Three of the programme farms operate an autumn-calving setup and the first calves hit the ground early last week.
On all three farms, the autumn herds start calving in late July and generally finish up by mid-September, with peak calving occurring during the first half of August.
The farms also operate spring-calving herds and opt for the split-calving pattern, as it eases labour requirement, makes greater use of housing facilities and is generally better suited to land type.
As cows predominantly calve during August, these animals can be calved outdoors, weather permitting, and can resume grazing within a few days of calves being born.
This reduces the workload, as cows do not require bedding or fodder daily. It also cuts down the risk of newborn calves being exposed to disease.
As calving gets under way, we give a short update on the management for each of the farms this week.
Barry Carty, Garrison, Co Fermanagh
I have 32 cows and eight replacement heifers to calve down this autumn, and things kicked off just over a week ago.
As of the weekend, I have six animals calved, of which four are heifers and two are cows. There was a bit of a setback to begin with, as I lost the first calf born.
However, since then things have been going better, with the cows and heifers calving unassisted.
I brought another 11 cows back home and would expect these animals to be calving inside the next week
If the weather permits, my plan is to leave as many cows as I can outside to calve. Autumn cows have been grazing on out-farms this summer, but have been brought home in groups as they come close to predicted calving date.
Early last week, I brought another 11 cows back home and would expect these animals to be calving inside the next week. As my cows are all bred to AI, I have a good idea of when cows should be calving based on insemination and scanning date. The bulk of cows should calve over the first half of August, all being well.
Once cows calve, they will stay next to the yard for a few days to keep an eye on the calf. Once I am happy the calf is sucking and healthy, I will group cows in batches of five and move them to graze on out-farms until housing time.
Cows will be supplemented with concentrates to boost milk production and reduce the risk of tetany.
Declan Rafferty and Aidan Quinn, Pomeroy, Co Tyrone
Our autumn-calving herd got off to an earlier start than expected, with a heifer calving ahead of her time on Sunday 19 July.
By the start of the week, just one more cow had calved and had a set of twins. But when checking through the herd, things are likely to get very busy inside the next week, as a lot of animals are on the point of calving. The heifer that calved first also gave birth to a set of twins and calved unassisted.
She had been checked that morning with the rest of the herd and was showing no signs of calving.
However, in a follow-up check that afternoon, she had calved with the twins up on their feet. The heifer was in calf to our Limousin bull, which is thankfully an easy-calving sire.
The bulls are tried and tested, so with autumn cows being fit, they should be able to calve unassisted
There are 30 animals in the autumn herd and our plans are to calve as many as we can outside in the paddocks next to the yard.
The mature cows are calving to our Simmental and Stabiliser stock bulls again this year. The bulls are tried and tested, so with autumn cows being fit, they should be able to calve unassisted.
Once cows have calved, they will be moved to aftergrass on the silage ground.
With high-quality regrowth, this grass really gives cows a boost in terms of milk production and helps maintain body condition.
The autumn cows do not get any concentrate until they are housed, and even then, concentrate levels vary depending on silage quality. With no concentrates being fed at grass, cows are covered for magnesium.
Oliver McKenna,
Eskra, Co Tyrone
The first calf in my autumn herd hit the ground close on two weeks ago, born to a second-calving heifer.
The calf was born slightly early, but is fit, healthy and outside at grass. There are 31 animals in the autumn herd, with 25 cows and six heifers settled in-calf.
All animals are served to AI using a mix of Limousin, Simmental and Stabiliser bulls.
Going by scanning results and insemination dates, the bulk of cows are set to calve down over August, with everything finished up by the second half of September.
Grazing
All cows that are coming up on calving are still grazing outside. To keep animals in a fit condition for calving, dry cows have been cleaning out paddocks after higher-priority stock in a leader-follower system and this has worked really well this year.
Younger stock go into a paddock first and graze off the best of the sward. They are then moved on and the dry cows come in and clean off the stemmy grass.
My plan is to keep these cows outside for calving purposes, as long as the weather and ground conditions allow. However, they can be brought inside with ease when necessary.
Once calved, the autumn cows will become high-priority animals and get the best grass on paddocks surrounding the yard. Cows will be on a grass-only diet up until housing, with minerals fed for tetany prevention.
Read more
Planning for castrating spring-born bulls
Dairy management: how much fertiliser should I spread in August?
Three of the programme farms operate an autumn-calving setup and the first calves hit the ground early last week.
On all three farms, the autumn herds start calving in late July and generally finish up by mid-September, with peak calving occurring during the first half of August.
The farms also operate spring-calving herds and opt for the split-calving pattern, as it eases labour requirement, makes greater use of housing facilities and is generally better suited to land type.
As cows predominantly calve during August, these animals can be calved outdoors, weather permitting, and can resume grazing within a few days of calves being born.
This reduces the workload, as cows do not require bedding or fodder daily. It also cuts down the risk of newborn calves being exposed to disease.
As calving gets under way, we give a short update on the management for each of the farms this week.
Barry Carty, Garrison, Co Fermanagh
I have 32 cows and eight replacement heifers to calve down this autumn, and things kicked off just over a week ago.
As of the weekend, I have six animals calved, of which four are heifers and two are cows. There was a bit of a setback to begin with, as I lost the first calf born.
However, since then things have been going better, with the cows and heifers calving unassisted.
I brought another 11 cows back home and would expect these animals to be calving inside the next week
If the weather permits, my plan is to leave as many cows as I can outside to calve. Autumn cows have been grazing on out-farms this summer, but have been brought home in groups as they come close to predicted calving date.
Early last week, I brought another 11 cows back home and would expect these animals to be calving inside the next week. As my cows are all bred to AI, I have a good idea of when cows should be calving based on insemination and scanning date. The bulk of cows should calve over the first half of August, all being well.
Once cows calve, they will stay next to the yard for a few days to keep an eye on the calf. Once I am happy the calf is sucking and healthy, I will group cows in batches of five and move them to graze on out-farms until housing time.
Cows will be supplemented with concentrates to boost milk production and reduce the risk of tetany.
Declan Rafferty and Aidan Quinn, Pomeroy, Co Tyrone
Our autumn-calving herd got off to an earlier start than expected, with a heifer calving ahead of her time on Sunday 19 July.
By the start of the week, just one more cow had calved and had a set of twins. But when checking through the herd, things are likely to get very busy inside the next week, as a lot of animals are on the point of calving. The heifer that calved first also gave birth to a set of twins and calved unassisted.
She had been checked that morning with the rest of the herd and was showing no signs of calving.
However, in a follow-up check that afternoon, she had calved with the twins up on their feet. The heifer was in calf to our Limousin bull, which is thankfully an easy-calving sire.
The bulls are tried and tested, so with autumn cows being fit, they should be able to calve unassisted
There are 30 animals in the autumn herd and our plans are to calve as many as we can outside in the paddocks next to the yard.
The mature cows are calving to our Simmental and Stabiliser stock bulls again this year. The bulls are tried and tested, so with autumn cows being fit, they should be able to calve unassisted.
Once cows have calved, they will be moved to aftergrass on the silage ground.
With high-quality regrowth, this grass really gives cows a boost in terms of milk production and helps maintain body condition.
The autumn cows do not get any concentrate until they are housed, and even then, concentrate levels vary depending on silage quality. With no concentrates being fed at grass, cows are covered for magnesium.
Oliver McKenna,
Eskra, Co Tyrone
The first calf in my autumn herd hit the ground close on two weeks ago, born to a second-calving heifer.
The calf was born slightly early, but is fit, healthy and outside at grass. There are 31 animals in the autumn herd, with 25 cows and six heifers settled in-calf.
All animals are served to AI using a mix of Limousin, Simmental and Stabiliser bulls.
Going by scanning results and insemination dates, the bulk of cows are set to calve down over August, with everything finished up by the second half of September.
Grazing
All cows that are coming up on calving are still grazing outside. To keep animals in a fit condition for calving, dry cows have been cleaning out paddocks after higher-priority stock in a leader-follower system and this has worked really well this year.
Younger stock go into a paddock first and graze off the best of the sward. They are then moved on and the dry cows come in and clean off the stemmy grass.
My plan is to keep these cows outside for calving purposes, as long as the weather and ground conditions allow. However, they can be brought inside with ease when necessary.
Once calved, the autumn cows will become high-priority animals and get the best grass on paddocks surrounding the yard. Cows will be on a grass-only diet up until housing, with minerals fed for tetany prevention.
Read more
Planning for castrating spring-born bulls
Dairy management: how much fertiliser should I spread in August?
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