On pages 36 to 38, the Irish Farmers Journal buildings specialist Martin Merrick reports from the farm of Liam Roche from Mitchelstown in Co Cork, where an impressive new calf-rearing facility has been built.

The Cork farmer is well-known for attention to detail when it comes to construction and the calf facilities are no different. With the sheds capable of rearing 280 calves, it’s an impressive set-up, as detailed on pages 36 to 38.

On pages 40 and 41, sheep and schemes editor Darren Carty reports from the Bord Bia meat market forum, where information on calf exports was a key talking point. Darren says that the Dutch market was the primary market for calves in 2025 and that this is set to continue in 2026.

The new rules on IBR come into place in the Netherlands in July, so what happens after that remains to be seen. However, with growing demand for Irish calves in Spain, the threats to the live export trade from a ban in the Netherlands will not be as catastrophic as would have been the case five or 10 years ago.

Budget

On pages 42 and 43, deputy editor Adam Woods has the all-important low-down on the dairy calf to beef budget. This is a must-do exercise for anyone thinking of buying calves this spring. Adam’s budget highlights historic highs when it comes to net margin after all costs and labour are taken into account from rearing dairy calves through to beef.

Of course, there are a number of caveats and probably the main one is around animal performance and feed usage. If a lot more feed is used or if animals don’t perform as expected then the financial performance from the system will be in jeopardy. Getting good performance is the subject of my piece on pages 44 and 45, with a step-by-step guide for those new to dairy calf to beef systems.

Meanwhile, on pages 48 and 49 Natasha Ferguson reports from Omagh mart calf sale.