Calving: As most farmers are in the midst of the main burst of calving, with close to 50% calved on many farms, it’s important to take a step back and assess how things are going.

How many cases of milk fever, mastitis or calf scour have there been? How does this compare to normal or to target? What are the root causes of these issues and can they be overcome?

Simple things like cleaning out calving pens regularly, making sure calves are getting enough high-quality colostrum and keeping cubicle beds clean and disinfected can make a big difference.

As the weather turns wet and cows will be housed more, the chances of mastitis, injuries and hurts increase.

That’s the hand we’ve been dealt and all farmers can do is their best to try and work through situations.

Talk to others about how to resolve problems as more often than not someone else is going through or has gone through a similar experience.

As the weeks roll on, fatigue builds up. This affects decision-making and clear thinking. It’s easier said than done, but prioritising sleep, when you can, will be good for the farmer and good for the farm.

Calves: With no export trade this week due to rough seas, the demand for Friesian bull calves has fallen.

This is good news for beef farmer buyers as their margin will increase when calf prices fall. For dairy farmers, low demand may mean hanging on to calves until such time as the exporters are back in business.

Once-a-day milk feeding can be a useful labour-saving tool. Feed 3l to 4l of milk in one feed and give calves access to fresh water at all times. Other feeds such as hay or straw and importantly meal should be given daily.

Stale meal should be removed from troughs daily and given to other stock.

Avoid overcrowding sheds at all costs. Where pens are full, find alternative housing. Some farmers put gates around pens of a slatted shed and bed the pen with straw. Others create small pens in central feed passages or anywhere there’s shelter and is draught free.

Calf housing in these emergency situations doesn’t have to be fancy to be effective. Long-term, farmers should plan to have enough housing for all calves born on the farm.

Weather: As we go to print, the forecast is that Storm Eunice will bring high winds, heavy rain and potentially snow on Thursday night and into Friday.

Check that generators are working in the event of a power cut. Have them out and ready to go as power outages during storms are a regular occurrence. Preparing for snow can be even more difficult. Memories of previous snow events at this time of year will still be fresh in the mind.

While this storm is unlikely to be as severe as previous ones, snow will still cause problems. It gets in everywhere and causes straw-bedded sheds to become very wet very quickly.

Cover as many openings to calf sheds as is possible to reduce the amount of snow getting in. Have enough feed and fuel in stock to avoid requiring deliveries during the bad weather.