Rearing beef calves: some farmers have been asking about the merits of feeding whole milk to calves this year rather than milk replacer.

The cost differences on a per litre basis of mixed milk replacer versus whole milk are not much, at least at base milk price. So it comes down to set up, labour and facilities.

On farms with high fat and protein percentge, their base price will be higher and so too is the quality of their milk. So, to compare like with like, a little bit less milk could be fed to deliver the same nutrition. The other thing some farmers are asking about is whether it pays to feed whole milk to bull calves for longer?

The thinking is that milk price is low and calf prices are high, so does it make more sense to put the milk into calves, let them grow and then sell them for more money?

I’ve looked at the calf price data from marts for the first half of 2025 and compared calf price at less than three weeks of age and calf price at between three and six weeks of age for Angus male calves.

The average sale price of calves less than three weeks of age was €283, while the average sale price of calves between three and six weeks of age was €362, a difference of €79. Presuming calves are fed on the farm for an extra three weeks, they will consume 6l/day of milk costing say 36c/l, which equates to a total milk cost of €45.36/head.

If we say both meal and straw costs come to €10/head and extra labour comes to another €10/head, the total cost of keeping calves for three weeks longer is €65.36/head. This leaves a margin of just less than €14/head.

The cost of having extra housing available is not factored in, nor is the extra risk of disease or a TB outbreak. In short, keeping calves on the farm for longer to increase the value of the milk will be a high risk, low margin game presuming the price difference between older and younger calves remains the same in 2026 as it was in 2025.

Fertiliser: confusion still reigns over the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and whether it is applied to fertiliser being sold in Ireland now or not.

By all accounts, the vast majority of fertiliser in the country was imported in 2025, so will be exempt from CBAM tariffs. What happens when this fertiliser is used up remains to be seen.

With little or no communication from the Government or the EPA, who will administer CBAM, farmers will be left in the dark and at the mercy of merchants to act honestly. There needs to be more clarity on the subject.

While the weather is too wet for spreading now, soil temperatures are over 6°C in all locations and grass growth rates are looking pretty good for the time of year in high single digits.

While there is more rain in the forecast for next week and then the possibility of cold weather moving in, it looks like nitrogen will stay in the bag for another while.

However, that’s not to say that farmers shouldn’t be prepared and have the fertiliser in the yard and the spreader ready for the right weather window to get nitrogen out.