Now is the winter of our discontent. It truly has been an exceptional winter thus far, and we can appreciate it even more having had difficult weather conditions to contend with throughout the summer.

It is the polar opposite now with regard to the dairy and suckler herds on-farm. The dairy herd is in the process of drying off, with the earliest-calving cows being continually taken out. The autumn-calving suckler herd is well on the way to having all calved, with only a few remaining.

There is now ample opportunity to treat cattle for fluke and worms, and to vaccinate against various diseases – all of which are currently ongoing. Cows are getting the lot – a fluke and worm dose and vaccinations for leptospirosis and BVD. Calves are also getting an intranasal vaccination against pneumonia.

Prevention is better than cure

Vaccinations are very important on-farm. After all, prevention is better than cure. With regard to the pneumonia vaccination, it is easily administered, but the calf must be at least nine days old. The vaccine comes in two vials – powder and liquid – and must be reconstituted before administration. The five-calf dose then must be used immediately.

This is where compact calving becomes important. If five calves are born in a relatively short period of time, then it becomes straightforward to carry out a vaccination programme as I can reconstitute the vaccine and do not have to dispose of any unused substance.

A 470kg bull is penalised

Fifteen bulls were sent to the factory recently. These were mainly Friesian, with a Charolais/Angus and a Charolais/Simmental thrown into the mix. They came in at U- and U=, weighing 365kg and 470kg carcase weight respectively. The Friesians all graded R’s and O’s, weighing from 365kg to 265kg.

The aforementioned U= Charolais/Simmental bull was penalised for being overweight, coming in at €3.60/kg (in comparison with the lower quality U- at €3.70/kg). This was the first animal we sent to the factory in a long time that was not machine-graded. It was graded by a factory operative. It is important that farmers check their statement for this and contact the factory if there are any queries.

Split calving

While it is a quieter time on-farm, split calving means that there are two calving seasons as well as two breeding seasons. For one thing, you wouldn’t be short of work. The first of the jobs which requires a bit of mental motivation will be undertaken this Saturday – disbudding calves. A local anaesthetic will be used as the calves are over two weeks of age. If they are under two weeks, I am not required to use anaesthetic, but I would anyway.