Scanners are reporting low empty rates in cows so far this year.

Myles McDermot from Carlow scans cows from the east to the west of the country and said that the average empty rate so far is 7% to 8%.

“Most farmers will admit it’s one of the better years. I do dairy mostly and they were all fed well this year and in prime condition for breeding,” he said.

Brendan Bergin from Freshford in Kilkenny said that last year there were a lot more empty cows. Bergin says his average empty rate this year is around 10 to 11%.

He has advised that farmers ensure they have their scanning done early, ideally in the first two months.

“The scanners we are all using can only scan 150mm from the probe. After 120 days or so it gets harder to give an accurate time of when she went in calf. As the calf gets bigger, it drops down below the pelvis and therefore further away,” he said.

Sucklers

“It’s been a good enough year from what I can see. I do a lot of sucklers and there’s not many empties,” one Offaly-based scanner said.

John Smyth from Galway, who mostly scans sucklers said there’s been “damn all” empties this year.