasc research has shown that herds that don’t use fixed-time AI synchronisation in heifers tend to have better conception rates, with a 5% improvement in conception rate to AI compared to fully synchronised herds.

However, the researchers also say that because of the possibility of higher submission rates on day one of the breeding season, it should be possible to have 80% of heifers pregnant by day 21 of the breeding season when repeats are taken into account. The study also found that sexed semen reduces conception rate by 10% on a relative basis, meaning it was 90% as good as conventional semen.

The actual differences in conception rate are much smaller. There is a research update on heterospermic AI, which is commonly known as triple mix or the use of three AI bulls in the one straw. The researchers found improved calving rate where triple mix was used, but this was primarily where underlying fertility wasn’t good. In other words: where fertility and heat detection is good, there was little benefit of triple mix.

Pre-breeding: There are less than three weeks to go before 1 May, the traditional start of the breeding season for many farmers. With that in mind, now is the time to start pre-breeding heat detection.

The more information that is available on non-cycling cows by the start of the breeding season, the sooner they can be treated and the better the chance of getting them in calf. Many farmers do light-touch heat detection in the pre-breeding period. This entails tail painting all cows on day one and topping up the tail paint every five or six days on any cows that have paint remaining. By the end of the pre-breeding period, only the cows that have paint still on will be the ones that need to be checked out.

It’s likely that only some of these animals will need treatment and most will just need more time. Most farmers tend to get the vet to scan these cows and they can prescribe whatever treatment is necessary. Now is also a good time to go through the cows and assign any thin cows to once-a-day treatment to give them time to build up condition in advance of breeding.

Grass: The situation with grass is changing by the day. Conditions are still tough in many parts, with many herds housed for periods over the weekend. In general though, the situation is improving and there are good drying opportunities.

The thing to watch out for is a cold spell, which is common in April. This can knock back growth rates by quite a bit and is probably more of a concern on farms that have already started the second rotation.

They need higher growth rates to at least match demand. I see the Teagasc target for average farm cover has shifted to not less than 650kg DM/ha in April, which is sensible given how variable growth rates can be in April. The key thing is to monitor grass growth rates regularly over the coming weeks.