Action two carries a payment rate of €30/calf weighed to a maximum of 100 calves. This means that only calves from a cow/calf unit that have met the criteria of action one, weighing, will be eligible for payment. Within action two, farmers had to select either meal feeding of calves pre- and post-weaning or vaccination of calves for respiratory diseases.

Last week’s article on option one, meal feeding of calves, which was selected by more than 80% of applicants, can be found online at www.farmersjournal.ie.

In order to qualify for payment for the vaccination option, the scheme outlines that calves must be:

  • Born in the herd of the applicant between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020.
  • Born from a suckler cow and sired by a beef breed bull. The bull does not need to be purebred.
  • In the ownership and possession of the applicant since birth and maintained on the holding.
  • Tagged and registered within 27 days of birth.
  • Vaccination

    The vaccination option is designed to help protect against the main causes of pneumonia in calves around the time of weaning. These are respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza-3 (PI-3), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and Mannheimia haemolytica (pasturella pneumonia).

    There are two vaccination protocols outlined in the terms and conditions to choose from. The main difference between them is that protocol one covers calves against RSV, PI-3 and IBR and can be administered in one handling of stock, while protocol two has the addition of a pasturella vaccination, but requires a second handling prior to weaning.

    Protocol one

  • Single RSV and PI-3 intranasal two to four weeks before weaning/housing/sale.
  • At the same time, a single (or two-dose programme) IBR live intra-muscular injection.
  • Protocol two

  • First subcutaneous injection of RSV, PI-3 and pasturella dead, six to eight weeks before weaning/housing/sale.
  • Second subcutaneous injection of RSV, PI-3 and pasturella dead, two to four weeks before weaning/housing/sale.
  • At the same time as the second injection, a single IBR live intra-muscular.
  • Veterinary advice

    When it comes to vaccines it can get very confusing for farmers to know what the best approach may be.

    Some vaccines are live, others are dead. Some only require one dose while others require two.

    Advice should be sought from your local vet to select the best suited vaccination programme for your farm’s needs.

    If farmers are going to the trouble and expense of vaccinating calves, it is important that the calf is actually getting the full benefit of doing so.

    The handling, storage and administration of vaccines needs to be carefully managed and carried out as outlined by the manufacturer. Where a live vaccine is being used, once it is mixed you will only have a short time frame in which to use it effectively.

    No vaccination offers 100% coverage against disease and should be used in conjunction with good weaning management of calves.

    Action three: liver fluke faecal egg testing

    The final action of the BEEP-S programme is action three, liver fluke faecal egg testing of suckler cows. This is an optional action and carries a payment rate of €10/cow to a maximum of 100 cows.

    In order to qualify for payment for this action, it is important to meet the following criteria:

  • Samples must be collected and submitted for analysis before 1 November 2020.
  • Samples must be sent to an approved laboratory listed in Table 1.
  • All faecal samples collected must be fresh.
  • Collection of faecal samples

    Prior to sampling, participants need to contact one of the approved laboratories to request a sampling pack and arrange a payment procedure. Samples must be submitted in a screw cap plastic container. Push on caps are not suitable as gas production in the sample may cause the cap to come off and lead to spillages.

    Ideally, cows should be placed in a clean pen with faecal samples collected directly into the container. Where this is not possible, animals can be closely observed and faeces picked up off the ground as soon as they are passed.

    Farmer safety should be carefully considered here. Do not work alone, where possible. Avoid having large numbers of cows in the pen and make sure if you are picking up samples off the ground that cows are a safe distance away from where the sample is.

    Using gloves, collect faecal samples from at least 10 different faecal deposits placing them in 10 separate containers. If you have less than 10 cows then you will just require one sample from each cow. You do not need to fill each container. A heaped teaspoonful is an adequate sample size to submit.

    You will also need to complete a submission form that will be sent out with the sampling kit, place it and all filled containers in a jiffy bag, and mark as “biological sample” before posting back to the laboratory.

    Samples should be clearly labelled and correspond to the correct animal tag number. Include any relevant information such as clinical signs of liver fluke if present, as well as details of any prior treatment.

    Samples should be posted on the day of sampling or at the latest the day after sampling. Where possible, avoid posting samples on a Thursday or Friday as these will be left in the post over the weekend.

    Where samples are collected on a Saturday, you can store them in a fridge not used for domestic purposes and post on Monday. Do not freeze samples or leave in direct sunlight.

    The results will then be sent to you directly. It is important to use the information to correctly treat cows where it is deemed necessary. Speak to your vet for the best course of action.