Patrick Drohan

Co Waterford

Spring has been busy here in Kilmacthomas. I had more cows to calve this year as I am trying to increase my stocking rate. Shed space was a little tight at times but I managed to move cattle around to make extra space and by getting some of the yearling bullocks out to grass.

Thankfully, we only have nine cows left to calve and I have 41 calves on the ground. Calving started in late January and, as I am trying to get my calving tightened up, I hope to finish by the end of April.

Overall, the calving has gone well with only two losses to date. I had an issue with cryptosporidium in some of the earlier born calves. I managed to get my replacement heifers for bulling this year and 25 cows with their calves out to grass during the dry spell last week to help free up housing space.

Cows are being strip grazed to slow down the rotation as grass covers on the home farm are a little low. I will put up a back fence when they get to the next section of the field as the calves will have shelter there. I have good covers of grass on the land where the bullocks are grazing. Hopefully, some of my heifers will get out later this week. I weighed my bullocks and heifers on 14 February and they weighed 403kg and 361 kg, respectively. They grew at 0.87kg and 0.76 kg/day during the winter housing period on first-cut grass silage and 2kg of concentrate from December to mid-January.

Meal was cut to 0.5kg from then until turnout. I spread a bag of urea/acre on most of my land on 10 March and 1.5 bags of CAN/acre on my reseed and some paddocks on my out farm.

Slurry will be spread once paddocks are grazed off. I also purchased a new Limousin stock bull to run with my replacement heifers and suitable cows. He is a five-star bull and a grandson of Willodge Vantastic.