Brian Geraghty farms just outside Dysart, Co Roscommon. He farms a 130ac block which he has on a long-term lease. Fifty acres of the land block would be described as rough grazing and can be difficult to manage in wet weather.

The main system on the farm is contract rearing with 70 heifers coming on to the farm once weaned off milk. Additionally, he has 70 yearling heifers on the farm. However, Brian is keen to develop a dairy calf-to-beef enterprise alongside his current system so this year he purchased 20 Angus heifer calves as part of the Thrive dairy calf-to-beef programme.

Calves were purchased from one farm to reduce biosecurity risks and reduce the disease pressure on the farm at a price of €150/calf.

Brian Geraghty.

“With this system, I should be able to get heifers away before the second winter with some meal at grass for the final few months.”

There have been no issues with rearing them outdoors so far

Brian also works full-time off farm so he needed a system that could be streamlined. The majority of the calves were born in early April and so are still on milk replacer. Shortly after they arrived on the farm, in early May, they were transitioned to once-a-day feeding to reduce workload. Brian also chose to rear the calves outdoors in a sheltered paddock adjoining the shed.

“There have been no issues with rearing them outdoors so far. They got a good couple of weeks at the start which really helped them. There is the option to put them into the shed if the weather required it but they are healthier out and it really reduces the disease pressure on them,” Brian said.

Grass measuring

There is a real focus on the farm on incorporating high-quality grass into the diet.

“If the contract-reared heifers are not performing on grass, then it means I am going to have to supplement them with meal which is only reducing the profitability of the system,” Brian says.

Brian is keen to increase how often he measures grass to allow him to make better management decisions.

“The way I see it, the only way to be profitable is to have stock eating as much good-quality grass as possible.”

The aim would be to cut every paddock at least once during the year

For this reason, Brian has also started regularly walking the farm this year to get a handle on grass covers using a platemeter or measuring by eye. This has allowed 200 bales of surplus to be cut this spring.

“The aim would be to cut every paddock at least once during the year. It helps to clean out paddocks and ensure you have good-quality grass coming back into the rotation throughout the year,” he says.

Ensuring cattle are entering the correct covers should be a starting point for anyone trying to get a handle on grass quality.

By weighing the replacement heifers, and now the calves, you can see if there is an issue within the group

Measuring performance is not new for Brian, with regular weighing of the contract-reared heifers vital to ensuring growth rates are on target. The same will be done for the calves.

“By weighing the replacement heifers, and now the calves, you can see if there is an issue within the group or if something is holding them back,” Brian said.

Calves were that bit lighter when weighed at the beginning of June as they are predominantly April-born calves, with an average weight of 68kg.

Keep on top of worms

Worms can be a significant problem for dairy-bred calves if they are not managed correctly. In a suckler-weanling system, the calves are generally not exposed to the same level of lungworms and gutworms as cows have a naturally acquired immunity and hoover up a large portion of the infective larvae on the grass.

For many farms, calves will now be out anywhere from four to eight weeks and it may be time to think about dosing if you have not yet carried it out.

Many farmers will now have aftergrass coming into the rotation and these should be targeted at calves as they will be clean fields with a relatively low worm burden

Observe calves for any signs of coughing, especially after moving stock. However, faecal samples should also be taken to give a clear outline of the worm burden on the group.

Many farmers will now have aftergrass coming into the rotation and these should be targeted at calves as they will be clean fields with a relatively low worm burden.

Calves should be allowed to build immunity through exposure to worms for a short period of two to three weeks between doses, where the previous dose is no longer controlling worms. For example, Ivermectin has a persistency of approximately 21 days. To help build immunity, the next dose should not be administered for approximately five weeks after the first to allow calves to build natural immunity to the worms.