Slurry spreading: With thoughts now turning to slurry spreading over the next two weeks, there are a few points to note.

If agitating tanks, try to wait for a windy day to disperse slurry gas and never enter a shed when agitating is taking place.

Make sure there is another person around the yard, or at least alert someone that you are completing the job.

Remove all animals from sheds before agitating tanks.

Try and spread slurry on paddocks that are low in P and K, and on silage fields, as these fields have generally the lowest P and K values on the farm.

The spreading period opens up on 13 January in Zone A, 16 January in Zone B and 1 February in Zone C.

Farmyard manure is also included in this.

In order to comply with cross-compliance and environmental regulations you cannot spread chemical fertilisers, livestock manure, soiled water or other organic fertilisers when:

  • The land is waterlogged.
  • The land is flooded, or it is likely to flood.
  • The land is frozen, or covered with snow.
  • Heavy rain is forecast within 48 hours (you must check the weather forecast prior to spreading).
  • You cannot spread organic fertilisers or soiled water from a road or passageway, even if the road or passageway is on your own holding.
  • This week on Tullamore Farm: Jobs include:

  • Vaccinating February-calving cows against scour. March- and April-calving cows will be vaccinated at a later date.
  • Feeding 0.5kg soya bean meal to early March-calving cows to help colostrum quality.
  • Soya feeding level to be increased to 0.75kg/day to February-calving cows this week.
  • Silage samples have indicated low magnesium levels, so mineral feeding will be increased to 150g/day, three weeks out from calving in all cows.
  • Weighing bull and heifer weanlings to assess performance over the last month.
  • Converting feed passage to calf creep area for calving.
  • Preparing calving pens and checking frozen colostrum supplies.
  • Pricing fertiliser (23 units of urea to be spread at first opportunity).
  • Ewe scanning to take place next week.
  • Dairy Calf to beef: With many farmers looking at suckler economics and the future of the sector, some are looking at the option of dairy beef as an alternative enterprise.

    The advice is to proceed with caution.

    You need to have a hard look at the figures, decide on your system and then set a budget for calf price.

    At current beef prices, the amount of money you can afford to pay for calves of different quality varies greatly.

    The beef genetics currently being used on the dairy herd are not helping the situation, with a higher proportion of dairy beef animals now failing to meet minimum carcase spec.

    Buying healthy calves from a known source is a must and talking to dairy farmers about the merits of beef bulls they are using might also be helpful.