A sure sign that spring is on the way is marked with the arrival of the first dairy-beef calves of the year.

Twenty-five Angus and Hereford, bulls and heifers made up the first batch of calves on the Irish Farmers Journal Thrive demonstration farm at John Hally’s outside Cashel in Co Tipperary.

Calf price, which has been quite high this spring compared with last year, meant the bulls averaged €220/head and heifers were €200 at around three weeks of age.

First feed

The calves, which are all AI-sired, came directly from two farms less than an hour away.

The short travel time means there was no need to feed an electrolyte on the evening of arrival.

Where journey lengths are longer or where calves are arriving from marts, an electrolyte should be fed to replace lost fluids during transit.

Over the coming weeks, 140 calves will arrive to the demo farm, as well as over 500 more calves arriving on programme farms across the country.

Keep up to date with the Thrive programme over the next few weeks as we discuss rearing techniques on the programme farms and how to give your calf the best start to life.

Webinar

Join the Irish Farmers Journal specialist team at 8.30pm on Wednesday 23 February for a special dairy-beef webinar.

For more information click here.

Read more

Strong winter performance on Thrive demo farm

In pictures: lift in demand for Angus and Hereford calves as Friesians hold steady in Bandon

Thrive weekly roundup: winter performance check and calf arrival