The second half of December and first few weeks of January are the closest to a structured working day on this farm. For these weeks, cattle are generally in the same group, feeding is the same and routine is order of the day.

That will all change within two weeks as the first group of cows to calve will be moved towards the calving house. Necessary changes and repairs have been made to calving facilities and all that is left to do is to free up space there. The main group calving pen is also the straw shed, so remaining bales will be moved to free up this space and, likewise, any few pieces in the feed passage will be moved.

Rotavirus vaccines will be given to those nearest calving next week with cows also receiving a pneumonia shot as they move to the calving pen. Both types of virus have hit here during previous calving seasons so prevention is a must.

The herd health plan was completed for 2016 earlier this week. This is the fourth one completed here and is one huge positive from the BTAP discussion group scheme. One of the most important things to do when completing it is get off the farm. Make an appointment with your vet as a separate call or visit. Go to the vet’s office or your own kitchen but just get away from the yard to complete it.

Listen in as Tommy Moyles discusses his health plan with his vet in our podcast below:

This might sound stupid, but you are better off getting away from any potential distractions and focusing on the job at hand. Each year, the visit gets shorter as it’s a review of the previous year’s plan and any new incidents that may have occurred. We started off going through any standout health issues from 2015.

Two calves had died. One with a liver issue and the other due to pneumonia on a very exposed hill when strong northerly winds hit and shelter was scarce.

It is now routine here to do an annual blood analysis. This began independently of the health plan but now forms a core part of it. Three animals from the home block and three that were on the rented ground had blood samples taken in early December when they were all back in one yard.

They were randomly picked, in this case the first three out the door from each group. This is done to check for any mineral issues mainly and also for any signs of damage on their livers.

Fluke issues showed up in one group and that land block now has to be treated differently in terms of fluke treatments rather than all animals in the herd getting a blanket dose. Vaccines were also run through to see what could be dropped.

BVD will be first to go but only when the country is clear of it. I am heading into my fifth year of BVD tissue-sampling and it is costing me just over €10/ha instead of that being €10/ha extra profit or €10 that can’t be reinvested in the business.

But with almost 1,600 PI cattle still on farms, what could have been sorted in three years is now going to drag.

The cost of the tissue-sampling for those who took part in the voluntary phase should now be compensated rather than those holding the rest of us to ransom.

BVD could have been easily eradicated but the wide variances in farmer attitudes wasn’t considered by those implementing it. Before rumoured talks of IBR eradication are to take place, BVD eradication needs to be completed first.