Pneumonia

I was speaking to a number of farmers this week who have issues with pneumonia. The change to cold, wet weather at the weekend has probably compounded the issue and it’s important to herd stock on a daily basis. Feeding meal can be a great herding tool, especially if working part-time and time is at a premium in the mornings. If in doubt, take the animal’s temperature, it should be around 37.5-39°C so if it’s higher it will require treatment and consultation with your vet. The key thing is to reduce any stress as much as possible around the weaning procedure, ie no castrating, housing and minimise handling. On Tullamore farm we will be doing a combination of QuietWean tags and gradual weaning, eg taking out five cows from the group at a time.This week’s beef pages see the start of our weaning series, with a specific focus on pneumonia with vet Tommy Heffernan. Over the next few weeks we will be covering everything from identifying pneumonia to treating and managing it on your farm – including online videos.

Grass

Some farms are behind in terms of building grass covers. Spreading fertiliser for grass growth won’t solve this on its own, as nights get colder and days get shorter. See if you can reduce demand by feeding meal to some groups, or housing a group, eg cull cows. This will delay grazing and help build covers. Aim to leave the lightest group of stock, ie weanlings, out the longest – as they will do the least damage if ground conditions deteriorate.

Irish Farmers Journal livestock demos at Ploughing 2018

This year we are partnering with ICBF and Bord Bia to bring you six demos each day. Starting at 10am, there will be a livestock demo on the hour, every hour over the three days. ICBF will present new data on fertility trends in the national suckler herd and how we can use indexes as a tool to increase profit. Bord Bia will present some views on market outlook, give an update on exports so far this year and outline some important promotional work being completed overseas to grow beef and lamb markets. Darren Carty will take a look at some topical items in relation to sheep and forage options. Tommy Heffernan, the Journal vet, will cover some important health topics coming into winter 2018 and how to identify sick animals. Fodder will form a central theme across our demos, so if you have any questions around fodder, health or winter management, call into our stand at the Ploughing Championships at block three, row 12, stand 264 – our livestock team will be there to answer your queries.

BETTER farm beef challenge event

The final open day in the autumn series of farm walks as part of the Teagasc/Irish Farmers Journal BETTER farm beef challenge is being held today (Thursday) on Martin O’Hare’s farm in Louth at 2pm. Fodder, finance and animal health are all covered by Teagasc and Irish Farmers Journal specialists. The event is KT approved and free to attend. Everybody is welcome.