Jim White spoke at the AHI dairy conference and the clarity of thought about what works for him and how he manages to produce top quality replacements came across loud and clear.

He is of the absolute belief that, with a little tender loving care, all March-born heifer calves can make bulling weight next May with no problem at all.

He said: “They have to make the weight next May – if they don’t, then you have thrown away a €500-per-head premium all for the sake of minding them now, a small bit of meal and a bit of planning for the spring.”

With that in mind, I went back to Jim this week and asked him what he will do in the next few weeks for replacement heifers and what the plan is for them next spring.

Jim said: “They are out on grass this week and will be out for the next two weeks at least and maybe a little longer, depending on how the weather goes in the next two weeks. They are on no meal now and won’t be on meal until they come into the shed.”

When the 60 heifers come in for housing, they are weighed in the yard and split up into four groups. The heifers have access to meal feeding space at the back and the front of the pen.

Jim said: “When they come in, I’ll front-load the meal for at least four to six weeks and then start to bring it down. All pens will get 2kg to 3kg per head for the first two weeks and then I’ll start to cut back the heavier heifers.

“My silage analysis tells me that if I want 0.7kg per day daily gain, I’ll need to feed 2kg of meal. If I’m silage only, they will do 0.45kg per day. So my response is that I’ll feed all the heifers while they are settling down and getting used to the silage diet and then I’ll cut back the heavier heifers because they simply won’t need the extra weight gain.”

Jim will feed an 18% nut and he explained that the heifers have plenty of feed space to access meal and silage. He is very keen to have heifers of similar weights housed together.

Making the team

He said: “Junior hurlers don’t play with senior hurlers for a reason, and if you want all to perform then you must split them up. If you want the lighter heifers to make the team for early May, they must never take a step back.”

In terms of animal health treatments, once the weanling heifers are two weeks inside, Jim will treat them with Fortemec Pour On (Abamectin for round worms and lungworms).

He said: “It’s an oil-based product that is a little more expensive than some other pour-ons, but it has worked well for me. I’ll also use the Osmonds Fasifree product to manage fluke (Triclabendazole).”

He will then treat them for Leptospirosis and IBR and will freeze-brand them in January. They will get a Lepto booster after three to four weeks after the first shot.

Early grass

By mid to late February, Jim will let the lighter pen (probably around 15 heifers) out to grass. He has a paddock earmarked for them already.

He said: “I have a five-acre paddock grazed on 10 October and there is a cover of 900kg on it now. The light heifers will go in there and they will get 2kg of meal and a nice pick of grass.

“Last year, that light group (all late March-born heifers) were some of my first heifers to be bred this spring.”

For Jim, light heifers that need grass at that stage are any heifers less than 250kg to 270kg liveweight in early February.

Jim has tried letting all his heifers out in February, but more often than not he doesn’t have enough grass for them all.

He said: “I tried letting them all out, but I had to bring them all in. Managing large groups can be difficult in wet and cold weather, so I prioritise the grass to where it is most needed.

“You are actually doing both sides a favour because the heavier heifers left inside have more room as well and they will do just fine on ad-lib silage at that stage and because you are busy with cows at that stage all you need to do is keep silage in front of them and they are fine.”