The event was BTAP (Business, Technology, Adoption, Programme) approved and had speakers from Teagasc, Simmental Society, Norbrook, ICBF and the Irish Farmers Journal.

Teagasc B&T adviser, Gerry Cregg, said that improving fertility and output from the herd is critical to profitability. He said that most farmers in Ireland are currently eating into their Single Farm Payment to cover all costs.

He emphasised that the average suckler cow in the west of Ireland is currently costing from €500 to €700 per year to keep, so selling a light calf, or having no calf to sell is not an option.

Gerry questioned farmers on their fertility targets – she should calve every 365 days, produce 0.95 calves per year and mortality should be kept below 2.5% at birth and below 5% at 28 days.

He said that the average suckler cow has a calving interval of 406 days, some 40 days above target. Across a 20-cow suckler herd, he said that this is a loss of 800kg of liveweight, which at €2.20/kg would amount to €1,760 of lost performance per year.

In terms of calving spread, Gerry stressed to farmers that they need to batch calving to streamline overall herd management.

He stressed that one of the major benefits of a tight calving spread is that calves are all a similar weight, which aids management practices such as dosing, weaning etc.

He highlighted the problems farmers have faced getting cows back in calf this year. He said that, on average, a dairy cow exhibits signs of heat approximately 30 days post calving.

With suckler cows, it can often be delayed to 50-55 days due to suckling inhibition. He highlighted breaking the cow-calf bond as one of the best methods of bringing suckler cows in heat, particularly in autumn calving herds where calves have the ability to creep out of the shed and graze. Although, he stressed that, for best results, the calf must be out of view of the cow.

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Winter feeding

James Keane, Teagasc, talked on the importance of the winter diet of stock. He said that farmers need to have silage analysed in order to have an idea of what supplementation, if any, the various groups of stock will require over the winter period.

He also stressed the need for suckler farmers to group cows based on condition score and feed accordingly to ensure they are in fit condition at calving. Tables 1,2 and 3 show the supplementation rates of various types of livestock.

Finishing young bulls

James Kelly, Teagasc, spoke on the breeds’ suitability for the young bull beef system. He said that finishing bulls under 16 months has the benefit of increasing output through earlier finishing.

With quality assured in-spec bulls now being slaughtered on the grid, he said that this is another positive for the system. He also said that, ideally, the system should be designed so that bulls are coming to the market when numbers are traditionally low in mid-summer, although he highlighted that autumn-born bulls have the potential for a longer period at grass but will be slaughtered during the winter period.

However, he highlighted the dependency of meal in the system with these young bulls eating between 1.2t and 1.5t of meal per head. In addition, he highlighted the fact that the system lends itself better to home produced stock versus bought in, as there would be a much reduced risk of health issues.

He noted that weaning weights are one of the key drivers of the system, saying that a target of 350kg to 360kg liveweight at 240 days should be targeted.

To do this, he stressed that good genetic merit in the calf and high milk yield of the cow is essential.

€uroStar made simple

Niall Kilraine of ICBF talked the groups through both the Terminal and Maternal indexes. He showed farmers how to interpret the indices, both within and across breeds, and highlighted the importance of the index reliability in assessing the accuracy of each individual trait or index.

He showed the performance of heifer replacements on BETTER Farms ranked on maternal index. It showed that of the top 20% ranked on maternal index, 97% of them recalved at the second calving, while the milk weight for that group of calves was 274kg, some 25kg heavier than those in the bottom 20% of the group. The bottom 20% had an average index of €35, while the top 20% had an average index of €202.

Niall also stressed the importance of weight recording and showed that the average carcase weight of cattle from farms that don’t record weights was 341kg, some 22kg or €79 per carcase less than farmers that participate in the SCWS, HerdPlus and weight record.