Performance
On many beef farms animals don’t perform well over the winter. This can be due to a number of reasons – inadequate lying space, not enough feeding space, poor ventilation, parasites not managed correctly. One area that has a huge impact is nutrition and correct feeding of animals to maximise performance when indoors. I have seen weanlings coming out of sheds in March lighter than they were when housed in December on many occasions and this is a massive drag on profit. Table 1 outlines the feeding requirements for weanlings, store cattle and finishing cattle for different silage qualities in the coming months. While silage quality should be good this year, the only way to know exactly is to get it tested. Your feed representative should be able to organise this for you. The table demonstrates the importance of good silage in reducing winter feed costs.
While it’s too late to do anything about silage quality, you can make sure you supplement correctly to maximise performance. The extra feeding cost of having 60DMD silage rather than 70 DMD silage is €1,500 across 30 weanlings for a 120-day winter. The cost of not supplementing correctly is greater. If we take 30 weanlngs gaining 0.2kg/day v 0.6kg/day that equates to a €3,600 loss across 30 weanlings for a 120-day winter if weanlings are worth €2.50/kg. It will pay to sit down and get feeding levels right this winter.
Pneumonia
I’ve heard a couple of reports of bad outbreaks of pneumonia in purchased cattle over the last few days. Managing cattle correctly after purchase is critical to reducing stress and outbreaks of disease. When purchased, animals should be put into a well-ventilated bedded shed for a few days to settle. Wait a week or two to handle again for clipping, dosing etc. If housing grazing cattle, try to house on a dry day if at all possible. Our pneumonia video series can be accessed online at ifj.ie/pneumonia using the unique code printed on the back of Irish County Living.
Workload
With housing taking place on many farms this week, this coincides with increased workload. This increases pressure, especially for part time operators in the mornings before work. Have a look around the yard and see if you can simplify things to make the work required more streamlined. Have you enough lights in the yard and sheds? If bales are away from yard, can you transport them at weekends to save time during the week? Can you fill meal buckets the previous evening to save time at morning feeding?
Read more
Weekly vet view: unlocking the potential of fresh air
Tackling pneumonia: treatments and best practice when purchasing weanlings
Watch: tackling pneumonia by minimising stress and managing lungworm
Performance
On many beef farms animals don’t perform well over the winter. This can be due to a number of reasons – inadequate lying space, not enough feeding space, poor ventilation, parasites not managed correctly. One area that has a huge impact is nutrition and correct feeding of animals to maximise performance when indoors. I have seen weanlings coming out of sheds in March lighter than they were when housed in December on many occasions and this is a massive drag on profit. Table 1 outlines the feeding requirements for weanlings, store cattle and finishing cattle for different silage qualities in the coming months. While silage quality should be good this year, the only way to know exactly is to get it tested. Your feed representative should be able to organise this for you. The table demonstrates the importance of good silage in reducing winter feed costs.
While it’s too late to do anything about silage quality, you can make sure you supplement correctly to maximise performance. The extra feeding cost of having 60DMD silage rather than 70 DMD silage is €1,500 across 30 weanlings for a 120-day winter. The cost of not supplementing correctly is greater. If we take 30 weanlngs gaining 0.2kg/day v 0.6kg/day that equates to a €3,600 loss across 30 weanlings for a 120-day winter if weanlings are worth €2.50/kg. It will pay to sit down and get feeding levels right this winter.
Pneumonia
I’ve heard a couple of reports of bad outbreaks of pneumonia in purchased cattle over the last few days. Managing cattle correctly after purchase is critical to reducing stress and outbreaks of disease. When purchased, animals should be put into a well-ventilated bedded shed for a few days to settle. Wait a week or two to handle again for clipping, dosing etc. If housing grazing cattle, try to house on a dry day if at all possible. Our pneumonia video series can be accessed online at ifj.ie/pneumonia using the unique code printed on the back of Irish County Living.
Workload
With housing taking place on many farms this week, this coincides with increased workload. This increases pressure, especially for part time operators in the mornings before work. Have a look around the yard and see if you can simplify things to make the work required more streamlined. Have you enough lights in the yard and sheds? If bales are away from yard, can you transport them at weekends to save time during the week? Can you fill meal buckets the previous evening to save time at morning feeding?
Read more
Weekly vet view: unlocking the potential of fresh air
Tackling pneumonia: treatments and best practice when purchasing weanlings
Watch: tackling pneumonia by minimising stress and managing lungworm
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