Last week a special meeting was held in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim which focused on contract rearing dairy heifers. Tom Coll from Teagasc said over the past number of years he has been getting a lot of enquiries from both dairy farmers and drystock farmers about different contract rearing arrangements. He said these arrangements definitely have a place on some drystock farms and could be a way to boost incomes and help cashflow in the slack months of the year. “We are not pushing suckler farmers into this and it certainly is not for everyone but there is no reason it could not work alongside a suckler enterprise” according to Tom.

He outlined some of the credentials required to be a good contract rearer. “Land type should be suitable for reaching weight targets at low cost, otherwise it is probably a no go” he explained.

“You need to be able to grow and manage grass well to be successful, not only to increase your margin but also to ensure you retain clients” Tom said.

Weight targets are an important part of heifer rearing, for example, at six months of age replacement heifers should be 30% of their mature weight and at 15 months they should be 60% of their mature weight. The main aim of rearing replacement heifers is to manage them in such a way that they will be able to calve down at 24 months (overall target). Tom explained that this is a relatively short period and every step along the way in the rearing process can have consequences for reaching that overall target. He said there are five different stages in the heifer rearing process including:

1. Calf rearing

2. First summer at grass

3. First winter

4. Second summer at grass

5. Second winter pre –calving

Arrangements vary depending on what suits the heifer rearer and what suits the dairy farmer. The good thing is there are options available and rearers do not necessarily have to be involved in every stage. Payment rates and variable costs also fluctuate. Tom said typical payment rates were in the region of €1.30 to €1.40 per head per day. Higher rates are usually paid for the more costly periods such as the calf rearing stage or the second winter. Some farmers at the meeting felt these rates were not enough to meet the costs and labour requirement involved in the process. However, Tom pointed out that some contract rearers are negotiating higher payment rates for jobs well done. This is where a clear contract rearing agreement needs to be drawn up so that both parties know who is responsible for the different costs involved in the rearing process. Some agreements have bonus structures in place when targets are exceeded and penalties if certain targets are not met.

Dairy farmer experience

Joseph Dunphy, who comes from a family run 285 dairy farm in Easkey, Co Sligo said there are a number of reasons why dairy farmers are looking at the contract rearing option presently. He said with quotas now a thing of the past cow numbers have gone up but dairy farmer numbers have stayed the same. With the greater number of cows there is a lot more happening on farms. This is putting greater pressure on farm labour.

By outsourcing heifer rearing, there should be fewer groups of animals on the farm to take care of and dairy farmers can pay more attention to the main herd of cows. Less livestock groups usually mean better grass utilisation and in turn, better grass growth. Joseph also explained why some dairy farmers are slow to make the move to contract rearing.

“The heifers are very valuable livestock and it can be difficult for farmers to let go and give the responsibility to someone else” he said.

There are also disease risks sending animals to a new farm, a lot of dairy farmers would be used to having a closed herd. During a stint of work experience on a large dairy farm in New Zealand, Joseph could not get over how simple the system was over there.

The farm he worked on, all heifers were contract reared from a young age and came back two years later in calf. He said this was a major help to manage a large herd of cows and he couldn’t see why something similar could not be done back home. After a very busy year in 2016, the Dunphys made enquiries with the local heifer rearing discussion group and they eventually found someone interested in rearing their heifers.

The main reason that they moved to contract rearing was because they felt they could be more profitable with more milking cows. Now with a contract rearer in place the Dunphys will send their 60 weanlings away on 1 November 2018.

The rearer is responsible for getting them to the target weight for breeding in 2019. For their crossbred heifers this target weight is 300kg. The rearer also follows their synchronisation protocol for heifers. The overall in calf target is 95%. This year’s results were very impressive. All of the heifers sent for rearing in April 2017 were returned in calf in January 2018.

Joseph said the main thing they were looking for in a contract rearer was someone that is good at grassland management with good attention to detail. They must also be able to look after livestock to a high standard. In Joseph’s opinion a written agreement is essential so both parties know what is expected of them.

Contract rearer view

At the meeting, beef and sheep farmer John O’Connell from Ballinamore, Co Leitrim described why he started contract rearing heifers. In 2012 he had 30 suckler cows and 80 ewes.

However, he found that during wet years heavy suckler cows were indoors for too long and the income being generated from these cows was diminishing. In 2014 he joined the Teagasc sheep BETTER farm programme and by 2018 sheep numbers increased to 240 head. John had a number of reasons for going down the contract rearing road rather than continuous expansion of sheep numbers. For one, he just had enough winter housing for 240 ewes, to keep more sheep would involve a conversion investment. There was already slatted accommodation for 70 cattle. With contract rearing he could increase output and he hoped profit. Because his farm is heavy in nature, light animals would be more suitable than large suckler cows. He entered into a contract rearing arrangement four years ago and hasn’t looked back since. “The agreement is heifers arrive on the farm on 1 December, they are weighed on arrival, and any heifers under target weight are targeted with extra meal” John explained. “I have a paddock grazing system with the principle of growing grass in three weeks and grazing in three days” he said.

Heifers are artificially inseminated from 1 May for their first service and then the bull is introduced. John said the dairy farmer supplies the bull. He puts a big emphasis on making quality silage so that heifers are continuously growing and gaining weight while indoors. Overall he is happy with the arrangement because of the benefits it has brought to his farm.

Disease

Disease is one of the biggest risks with a contract rearing arrangement. In the agreement both the dairy farmer and the contract rearer should seek the advice of a vet to put an animal health plan in place.

Local Department of Agriculture representative Pat Garvey said heifers should be tested for TB early to avoid issues. “You do not want to be in a position where heifers are calving on your farm with no milking facilities because you are locked up” he warned.

He said contingency plans for such situations need to be in place.