Weather conditions

Grazing conditions have become very difficult, especially in the west of the country. Where excessive damage is being done, housing is the best option. For cows that have to be weaned, try and complete this on a phased basis on dry days. Housing cows and leaving weanlings outdoors is a good option. Weanlings will be lighter to graze and will do less damage. Heavy finishing cattle are better off housed as well if grazing very wet areas. Feed the best quality silage and up the meal levels to maintain performance once housed. Continental steers should go onto 5kg to 6kg of meal, along with silage, to get the desired level of finish. Good finishing rations should be able to be purchased at €220t to 240t bulk delivered. Look for a high cereal content in finishing rations.

Sheep grazing

With a lot of grass left on farms, especially in the west, and the prospects of getting it grazed becoming less likely, some farmers are asking what they can do with it. While weanlings will be able to graze on some farms, this won’t be an option where weanlings are sold. I have heard of a good demand from sheep farmers looking for winter grazing. Good fences are important. Make sure the required movement regulations are met to ensure both parties are cross compliant. Having a written agreement in place around payment and movement dates is also important to avoid any confusion. Some farms are getting €0.10 to €0.12/ewe/day and this could be a nice cash injection over the winter months. Make sure you still stick to the closing plan and don’t leave yourself with a bare farm on 1 March.

Safety at loading

With a lot of extra cattle moving off farms in the coming weeks, safety at loading time is paramount. I have heard of two accidents during loading of cattle in the last 10 days. Taking time to make sure all gates are secure before loading is key. If loading off passage ways, plan your escape route just in case you need to exit quickly. Always expect the unexpected and watch for animals turning at the ramp and forcing back. Patience is key and staying calm is also important. Shouting and roaring at cattle or fellow stockman won’t help. Make sure trailers or lorries have both loading gates working properly and be very careful bringing gates around to close. Watch for a flying foot to kick back the gate.

THRIVE cattle

The first heifers from the THRIVE diary calf to beef programme were slaughtered yesterday. These heifers were born in February and March 2018. They had been grazing grass only since turnout in March and had been fed 3kg to 4kg of meal for the past four weeks. All of the first draft are Hereford and Aberdeen Angus X. They range in weight from 510kg-580kg and had been gaining just under 1kg/day since turnout. Steers will be housed at the weekend and fed silage and meal to finish. A full breakdown on performance and slaughter data, including photos, will be covered in next week’s beef pages.