This week’s Focus is all about breeding. The 2019 season has started on many farms, particularly in the south, and over the next few weeks all farmers who calve cows in the spring will be trying to get cows back in calf. Journal vet Tommy Heffernan gives a lowdown on normal cycling activity for cows and outlines some strategies for overcoming problems with the non-cycling cow. He says that now is the time to take action on problem cows.

He says that nutrition has a big part to play in making sure the cow goes back in calf. Guideline supplementation rates for when cows are grazing are outlined in a table in the article. Now that grass intakes are up at 17kg/cow, even cows milking well at 28 litres per day don’t need to be fed any more than 1.1kg of meal.

Matthew Halpin reports on the suckler herd at Kildalton College. The herd of 50 cows is self-contained, with the replacements generated from within the herd. Technical performance is good, with calving interval of 372 days and an average weaning weight of 280kg at seven months of age. About half of the cows will be bred to AI this year, with the rest got by a high-maternal-index bull.

We report from a test of the new Tailpainter device. Designed and manufactured by Ballydesmond, Co Cork-based dairy farmer and AI technician Liam O’Keeffe, the device eliminates the need for farmers to stand up out of the pit to paint cows. Tailpainting can now be done from the pit, making the job safer. Liam says that tailpainting is now safer and faster than before. It’s great to see a good idea coming to market.