Our five Irish Angus calves had a daily liveweight gain of 0.5kg when they were on kale, redstart and 1kg of a 16% protein beef nut in their store period. This proves out-wintering is a viable option for farmers who do not have adequate housing for cattle.
Since the calves have come off the crop, they have been taken off concentrates and are continuing to gain weight and thrive. It is clear that they are getting a lot of compensatory growth. We weighed them on 1 May and they weighed an average of 400kg, meaning they have been putting on 1.2kg/day at grass.
The calves are on good-quality grass and were running with a group of Friesian heifers. However, bulls have been put to the heifers and the two lots have been separated again.
Health
At the beginning of every month, when we weigh the calves we also take a dung sample. This is sent to Animal Health laboratories to be tested for liver fluke, rumen fluke, coccidia and to receive a worm egg count.
The latest results had a low worm egg count and were negative for the rest. We get professional advice on the results of these samples, to see whether they need to be dosed or not.
The process so far
We are really enjoying being a part of this Certified Irish Angus beef school’s competition. We have learned a lot about the beef industry, not only in Ireland but also abroad.
In February, we got the opportunity to travel to the Netherlands as part of this competition. Before we departed for Amsterdam, we visited Bord Bia’s Thinking House in Dublin. We had a unique opportunity to learn how Bord Bia works with Irish food and drink companies to develop and grow their brands and their business.
Abroad
In Amsterdam, we visited Albert Heijn’s head office. Albert Heijn is the biggest supermarket chain in the Netherlands. We also visited Hilton Meats Zaandam, a veal farm and an Albert Heijn supermarket where certified Irish Angus beef is being sold.
In January, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed came to see our Irish Angus calves and we spent the morning discussing our project with him. He was very interested in the out-wintering aspect of our project and our promotion of the Irish Angus breed to dairy farmers. It was a great opportunity to get more advice and an experienced opinion on our work to date.
Events
We have been very busy promoting certified Irish Angus beef and the Irish Angus breed. We had an Irish Angus Easter egg hunt in our school, we have attended both Bandon Mart and Bandon Agricultural Show with our Irish Angus information stand and we have been interviewed by local radio stations.
Our biggest event was a certified Irish Angus beef night which we held in Bandon. We put on a four-course meal with a certified Irish Angus beef theme and the event was attended by 85 people from both the farming and business communities. We raised €1,500 for Cancer Connect.
Read more
Angus blog: calves thriving in west Cork
More Irish Angus calves blogs
Our five Irish Angus calves had a daily liveweight gain of 0.5kg when they were on kale, redstart and 1kg of a 16% protein beef nut in their store period. This proves out-wintering is a viable option for farmers who do not have adequate housing for cattle.
Since the calves have come off the crop, they have been taken off concentrates and are continuing to gain weight and thrive. It is clear that they are getting a lot of compensatory growth. We weighed them on 1 May and they weighed an average of 400kg, meaning they have been putting on 1.2kg/day at grass.
The calves are on good-quality grass and were running with a group of Friesian heifers. However, bulls have been put to the heifers and the two lots have been separated again.
Health
At the beginning of every month, when we weigh the calves we also take a dung sample. This is sent to Animal Health laboratories to be tested for liver fluke, rumen fluke, coccidia and to receive a worm egg count.
The latest results had a low worm egg count and were negative for the rest. We get professional advice on the results of these samples, to see whether they need to be dosed or not.
The process so far
We are really enjoying being a part of this Certified Irish Angus beef school’s competition. We have learned a lot about the beef industry, not only in Ireland but also abroad.
In February, we got the opportunity to travel to the Netherlands as part of this competition. Before we departed for Amsterdam, we visited Bord Bia’s Thinking House in Dublin. We had a unique opportunity to learn how Bord Bia works with Irish food and drink companies to develop and grow their brands and their business.
Abroad
In Amsterdam, we visited Albert Heijn’s head office. Albert Heijn is the biggest supermarket chain in the Netherlands. We also visited Hilton Meats Zaandam, a veal farm and an Albert Heijn supermarket where certified Irish Angus beef is being sold.
In January, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed came to see our Irish Angus calves and we spent the morning discussing our project with him. He was very interested in the out-wintering aspect of our project and our promotion of the Irish Angus breed to dairy farmers. It was a great opportunity to get more advice and an experienced opinion on our work to date.
Events
We have been very busy promoting certified Irish Angus beef and the Irish Angus breed. We had an Irish Angus Easter egg hunt in our school, we have attended both Bandon Mart and Bandon Agricultural Show with our Irish Angus information stand and we have been interviewed by local radio stations.
Our biggest event was a certified Irish Angus beef night which we held in Bandon. We put on a four-course meal with a certified Irish Angus beef theme and the event was attended by 85 people from both the farming and business communities. We raised €1,500 for Cancer Connect.
Read more
Angus blog: calves thriving in west Cork
More Irish Angus calves blogs
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