At this stage, everyone should do an assessment of the amount of feed available on the farm.

As a rule of thumb, to calculate the amount of silage in a pit, measure the length x breadth x settled height in metres and divide by 1.35 to get tonnes equivalent.

A round bale of silage will have between 700kg and 800kg of silage in it, depending on how well packed it was and how dry the grass was at baling.

A dry cow will need about 1.2t per month, while a weanling will need about 0.7t per month.

Fleshed continental cows can be fed some straw as part of the dry cow diet and this may help in increasing the dry matter of the diet where very wet silage is being fed.

Feeding extra meal to weanlings could be a cheaper option when compared to purchasing wet silage.

ICBF bull finder

ICBF has this week launched a new bull finder search on its website.

This new tool allows farmers search for bulls with specific criteria in specific areas.

So if you want a five-star terminal Charolais bull in Roscommon, you type this into the website and you get a list of the bulls that meet the criteria along with the breeder’s contact details.

Searches can be tailored to meet the purchaser’s demands and you can choose breed along with location.

Only bulls that have passed a WHRP inspection/visit by ICBF are included in the list so purchasers can be confident of the data on the bulls.

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Listen: 1m cattle Mercosur beef offer on the table