The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued advice on preventing bluetongue from entering Ireland.

This comes as the DAFM announced Ireland is currently entering a “higher risk period” for the transmission of the bluetongue virus (BTV).

Bluetongue virus is spread by infected biting midges (Culicoides species) which are generally most active between April and November.

The virus update detailed that “it is critical that all livestock farmers maintain vigilance for any suspicions of this disease”.

It added that it is “especially” important at this time of year as “temperatures continue to rise during spring and summer.

DAFM guidelines

Instead of purchasing bluetongue-susceptible animals from mainland Europe, consider if there is another way you can achieve the breed/genetic changes you seek (e.g., via artificial insemination) to reduce risk.

If you must purchase live animals from outside Ireland, only do so during times when midges are less active (December to March).

Only purchase animals, germinal or biological products from reputable sources. Animals from certain countries require vaccination against bluetongue prior to import; proof of vaccination status for the BTV strains recently circulating in those countries/regions should be obtained.

Ensure the animals are bluetongue virus-free before they leave their country of origin by requesting a pre-movement PCR test for the virus.

Although this can give a certain level of assurance, it is important to remember that animals may be harbouring the virus which is not yet detectable by laboratory testing, or they may become infected if bitten by an infected midge en route.

All susceptible ruminants need to be tested after their arrival to Ireland even if they have had a negative pre-movement test.

Isolate imported animals indoors as soon as they arrive onto your holding and monitor them closely for any signs of illness.

Ensure all animals arriving from mainland Europe are visited by an RVO (Regional Veterinary Office) vet within five days of arrival into Ireland.

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As part of the terms and conditions of the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) suckler scheme, farmers are required to complete a mandatory online training course before November 15, 2024.

The training can be completed online and focuses on SCEP actions and livestock handling.

Farmers completing the online training do not need to attend any in-person training, as the training can be completed by farmer participants online from home.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the online training platform “gives much more flexibility to farmers because they can complete the training at a date, time and location of their choosing”.

Farmers can complete the suckler scheme online training at a time and date that suits them, once they have it completed in full by November 15, 2024.

SCEP applicants must complete all seven modules of the training before November 15, 2024, but you do not have to do them all at once.

Module one must be completed first, followed by module two, but after those are completed, the rest of the modules can be completed in any order.

According to DAFM, the modules will take 30 minutes on average to complete with some being slightly longer or shorter.

Farmer participants can also leave a module partially completed and pick up where they left off when they next log in, so they can complete at a pace that suits them.

“This gives flexibility on how much they wish to complete on a given day,” DAFM stated. The training can be completed on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.

DAFM has said it “will regularly monitor uptake of the training over the coming weeks and months”.

“It is anticipated that the vast majority of participants will be able to complete this training on their own or with the assistance of family, however DAFM will closely monitor uptake and provide assistance to farmers should it be needed as the closing date approaches.”

“A limited number of in-person training events will be available to those farmers experiencing online accessibility issues and the dates and locations of these events will be made available later this year.

“A significant number of SCEP participants have logged on to the platform and are progressing through the modules, with many having already completed the SCEP training course.”

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The net margins from a range of different beef production systems have been outlined at the Teagasc open day BEEF2024 which is taking place at Teagasc, Grange, Co. Meath today, Wednesday, June 26.

The theme of the event this year is ‘securing your future in beef farming’ and the first of the two main stands on the day focus on this.

Teagasc’s Paul Crosson, Pearse Kelly, Aidan Murray and Mark McCabe are in attendance at the two main stands which outline current trends in Irish beef production systems.

The table below outlines the financial targets for high-performance beef production systems:

The table uses the assumptions of beef price at €5.00/kg, protected urea fertiliser at €550/t and a concentrate price of €350/t.

The information provided to those in attendance noted that the source of beef cattle has changed substantially in the past decade with a sharp increase in dairy beef coinciding with a reduction in suckler cows.

While the composition of the national beef kill has changed significantly, the key principles underpinning profitable farm systems “are largely the same” for suckler and dairy-beef systems, according to Teagasc.

Interestingly, it was also highlighted that there is a greater desire for improved labour efficiency among beef farmers and to improve their work-life balance.

Many beef farmers are working off-farm with either full-time jobs or part-time jobs and so farm work is left until evenings or weekends.

A Teagasc survey noted that over 30% of part-time beef farmers are working 40 hours/week or greater off farm.

BEEF2024

The event features four Technical Villages. The first is focused on Grassland and Forage and features live displays. Attendees then have the option to visit either the Suckler beef or Dairy calf to beef village or both, depending on their interest.

After this, farmers can visit the Advisory, Education and Opportunities Village to get more information about specific areas of interest.

There are a number of panel discussions covering key topics across a range of beef cattle production systems. These are taking place in the forum centre and are staged throughout the day.

Keynote speakers include:

• Pat McDonagh, managing director of Supermacs;
• Ciaran Fitzgerald, economist;
• The DairyBeef 500 forum takes place at 12:30p.m and the Future Beef forum will take place at 1:30p.m.

The concluding forum of the day is titled: ‘Securing your future in beef farming’ and will take place at 2:30p.m.

In this forum, the main opportunities and challenges facing the sector and beef-farm families will be discussed, in particular, farm succession and inheritance.

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There is an “urgent need” for the beef sector to address consumer and policy demands for food with low environmental impacts, according to Prof. Frank O’Mara, director of Teagasc.

Prof. O’Mara addressed BEEF2024 today (Wednesday, June 26), at Teagasc, Grange, Co. Meath, where he welcomed the attendees to the biennial open day.

With the theme of the event being ‘securing your future’, Prof. O’Mara highlighted the need for Irish beef to be produced sustainably in the future.

The Teagasc director said: “There is clear evidence that beef produced in grass-based systems of the type that predominate in Ireland has amongst the lowest environmental impact of beef systems globally.

“While there are challenges posed by the increased environmental demands being placed on the sector, these demands can also lead to opportunities and, ultimately, a more secure and profitable future for the beef farming sector.

“Important management practices pertaining to efficient grassland management, excellent genetics and high herd health status are key to increasing the competitiveness and sustainability of the sector,” Prof. O’Mara explained.

He said these principles will “maximise profitability” and ensure the sector is “best-placed” to meet the increased global demand for this “sustainable, high-quality food protein”.

“At BEEF2024 we will showcase the latest research in these respective areas and highlight recent advances that further improve the efficiency and profitability of beef cattle farming,” Prof. O’Mara said.

Securing the future of the beef sector

The Teagasc director said securing the future of the sector is “very tightly intertwined with developing clear pathways to farm succession”.

Teagasc recently updated its guide to transferring the family farm and later this year there will be a series of ‘Transferring the family farm clinics’ throughout the country.

Prof. O’Mara said: “The age profile of the beef sector indicates that succession and inheritance will be particularly important topics for the sector in the coming years.

“Given the challenging farm income situation within the sector, it is likely that many potential successors will operate beef farms of the future in parallel with off-farm employment.”

Prof. O’Mara said that “labour efficiency” in the sector is “crucial” and is a topic that will be discussed at BEEF2024.

The demonstration programmes – the ‘Future Beef Programme’ focused on suckler beef, and the ‘DairyBeef 500 Campaign’ – will have a prominent role in BEEF2024 today.

Prof. O’Mara said there is “additional investment in beef research” planned for the research site at Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford where, in addition to a sizable dairy calf-to-beef research herd, Teagasc is developing an organic research programme.

The enclosed farm unit at Kildavin in Johnstown Castle is currently undergoing organic conversion and the research programme there will commence in late 2024 with complementary finishing studies at Grange, the Teagasc director said.

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Almost 300 head of breeding commercial cattle were on offer in Randalstown, Co. Antrim on Saturday, June 8, for the Jalex Select sale.

The sale was described by the organisers as “the biggest on-farm sale ever staged by James Alexander and the team at Jalex Livestock”.

The sale took place in conjunction with Harrison and Hetherington with online bidding available through MartEye.

James Little was on the rostrum taking the bids for 60 first-calving heifers, 140 in-calf heifers and a select offering of service-age bulls and show-potential maiden heifers.

The calves on offer were described by the organisers as “all naturally born” and sired by “top performing Limousin bulls such as The Grove Farm P381 and Corcamore Romeo, both of which carry two copies of the F94L gene”.

There were some impressive statististics from the sale including:

• Eight lots sold over £8,000;
• 12 lots sold over £7,000;
• 24 lots sold over £6,000;
• 44 lots sold over £5,000.

Taking the top price on the day was lot 110, a black Limousin 2021-born heifer scanned carrying a heifer calf sired by The Grove Farm- P381 with a due date this September.

The heifer weighed almost 890kg and was an embryo transfer (ET) calf bred by Okanes of Carnlough.

Her sire was Ampertaine Foreman and her dam was sired by Imperial. This lot sold for the top price on the day of £18,000.

The second-top price of the sale went to Lot 95, a March 2022-born maiden heifer weighing just under 750kg.

This heifer was bred by Harrisons at Grange Hall Farm. Her sire was Nobel madness (Fieldsons Alfie) and her dam was sired by a hybrid Belgian Blue X Limousin bull.

This maiden heifer changed hands in the sale for £14,000.

Lot 111, a 2021-born in-calf heifer sold for £10,000. This heifer weighed just under 820kg and was sired by Imperial De L’Ecluse.

The heifer is scanned carrying a heifer calf sired by Corcamore Romeo with a due date in October this year.

The sale also saw strong demand for cows with calves at foot and it was lot 10, that took the top price of the cow-calf pairings in the sale.

The Blonde D’Aquitaine X Belgian Blue heifer with a March-born heifer calf at foot sired by Corcamore Romeo sold for £11,000.

Lot 44 took the second-top price in the cow-calf section. This Belgian Blue heifer with a February-born bull calf at foot sired by Corcamore Romeo weighed 640kg and sold for £9,200.

The sale also featured a selection of bulls which sold to impressive prices and the top-priced bull in the sale was Lot 90, a Foreman x Tidy Dancer hybrid bull selling for £14,000.

This March-2023-born bulls’ dam was described as “full of the best of breeding” sired by Wilodge LJ, out of a Powerhouse Elite ex-show heifer that goes back to a Ronick Hawk-sired hybrid heifer from a Pedigree Belgian Blue cow.

At the Jalex Select sale, 78 of the heifers with calves at foot sold to an average price of £4,561 while the 135 in-calf heifers in the sale sold to an average sale price of £3,755 and the four cross-bred bulls sold to an average of £6,700.

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A rising tide lifts all boats and such is the case in the cattle trade this week as news of increasing factory price quotes has further helped the trade for forward and store cattle at marts countrywide.

Positivity in the trade for stronger cattle tends to filter down, adding confidence to the sector and helping to strengthen prices in lighter cattle categories also.

Carnew Mart in Co. Wicklow hosted its weekly general cattle sale on Saturday, June 8, with a slightly smaller sale of cattle totalling just over 540 cattle and 150 calves on offer.

Carnew Mart

Carnew Mart’s Eugene Clune described the trade as “ablaze on the day with beef and forward cattle surpassing anything of the last few weeks”. 

Cow prices from Carnew Mart:

• 904kg Simmental cow sold for €2,820;
• 810kg Limousin cow sold for €2,400;
• 890kg Limousin cow sold for €2,380.

One of the standout prices from the sale went to a 900kg cow selling for €2,820 or €3.13/kg

According to Clune, stock in general “were up €50-70/head” on previous weeks with €100 extra available in places.

Heifer and bullock prices from Carnew Mart:

• 594kg Liomusin heifer sold for €1,900;
• 648kg Charolais heifer sold for €1,840;
• Four Limousin heifers weighing 320kg each sold for €1,060/head;
• Two Limousin bullocks weighing 644kg each sold for €1,990/head;
• 632kg Charolais bullock sold for €1,910.

Store and forward cattle were described as “scarce” but “very much in demand by factory agents and feedlot buyers” while farmers were described as being “very active for lighter stores for grass”.

Cattle exporters were buying up bulls with all quality bulls described as “selling well in excess of €3.00/kg with a top price for bulls on the day of €3.83/kg.

Bull prices from Carnew Mart:

• Three Limousin bulls weighing 361kg each sold for €1,230/head or €3.41/kg;
• Two Limousin bulls weighing 359kg sold for €1,130.

In the calf sale, calves met “a very lively trade” with a full clearance. Soft continental calves sold to €510/head and reared ones to €680/head.

Hereford and Angus calves sold from €170 to €340/head for the better types. Friesian bull calves were in short supply and sold to a tops of €180/head for a group of five together

Cattle trade at Balla Mart

Balla Mart in Co. Mayo hosted its weekly general cattle sale on Saturday, June 8, also with the number of cattle on offer in the sale described by mart management as “bigger than normal for the time of year”.

The quality of the cattle – especially bullocks – was described as “mixed”, so average prices in the sale were not as high as the previous week but the demand for quality lots was noted as being “very strong” with heavy cattle being “snapped up by northern buyers”.

Bullocks in the 300-400kg weight bracket averaged €3.16/kg while the heavier store bullocks in the 400kg to 500kg weight bracket averaged €3.08/kg. Heavier bullocks over 500kg averaged €3.01/kg.

A pair of 220kg Charolais bullocks born in October 2023 made €940 or €4.27/kg while a heavier two-year-old bullock weighing 770kg made €2,500 or €3.25/kg and was purchased by a northern customer.

The heifers were described as “selling well and anything nice got a good price”. Lighter store heifers in the 300-400kg weight bracket averaged €3.01/kg.

Heifers in the 400-500kg weight category averaged €3.15/kg, while heifers over 500kg averaged €3.00p/kg.

A 365kg Charolais heifer sold for €1,330 or €3.64/kg going for export on the day.

The were over 100 dry cows on offer with a good trade seen and “a lot of online bidding which was pushing prices on”.

A 700kg Limousin dry cow made €2,210 or €3.16/kg and was purchased by a northern customer. A cow with a Belgian Blue bull calf at foot sold for €2,420.

Weanling bulls weighing from 200-350kg averaged €3.79/kg and bulls weighing 350-450kg averaged €3.67/kg while bulls over 450kg averaged €3.04/kg.

A 320kg Limousin bull made €1,500 or €4.69/kg and another Belgian Blue bull weighing 370kg made €1,660.00 or €4.49/kg with both going for the export trade.

Tuam mart

At Tuam Mart on Monday, June 10, it was the bullocks and bulls that were the standout trade with as high as €3.87/kg paid for a pair of Limousin bullocks with an average weight of 297kg selling for €1,150 each.

Another 405kg Charolais bullock made €1,530 or €3.78/kg.

As high as €3.85/kg was paid for weanling bulls when a 305kg Belgian Blue bull sold for €1,170. Another 295kg Charolais bull sold for €1,060 or €3.59/kg.

Dry cows sold for up to €4.94/kg when a 705kg Limousin cow made €2,070.

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This week’s factory quotes have seen beef prices increase for the second consecutive week with supplies of finished cattle tightening and demand for beef remaining positive.

Prices had been in decline throughout May and levelled off in the final week of May. Trade has been on a positive trajectory since then.

With no deluge of factory-fit cattle expected to arrive any time soon and demand for beef looking good, the trade appears set to remain in a positive position, for the short-term at least.

Factory quotes for heifers and steers

Heifers are being quoted at €5.15/kg on the grid this week at most outlets with lower quotes failing to secure any significant numbers of heifers.

The first of the traditional-breed heifers are slow to come fit off grass and the cold conditions continuing this month will do little to speed up cattle thrive at grass.

Bullocks (steers) are being quoted at €5.10/kg on the grid this week, up 5c/kg from the €5.05/kg that many of these outlets were quoting last week.

Cow price

Cow prices have also seen a lift this week with some procurement staff reporting cows are starting to arrive off grass but with no major concerns around flies or mastitis yet due to cold conditions, there is no major rush of cull cows arriving to factories.

U grade cows are being quoted at up to €5.10/kg at the higher-end of the price scale. In the week ending Sunday, June 2, up to 5.25/kg was paid for U grade cows.

R-grade cows are being quoted at €4.75/kg but looking at the prices reported to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), it clearly demonstrates that more money is available.

In the week ending Sunday, June 2, the average price paid for R=3= cows was just under €4.90/kg.

O grade cows are being quoted at €4.45-4.55/kg with P grade cows being quoted at €4.35-4.45 being quoted for P grade cows.

Again, more money is available for O and P grade cows with carcass weights above 270kg and suitable fat covers.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are being quoted at prices ranging from €5.25-5.35/kg for U grade bulls with €5.15-5.25/kg being quoted for R-grade bulls. Again, more money is available for bulls with the prices reported to DAFM demonstrating this.

The chart below shows the prices paid for U=2+ grade bulls by factory in the week ending Sunday, June 2.

As the table above demonstrates, there is a significant difference between factories in the prices being paid for bulls.

O grade bulls are being quoted at €5.05/kg on the grid with P grade bulls being quoted at €4.95/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are being quoted at €5.10/kg on the grid.

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Controlling weeds when they are at the most manageable stage is crucial, particularly now as grass growth has improved over the last number of weeks.

Firstly, you must identify which weeds need to be dealt with and then have the discussion with an advisor or agronomist on which products will rectify your problems.

It may not be the case where one product will cover all, as you may have paddocks that have different issues and may require different products to be used.

Controlling weeds

Knowing your fertility status is important, as it will indicate whether or not your soil needs lime, phosphorus (P), or potassium (K) which will allow you to grow more grass, limiting space for weeds.

Dock control at this time of the year is vital as they are at the rosette stage (measuring 150-200mm in diameter), which is the easiest stage to kill the weed.

Best practice is to spray docks shortly after a reseed which will stop them from establishing due to competition in the sward. A well established reseed will also limit and suppress weeds.

Thistles should also be sprayed now, as now they will begin to develop stolons, branch out and cover the grass which will kill what is underneath.

As you may know, the products used to target weeds are not cheap, so application must be precise and accurate to get optimal results.

To make sure of this precise spraying, it is important to read the label of the product carefully to make sure you are applying at the correct rate.

Tips for spraying:

• Make sure the product is suited for killing the weed;
• Read the label carefully, adhering to buffer zones and rates;
• Keep record of the product being used;
• Spray in suitable conditions – not windy or wet;
• Wear protective gear;
• Wash spraying equipment after use;
• Adhere to recommended time between spraying and grazing, or cutting of silage ( around seven days after);
• In the case of ragwort, animals should not be allowed in until the weed is completely rotten and unpalatable.

Managing clover

There are a few product options for the control of docks in your clover swards, however, for the treatment of chickweed, nettles, thistles or dandelions, there are limited options.

If clover is present in your swards, you must select a clover safe product, but, a lot of your conventional products are not clover safe.

In this scenario, if the seed and stem are present, the weeds should be topped first and then sprayed a couple of weeks later.

Farmers, however, should target the non clover paddocks first and get the weeds completely under control and then look to establish clover in these paddocks next April or May of 2025.

Getting the weeds under control prior to clover establishment will prevent issues further down the line, as weed control can be difficult when clover is present.

Controlling weeds in your paddocks this summer will maximise grass yield, improve silage quality, increase grass utilisation and will eliminate any health risks to livestock caused by certain weeds.

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As calves have been slowly getting out to pasture in recent weeks, it is important to protect them against Johne’s disease and the exposure to mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP), which is the bacteria that causes the disease.

When it comes to risk, newborn calves are very susceptible to MAP infection, which is why the Irish Johne’s Control Programme (IJCP) places such an emphasis on clean calving areas and hygienic husbandry, particularly when feeding.

The two crucial factors to consider when determining the risk of the disease are the susceptibility of the animals and the infective dose in which they are exposed to.

This means that the susceptibility of calves at pasture falls between those of new-born calves and adult cattle, meaning good grazing management and decision-making is vital.

Grazing

In terms of infective dose, MAP is a tough organism which may be found in slurry or manure a year after it has been applied – pasture may be contaminated by grazing cattle also.

When contamination occurs, grazing the pasture becomes a risk as it can potentially infect other cattle, and particularly your younger stock.

For the MAP bacteria to be reduced to minor levels, it will gradually decline within 12 months in the cool, Irish climate.

From this information, the spreading of slurry from other farms should be avoided, especially on pasture that young stock will graze.

If controlling Johne’s disease was the sole purpose, not allowing calves graze ground that has been applied with slurry or that has been grazed by older cattle in the preceding 12 months would be the procedure.

However, this is not practical for many farms, so, a farmer must consider how they run their stock during grazing to minimise the risk of MAP bacteria and parasites.

When paddocks are solely left for calves, this opens up the risk to parasites, such as the gut worm and coccidiosis in these areas.

Even though it seems like it’s a win-lose situation no matter what you do, the best practice is the leader/follower grazing system.

In this system, calves graze fresh paddocks of grass first, but are moved quickly on, followed by older stock grazing the remaining grass.

This will minimise the risk of exposure to high levels of parasites and to MAP, especially earlier in the year when parasites and MAP will be at low levels after the winter.

When yearlings or older cattle graze the paddock, they further reduce the levels of worm larvae as they are more susceptible to parasites and MAP – calves can rotate back to these paddocks, which will have a reduced parasite load at a more resistant and older age.

Johne’s disease control

You can control the spread of Johne’s and other parasites in different ways. It can be done by rotating through multiple pastures to delay re-grazing.

You can also follow the calves yearlings rather than the older herd because in general, yearlings are too young to shed infective loads of MAP, even if infected.

Using reseeded fields, or land that was used for silage last season can be beneficial as this will provide an even greater reduction of MAP and worms.

Herds that are registered for the IJCP can make use of the of the results to identify test-positive cows.

The programme does not require immediate culling, but advises that they are removed as soon as possible – early removal will minimise contamination of fields and stop the spread of the disease.

It also eliminates the possibility of those cows being present during the next calving season, limiting contamination in calf-rearing areas, high-risk calves, colostrum or milk to replacements.

This creates an even greater control of the spread and impacts of Johne’s disease.

The post Johne’s disease: Protecting your calves against exposure appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The Irish Hereford Breed Society (IHBS) hosted its final spring show and sale of the year at Central Auctions, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, on Thursday, May 16.

Despite a slow start to the sale, the prices achieved remained steady throughout, according to a sale report from the society.

The average price in the sale was €3,000 and 24 out of 40 bulls presented for sale were sold on the day.

The judge on the day was local Hereford breeder Edward Dudley from Kilsunny Herefords in Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Edward tapped out one of the youngest bulls in the sale as his choice of champion. Ballinalick Profile PP owned by Willie Duff from Co. Tipperary.

This February 2023 bull is sired by Fisher 1 Profile and bred from Gouldingpoll 1 Kashmir 825, a Panmure 1 Henry dam.

Profile has five stars for the replacement index, four stars for the terminal index, below average for calving, €127 for the Dairy Beef Index (DBI), and just 3.3% for dairy cow calving.

This homozygous polled bull was sold for €3,800.

Michael Farrell from Co. Westmeath topped the sale at €4,700 with his second entry Castledaly Kean HH.

This January 2023-born bull was sired by Conmelvin Ollie and bred from a Haven Kingpin dam.

He is a five star replacement bull and won his class during the show before being purchased by Hereford breeder, Nigel Heatrick from Glaslough Herefords, Co. Monaghan.

Michael Farrell also sold his first entry into the sale Lot 36 Castledaly Orchard.

Another Conmelvin Ollie son – Orchard was bred from a Steil Gerard dam. Orchard has four stars for both the replacement and the terminal index, +10.6kg for carcass weight, five stars for carcass conformation and +6.3kg for milk.

This horned bull was purchased by Hereford breeder Tom Brennan of Balleen Herefords in Co. Kilkenny for €2,900.

Reserve champion of the show was awarded to Gouldingpoll 1 Acorn by Matthew Goulding from Co. Kerry.

This November 2022-born bull is sired by Panmure 1 Nugget and bred from the renowned Duchess family – Gouldingpoll 1 Duchess 602.

Acorn has four stars for the replacement index, five stars for the terminal Index, +14.6kg for carcass weight, +8.7kg for milk, the highest bull catalogued for DBI at €142 and 3.7% for dairy cow calving. Acorn was sold for €4,400.

First time exhibitor at the Hereford Society sales, Jack Larkin, also went home with an empty trailer after selling his entry, Intelagri 1 Luke, for €4,000 to Hereford breeder Marcus Kelleher from Co. Kerry.

Jack purchased this bull as a calf under a cow at the Intelagri Dispersal sale in 2023. This February 2023 bull is homozygous polled.

He is sired by Intelagri 1 Lancelot and bred from a Normanton 1 Laertes dam.

Luke has five stars for the replacement Index and the terminal Index, is +8.4kg for carcass weight, a beef cow calving figure of 2.4% and DBI of €119.

Nigel Heatrick also had a successful day of selling bulls. Nigel sold his first and second bull entered into the sale – lot 29 and lot 31.

Lot 29 Glaslough Apache was sired by Cill Cormaic Quinlan and bred from a Ballyaville Nelson dam.

Apache is a four star replacement index bull with a very easy beef cow calving figure of 0.8%, a DBI of €98 and a dairy cow calving figure of 3.1%. Apache was sold for €3,700.

The next lot into the ring, also by Nigel Heatrick, lot 31 – Glaslough Admiral was also sired by Cill Cormaic Quinlan and bred from Glaslough Thalia, a Clondrina 1110th dam.

This October 2022-born bull has a dairy cow calving figure of 3.4%, above average DBI of €87, an easy-calving beef cow figure of 1.8% and was sold to a dairy Shorthorn herd for €3,800.

The youngest and final bull into the sale also sold on the day. Moyclare Wizard was sired by Caislean Jake and bred from Moyclare Rose 43, a Free Town Nadal dam.

This March 2023 bull has four stars for the replacement index and the terminal index, +11.6kg for carcass weight, five stars for conformation, a DBI of €106 and dairy cow calving figure of 3.9%. Wizard was sold for €3,500.

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As the summer grazing season is now in full swing farmers are being urged to consider dosing strategies for dairy beef animals.

According to Teagasc, ensuring cattle are free from parasites plays a crucial role in animal performance in calf-to-beef systems.

Due to its grass-based nature, dairy beef systems can be particularly exposed to outbreaks of stomach worms and lungworm.

Farmers are advised to closely monitor the parasitic burden among their herd during the summer grazing period.

Worms

Teagasc has said that calves are especially vulnerable to stomach worms, which can cause reduced growth rate.

Although cattle develop immunity to prevent clinical disease after their first grazing season, there has been numerous cases of older animals with high levels of worm burden.

Farmers should be vigilant for symptom of stomach worms, which can include diarrhoea, decreased appetite and loss of weight.

As the name suggests, these worms can cause severe damage to the stomach and small intestine in cattle, leading to parasitic gastroenteritis.

In order to determine the level of worm burden in a herd, farmers can ask their vet to carry out a faecal egg count (FEC) test to determine if dosing is required.

In order to avoid worm resistance building up on farms, farmers should take dung samples to see if a worm dose is warranted or not.

Teagasc advises that where readings in excess 200epg are recorded, treatment is necessary.

Control of stomach worms on dairy calf to beef farms is usually achieved by the administration of anthelmintic doses.

There are currently three classes of anthelmintic licensed for the control of stomach worms in cattle – benzimidazole (white), levamisole (yellow) and macrocyclic lactone (clear).

Although these products are highly effectively in controlling infections, Teagasc research has shown resistance to all three classes of product.

Therefore, when farmers undertake a dosing strategy, it is advisable to alternate between the different classes of drug to minimise the risk of a potential resistance build up on farm.

For lungworm, Teagasc said that farmers should look out for animals having a husky cough or difficult breathing.

Heavy infestations of lungworm can result in respiratory disease or pneumonia.

Most anthelmintics available on the market are effective against larval and adult lungworms.

Levamisole and white drenches will kill whatever parasites are there on the day of treatment, but will have no residual affect.

On the other hand, Macrocyclic Lactones such as ivermectins will give longer protection.

Dosing

When farmers are administering a drench to stock, they should be aware of dose-to-weight calculations, so animals receive a full dose.

Teagasc said that farmers should dose based on the weight of the heaviest animal in the bunch.

If there is a large variation in weights, divide the animals into a heavier and lighter group and then dosing based on the heaviest in each group.

When choosing a product, it is important that farmers read the label and instructions carefully to determine what the dose can and cannot treat.

Teagasc added that it is best to dose and return to dirty pasture post treatment, as this will help to reduce anthelmintic resistance.

The post Time to consider summer dosing for dairy beef animals appeared first on Agriland.ie.

A total of 195 calves have been weaned off milk on the ABP Demo Farm as of Wednesday, April 1, and while the calf-rearing season is not over yet, “the calf rearing has gone relatively well so far on the farm this spring”, according to the ABP Food Group Advantage Beef Programme Farm liaison officer Sean Maher.

He said: “The first 80 calves we reared were split in two groups and were fed two different types of milk powders. These were fed twice a day (TAD) as a trial.

“The ABP Demo farm has been feeding calves once a day (OAD) for a number of years, now but it’s always good to keep your options open.”

The table below outlines the performance results from the two groups of calves that were fed TAD on the farm this spring:

Commenting on the results, Maher said: “The two powders compare quite well with similar average daily gains (ADG) and weaning weights.

“The amount of powder used is higher than what we normally use on the farm and we would have expected higher ADGs in return.”

The remainder of the calves that have been weaned to-date were fed OAD, which is the standard practice on the farm.

The table below outlines the performance results from the group of calves that have been weaned and were fed OAD on the farm this spring:

Sean Maher said that from the results of the trial conducted on the farm this spring, “we’re very happy with the calf performance from the OAD feeding system once again”.

He emphasised that when calves are being fed OAD in the mornings, it is essential to monitor calves closely in the evenings also and identify high-temperature calves or dull calves and treat these in a timely manner.

“All calves have now received three pneumonia vaccines (one intranasal and two pasturella) two clostridial disease shots and some have been vaccinated for ringworm, as a trial.”

The table below outlines calf performance by breed based on all the calves weaned off milk on the ABP Demo Farm to-date this spring.

The Advantage Beef Programme farm liaison officer added: “There will be another 100 calves weaned off milk in the coming week – all going well.

“This will leave us with the final 100 calves being fed milk for another few weeks.

“This will significantly reduce the workload and allow us turn our attention to turning out calves to grass. The demo farm has no calves turned out to grass as of yet,” he added.

“The wet and unsettled weather has the potential to undo all our good work in the rearing process this year.”

He explained that once the weather picks up, they plan to let calves out by day and house them by night.

“This will allow us to limit the amount of grass in their diet and smoothen their transition to grass.”

The post ABP Demo Farm results of trial on milk-feeding calves appeared first on Agriland.ie.

This time of year sees many spring-calving suckler and dairy herds in the market for a new stock bull, and while some may have sourced their bulls for the breeding season already, others are still on the look out for a suitable bull for their herd.

Buying a bull is a big investment for any farmer and the bull selected has the potential to contribute up to 50% of the genetics on the farm, so will play a huge part in determining the genetic potential of the progeny from the herd.

When purchasing a stock bull, as well as the physical appearance of the bull, all relevant factors and available data should be taken into account and considered.

In a recent post on the Teagasc website, Teagasc Ballinrobe drystock advisor, Patricia Lynch reminded farmers of some key things to bear in mind when sourcing a suitable stock bull.

What do you want from your stock bull?

Different farmers want their stock bull to deliver different traits. Some farmers want a terminal bull that will deliver progeny with good beef potential while other farmers want a stock bull that will deliver good replacement heifers.

Some herds of cows will have a higher threshold for calving difficulty than other herds and this is also a factor to be considered.

The Teagasc advisor said that if the farm is not retaining heifers as replacements or selling heifers on for breeding, then the terminal traits will naturally enough be the main focus.

Lynch said: “If you are aiming to breed replacement females, then you will be targeting a balance of maternal traits.

“Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) participants should be looking for four or five star on either the terminal or replacement indexes or both. Also under the requirements of the scheme, calves born on the farm must be sired by a genotyped four or five star bull.

“Another factor to consider is reliability, the higher the reliability figure is, the less likely that a bull’s breeding values will change considerably in the future. It is even better still if a bull has their genomic evaluation completed at the time of purchase.

“One of the most important figures that needs to be looked at before any purchase is made is the calving difficulty figures. If you want a bull to serve all cows and heifers on the farm, then the calving difficulty figures are critical.”

The Ballinrobe-based Teagasc advisor said: “For first-time calving heifers, check the beef heifers calving difficulty figure of the stock bull.

“Ideally select a bull with a beef heifer calving difficulty figure of less than 7.5%. For mature suckler cows, check the beef cows figure. To reduce calf mortality and labour around calving, look to source a bull with high reliability figures on calving difficulty.”

The post Factors to consider before buying a new stock bull appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Teagasc is advising farmers to avoid “bulking up” the first cut of silage, as this may prove to be a “false economy”.

Research by Teagasc shows that it is better to take two cuts, as this improves the yield and quality of the silage.

When the first cut is taken, in mid-to-late May, an extra 1t/ha of dry matter is produced, which is the equivalent of 4.5 bales/ha of silage, according to Teagasc.

The quality of the silage will also be “far superior” when cut earlier, as come mid-June, the grass plant enters its reproductive phase, producing a stem and seed heads.

Teagasc stated that the first cut might provide additional bulk, but this produces a lot of “poor-quality material” which offers “little nutritional value” to the animal.

“Silage cut in early June will struggle to be 65% dry matter digestibility (DMD), with this worsening if the sward was not grazed before closing,” the Teagasc advice note stated.

As many silage swards were not grazed prior to closing, due to the wet conditions, Teagasc is advising farmers to prioritise a mid-May cutting date.

A two-cut system starting in May also offers more options, for instance if we were to experience drought conditions, the silage has been cut in mid-May and the grass has started growing back.

However, if harvest is left until June, farmers might not have any grazing available and the grass is burning back.

Cutting earlier also ensures that the May growth is being incorporated into the second-cut silage crops, which will be “key in replenishing” fodder reserves, according to Teagasc.

Along with targeting an earlier cutting date, Teagasc stated that completing a fodder budget is important to have throughout the year.

A Fodder Register is in place to help connect farmers who have fodder available with those farmers that require it.

Farmers can also contact the local Teagasc advisory office to register as “having feed available”, or to enquire if there are farmers on the register from whom, “they might source feed”.

The post Should farmers ‘bulk up’ silage during the first cut? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Teagasc is reminding farmers of the risks involved when agitating and spreading slurry as the “challenging” start to 2024 has resulted in this work being delayed on many farms.

Teagasc stated that the main risk is being overcome by slurry gases, leading to poisoning, suffocation or drowning.

There are also many risks from the machinery, such as, impact or crushing when attaching the agitator or tanker and entanglement on the Power Take Off (PTO).

Slurry produces a range of gases based on the nature of the fermentation which occurs. Poisoning occurs “above ground” due to the release of hydrogen sulphide (H2S).

At 150ppm, the olfactory nerve which detects smell in the nose is desensitised and then H2S cannot be detected by smell. The gas is “rapidly fatal” above 700ppm and these levels occur after agitation.

Key points to remember when agitating, according to Teagasc advice:

• Evacuate, ventilate, agitate;
• Only agitate on a breezy day when there is considerable air movement, as one lung full of hydrogen sulphide gas released during agitation can kill;
• Ensure that all livestock, people and pets are kept clear of the slatted shed when agitating;
• Make sure that buildings are well ventilated with all doors and outlets open;
• Stay away from the agitation point for at least 30 minutes;
• Additional time must be given where there are linked tanks and linked buildings, as the gas may travel into poorly-ventilated locations within these sheds;
• The gas can also travel through linked tanks and pipes to locations away from the tank;
• Check for, and stay out of, blind ends where slurry gas may build up;
• Never enter a slurry tank, even if empty, as gases may linger.

“Indoor agitation points are dangerous and should be avoided as there are a number of options available to farmers,” Teagasc said.

This includes: Extending tanks and the installation of outdoor agitation points; fitting a slurry circulation pipe; pumping slurry to an outdoor large capacity tank; installing an aeration system; or the use of slurry additives.

The post Advice: Risks when agitating and spreading slurry appeared first on Agriland.ie.

After a somewhat slower start, the calf trade has very much taken off as it hits peak calf sales, with stronger well-fed calves continuing to be in the highest demand.

Trends have shown that calves that are around three to four-weeks-old or 50kg plus are in high demand by calf buyers.

This trend continued in Gortatlea for its weekly calf sale on Monday, April 1.

Speaking to Agriland about the trade, Gortatlea Mart manager, Maurice Brosnan said that there were almost 1,400 calves on offer at the marts Easter Monday calf sale.

He said that calves that are being kept on farms for additional seven to 10 days are making an additional €100 to €150, compared to the younger calves coming into ring.

Brosnan says that the farmer buyers are looking for calves that have a bit more strength to them and will not be an impacted by a case of scour.

Calf trade

Brosnan said that good Angus and Hereford cross calves that were three-weeks-of-age and older, weighing 50kg, sold for up to €250 – with some reaching the €450 mark.

He noted that many of the lighter type calves weighting between 30kg and 40kg were harder sold on the day – with these calves making between €150 and €200.

Commenting on the trade for Continental calves, he said that the good, well fed four-to-five-week-old Continental calves made up €550.

For the Friesian bulls, Brosnan said that farmer-type 50kg and above calves were making from €100 up to €180, while the Friesian shipping type calves sold for between €50 and €100 on the day.

According to Brosnan, around 30% of the calves sold at Monday’s sale went for shipping with a mix of Friesian bulls, Angus and even some Hereford calves.

He also said that the online trade was very active for stronger-type calves on offer in the sale.

The post Calf trade: Online trade very active for strong calves at Gortatlea appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Based on the trade for dairy-beef calves across the country, it is evident that some changes have occurred.

The introduction of tools such as the dairy beef index (DBI) and commercial beef value (CBV) have made it a lot easier for both dairy and beef farmers to assess the quality of calves.

Speaking at the breeding event held in the Corrin Event Centre in Co. Cork on Thursday, March 28 Teagasc’s Dairy Beef 500 programme coordinator, Alan Dillon, outlined what beef farmers are looking for when buying calves.

Dairy-beef

Dillon explained that the majority of farmers buying calves are part-time, saying they are not poor with money – but they are poor with time availability.

He said that because of this, they want a calf that is not going to give them too much trouble.

The majority are buying less than 40 calves/year, with the calves taken to various stages depending on the system.

The calves are generally brought to complement another system on the farm, such as sheep, sucklers or tillage.

What they do not want according to Dillon, is calves more prone to health issues, such as pneumonia, scours, joint-ill, etc,.

This is due to the majority of them being part-time and not having the time to deal with sick calves.

Dillon said: “In terms of genetics, we do want the best genetics, but we do have a problem, not with the genetics in itself – but with over priced genetics.

“It is one thing to buy a good calf or buy a poor calf, it is what you pay for them – we can make money out of any calf if they are brought for the right price.”

Dillon said a Friesian bull at €50, can leave as much as a continental brought at €250 or €300, depending on where they lie in terms of CBV.

“The Friesian was a bit more of a safe bet, by in large you knew they were going to come into 300kg of carcass, they would be an O or a P and they would finish around 24 months.

“The problem was often buying poorer genetics within breeds, buying extremely poor Angus’s or Hereford’s, that where low down on the carcass value and finish at a lighter weight than the Friesian and cost €100 or €150 more.

“That was where the problem was lying and that was probably what gave some of this a bad name,” Dillon said.

Light calves

Dillon said another issue is light or young calves, he said: “If you look at marts in the last while – there is a hell of difference between a calf with a bit of weight and age, compared to a young calf that is very light.

“Farmers want something with a bit of structure, with of frame, bit of bone, something that is a little further along the line in the rearing process.

“You have to remember that these calves are only babies at the end of the day, they are young, they are susceptible to disease – so they want something with a bit less risk.

“That risk kind of goes out of it at the three to four week mark, so if you’re willing to hold calves for those three to four weeks, you have a lot more buyers than if your trying to sell them at 10 days to two weeks.”

He said that a light carcass at finish is another problem, but the CBV will counter act a lot of that.

With a lot more data coming on stream now, in terms of CBV and the genetics of the calves farmers are buying.

Selling calves

For dairy farmers selling calves looking to achieve reasonable prices for their calves, Dillon said they should avoid selling calves under 50kg.

“If your selling calves under 50kg your in that risk category of you might have to take them home or take €5 for them.

“Once you hit north of that 50kg and north of that three week mark, you have a lot more people interested in those calves and will give you a decent price for them.”

Dillon also advised that dairy farmers use the best genetic possible for their beef sires, one that is going to deliver carcass, don’t pick the one with +2kg of carcass.

He said that farmers should pick the bull that have a carcass of 12-14kg and are easy calving.

“There is no excuse for using low carcass merit bulls, because that is all that matter to the beef farmer buying the calf.

“They do not care about what he was like to calf, what he was like in terms of gestation, they want the calf to be healthy and know that it will grow.

“The low CBV calves, we can still make money on them and you can move them off farm, it might mean that you will have to hold them a little bit longer.

“Once they are healthy and have some reasonable bit of genetics in them, farmers will take them.”

Price

The Dairy Beef 500 programme coordinator said it is important that farmers are reasonable when setting prices for their calves.

He said: “Setting the bar to high is an issue in some areas, if you have someone coming into your yard to buy calves you want them coming back next year.

“You do not want to blow them out and say you want €250 for these calves, they say no and you sell them in the mart for €150 – that is pointless.”

Dillon said what you want is someone that is going to arrive on the Saturday with their trailer and leave with the calves and keep coming back.

Building a relationship with a calf buyer is something that dairy farmers should be doing and to ensure they have a market for calves year-on-year.

The post Dairy-beef: What are calf buyers looking for? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The demand for strong, well-fed calves is continuing to grow, with the calf trade and sales in marts very much in peak season.

As the number of calves presenting for sale continues to grow, the price being paid for calves is also holding strong.

Agriland spoke with two marts this week – one based in Co. Wicklow and the other in Co. Kerry, to determine how the calf trade faired this week.

Carnew Mart

Eugene Clune from Carnew Mart said that there were 732 calves on offer at the Co. Wicklow-based mart for its weekly calf sale on Friday, March 22, with a much improved trade.

Clune said that the Hereford and Angus cross calves were met with a brisk trade from both farmers and exporters, with the majority of these calves selling for between €80 and €170.

The stronger type calves and the continental type calves on offer sold from €220 to a top price of €425, according to Clune.

The Friesian bulls sold for between €35 to €70 for the lighter type calves, while the stronger and farmer type calves sold from €90 to a top call of €185.

Clune said that Friday’s sale saw an improvement in the trade, with more farmers active for the good calves, while every shipper was represented for shipping type calves.

He noted that like all other sectors, if the weather improved, the calf trade would move forward to another level.

Castleisland

Castleisland Mart held its weekly calf sale on Monday, March 25, with 1,342 calves on offer and a 100% clearance achieved on the day at the Co. Kerry-based mart.

Adam Coughlan from Castleisland mart said that the large quantity of calves on offer demonstrated an improvement for all categories, but that the quality of the calves on offer had also improved.

He noted that most of the farmers buying calves are now carrying out their business online.

Coughlan said the stronger type Hereford and Angus cross bulls between four-and-six-weeks-of-age achieved price of between €300 and €450, while heifers made €280 and €360.

There was an improvement in the trade for the lighter heifer calves, with price increasing on average by €30-€50 on the week previous – with prices being paid ranging from €100 to €210 depending on strength.

The Belgian Blue cross calves reached over €600 on the day, with strong demand for five star heifers.

The Friesian bulls on offer were all well fed according to Coughlan, with calves weighing over 50kg making €35 to €80.

He said that the outlook for calves in Castleisland looks promising, with several extra customers in attendance at Monday’s sale.

The post Positive trend and outlook for calf trade in marts appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Enniscorthy Mart held its weekly calf sale on Wednesday (March 20), with 863 calves on offer at the model county-based mart.

Despite the big sale, the trade is holding very well for all quality calves.

There are plenty of farmers and agents looking for those well-fed calves, according Fionn Sherlock, assistant manager and auctioneer at Enniscorthy Mart.

Speaking to Agriland after the sale, Sherlock said that Angus and Hereford cross calves are making up the biggest proportion of the sale.

He also said that exporters are active ringside but the demand isn’t as strong due to a build up of calves waiting for export.

Beef calves

Starting with the trade for Angus and Hereford cross calves at Enniscorthy Mart at Wednesday’s sale, Sherlock said that they sold anywhere from €50 for lighter type calves up to €320 for a four-week-old Angus cross bull.

Some of the sample Hereford and Angus prices:

• A four-week-old Angus cross bull sold for €320;
• A four-week-old Angus cross bull sold for €310;
• A five-week-old Hereford cross bull sold for €290;
• A five-week-old Hereford cross bull sold for €285;
• Two, three-week-old Hereford cross heifers sold for €155 each.

Moving to the Continental calves, they sold from €150 for a Limousin cross heifer calf up to a top price of €415 for a six-week-old Belgian Blue cross bull calf.

According to Sherlock, there are some very strong customers for those continental calves – many of which are local farmers and agents from surrounding counties.

Some of the sample for Continental calves:

• A six-week-old Belgian Blue cross bull made €415;
• A five-week-old Belgian Blue cross bull made €370;
• Two, four-week-old Belgian Blue cross bulls made €360 each;
• A four-week-old Belgian Blue bull made €340;
• A five-week-old Limousin cross bull made €320;
• A six-week-old Charolais cross heifer made €310.

Enniscorthy Mart

Sherlock told Agriland that Friesian bull calves are a tough trade in general particularly for the light and small framed animals.

The stronger Friesian bulls sold anywhere from €45 up to €100 on the day while those plainer Friesians made from €5 up to €30, all of which were bought for export.

Some sample Friesian prices:

• Two, four-week-old Friesian bulls sold for €95 each;
• A four-week-old Friesian bull sold for €85;
• A three-week-old Friesian bull sold for €55;
• Six, three-week-old Friesian bulls sold for €20 each;
• Four, three-week-old Friesian bulls sold for €10 each;
• Five, two-week-old Friesian bulls sold for €5 each.

There was a very small proportion which didn’t receive a bid and had to return home, according to Sherlock.

Commenting on the trade Sherlock said: “There is a very good trade for all the coloured calves, but light or plain Friesians are a tough sell.”

The post Well-fed calves a strong trade at Enniscorthy Mart appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Over the last number of years, there has been a significant push to increase the number and quality of calves leaving the dairy herd and entering dairy-beef systems.

The national dairy herd has now reached a natural peak, with the expansion slowing down.

A number of new technologies have been introduced in recent years to improve the quality of the calves leaving dairy herds and entering into the beef system.

These include the introduction of the dairy beef index (DBI), sexed semen and the commercial beef value (CBV).

The adoption of these technologies has been embraced by many dairy farmers, but what impact is that having on the trends in calf births?

Dairy-beef

Data from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF), shows that the number of beef sired calves born to dairy dams surpassed the number of dairy sired calves born to dairy dams in 2023.

There were 74,493 more beef sired calves (849,044) born in 2023 to dairy dams compared to calves born to dairy sires (774,551).

The data also shows that there were 69,581 fewer male dairy calves born in 2023 compared to 2022, and 67,000 fewer dairy male calves born in 2023 compared to dairy females.

This means that 54% of the dairy sired calves in 2023 were female and 46% were male.

According to the ICBF, the use of sexed semen has played an very important role in this move, and early indications are showing an even better picture for 2024, with only 41% of dairy calves being male.

The graph below shows the trend in births to dairy females based on the sire. It shows a steady growth in the number of beef sired calves and a somewhat sharp decline in the number of calves sired by dairy males from 2022 to 2023.

The ICBF said that this shows how dairy farmers have embraced the messages of only breeding from their highest economic breeding index (EBI) females and using high DBI sires on the lower EBI cows from the start of the breeding season.

ICBF believes that this trend is likely to continue in 2024.

Based on the artificial inseminations (AI) for dairy cows in 2022 and 2023, there are about 80,000 less dairy serves, which translates to less dairy calves on the ground this spring.

ICBF says that, dairy farmers are using the latest technologies, namely sexed semen, EBI and DBI – to help breed more profitable replacements, while at the same time increasing the quantity and quality of beef from the dairy herd.

The post Are dairy farmers getting the message about dairy-beef? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The total number of calf registrations up until March 8, 2024 has reached 874,561 head, based on data from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).

There were 103,511 calves registered in the week ending March 8, with 13,930 registered to beef dams and 89,581 registered to dairy dams.

Compared to the same week in last year (2023), when 138,873 head were registered. The number of calves registered this week compared to then is down 35,362 head.

Overall registrations for the year-to-date are down 42,007 head.

Calf registrations

A total of 770,615 calves have been registered to dairy dams for the year-to-date, which is down slightly on the same period in 2023.

For the same period in 2023, some 795,409 head had been registered.

Calves registered to beef dams has reached 103,946 head for the year-to-date, which is also down on 2023 figures.

At this stage in 2023, a total of 121,159 head had been registered to beef dams, which means there has been a decrease of 17,213 head for the year-to-date.

Genotyping programme

The National Genotyping Programme (NGP) is now in week 10. As of Tuesday, March 5, a total of  340,503 calf samples have been received in the lab.

There has been 304,444 passports issues from the programme, and 317,764 calf samples have been genotyped up until March 5.

The latest update from the programme showed some improvement in the time it was taking for samples to be processed.

With the ICBF stating that on average, it was taking 12.2 days from birth to passport being issues, which is a reduction of 1.1 days from week nine when it was taking 13.3 days.

The average time from birth to sample being received in the lab was 7.2 days. This is a slight increase on week nine, when it was taking 6.9 days on average.

The average time a sample spent in the lab last week was 4.2 days, which is done 0.5 of days on week nine.

In week 10, some 58,762 calf samples were received in the lab, and 69,369 calf samples were processed in the lab.

The post Calf registrations approach the €1m mark for 2024 appeared first on Agriland.ie.

One tool in the arsenal of dairy beef farmers, is the commercial beef value (CBV), which was launched by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) in late 2021.

Although sourcing healthy animals is important for dairy-beef production, so too is selecting animals that have the genetic potential to perform from birth to slaughter.

The CBV is a tool designed for non-breeding beef farmers, which gives them an insight into the genetic merit for beef production parentage.

In the video below, Teagasc DairyBeef 500 programme advisor, Tommy Cox outlines the importance of purchasing animals with genetic potential to perform.

The CBV comprises five key traits: Carcass weight; carcass confirmation; carcass fat; feed intake; and docility.

Cox said that it is a useful selection tool to identify high genetic merit beef animals that are faster growing, have better shape, are more feed efficient and docile.

Calves with a registered sire will have a CBV, while calves without a registered sire will not have a CBV, and purchasers may be in the dark regarding their genetic potential.

The CBV value of an animal can be seen in the ‘through the profile’ section of HerdPlus, and on mart boards for calves that have been genotyped.

It is expressed as a euro value and is generated for all cattle that are likely to go into a finishing system.

Animals are assigned one of the following three different breed types, depending on sire and dam breed: Beef cross beef; beef cross dairy and dairy cross dairy.

Like the terminal and replacement indexes, animals are assigned a star rating of between one and five.

Five-star animals are within the top 20% of the national calculation within that breed type, while one-star animals are in the bottom 20% of the national calculation.

For breeding farmers aiming to maximise the use of the CBV, the use of the terminal index and dairy beef index (DBI) should be a priority to breed a more marketable animal.

Cox says that a within both of these indexes, attention should be placed on the carcass and feed sub-indexes.

The post Watch: Using the CBV when selecting for dairy-beef production appeared first on Agriland.ie.

There were over 1,000 calves on offer at Castleisland Mart’s calf sale on Monday (March 4), with a strong trade in particular for the older, stronger-type calves.

Calf sales in many marts have gotten off to a slower start, but in the last week or so, the number of calves being offered for sale has increased.

Many of these calves now presenting for sale are older and stronger-type calves, which has resulted in many achieving good prices in the sales rings.

Calf trade

To get some insight into the trade at the calf sale on Monday, Agriland spoke with Adam Coughlan from the mart.

Commenting on the outlook for the trade Coughlan said: “The outlook going forward is very positive for well fed calves with a lot of west of Ireland and midland customers anxious for quality lots.”

Starting with the beef sired calves, he said that continental and strong Hereford and Angus cross calves aged between four-to-six weeks old met a very lively trade.

The Hereford and Angus cross bull calves over four-weeks-of-age sold for between €250 and €420.

While the strong Hereford and Angus cross heifers made between €220 and €345, according to Coughlan.

The lighter Hereford and Angus cross calves sold for between €70 and €150 on the day.

There was a very strong trade for the continental sired calves, with prices reaching up to €625 on the day.

Castleisland

Friesian bull calves remain a difficult sale, with this trend being seen in marts across the country in recent weeks.

Coughlan said that the strong and shipping type Friesian bulls over 50kg traded from €30 and €55.

While Friesian bulls that were under 50kg are unwanted by all shipping agents, according to Coughlan.

The farmer-type Friesian bulls were a good trade, with prices reaching €210.

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The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has released data which outlines the top 10 artificial insemination (AI) beef sires for the second half of 2023.

ICBF data shows that 32,832 calves that were born after August 1, 2023 were registered to AI sires.

According to the ICBF, during the second half of 2023, some 157,847 suckler beef calves (beef sire bred to beef dam) were born on Irish farms – of which 32,832 were registered to an AI sire.

This represents approximately 20% of all suckler beef calves born during this period.

The list is dominated by well-proven Charolais and Limousin sires, along with one Belgian Blue.

The 10 sires listed have an average replacement index of €107, with relatively high reliability across all of the sires.

Beef sires

The data released from the ICBF shows that the Charolais bull, Lapon, came out on top.

The National Cattle Breeding Centre (NCBC) bull had 2,584 progeny registered to him during the six-month period, which is over 200 more than the bull in second place.

Lapon has a replacement index of €64, a terminal index of €152 and has a dairy beef index (DBI) of €141.

Second place went to Limousin bull, Ewdenvale Ivor, who is a Dovea sire with 2,372 progeny born in the six month period.

Ewdenvale Ivor has a replacement index of €153, a terminal index of €146 and a dairy beef index of €163.

The sire with the third highest number of progeny born in the period is Powerful Proper, with 1,261 progeny.

The Limousin NCBC sire has a replacement index of €99, terminal index of €102 and a DBI of €135.

The only Belgian Blue sire on the list is An De Beauffaux and is in eighth place, with 643 progeny.

A Dovea Genetics sire he has a replacement index of €36, a terminal index of €93 and a DBI of €43

Top ten

The top 10 sires account for 36% of all of the AI suckler progeny born in the second half of 2023.

ICBF said that it is encouraging that six of the 10 sires, and all of the top four listed, have graduated from Gene Ireland over the years. It said that this statistic highlights the value of the programme for consistently progeny testing young high impact sires.

It also said that this helps to drive the rate of genetic gain, while building high reliability indexes at a young age on the back of robust data recording.

The post Top 10 beef sires for second half of 2023 revealed appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The latest data for calf registrations from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) shows that the number of calves registered to dairy dams to date this year has fallen by 102,301.

The data from ICBF applies to calves that were registered before February 23, 2024, and shows that some 502,664 calves have been registered on Irish farms for the year to date.

Compared to the same period in 2023, overall calf registrations are down 120,372 head – at this stage in 2023, some 623,036 head had been registered on Irish farms.

Dairy

For the week ending February 23, 2024, a total of 112,836 calves were registered, which is down on the same time period in 2023.

62,710 less calves were registered based on the data, with 175,546 registrations having taken place this time last year.

Looking at the calves registered to dairy dams, this figure is down 57,175 head when compared to 2023.

Some 101,916 were registered in the week ending February 23, 2024, whereas in 2023 this figure was 159,091.

Overall, dairy registrations are also down, with 102,301 less calves being registered to dairy dams in the year-to-date.

In 2024, some 440,519 calves have been registered to dairy dams, but this figure is down from 542,820 in 2023.

This also means that this time last year, more calves had been registered to dairy dams than have been born so far this year.

Beef

Moving to the data for calves registered to beef dams, a total of 10,920 were registered in the week ending February 23, 2024.

This is down 5,535 head on the same period in 2023, when 16,455 calves had been registered to beef dams.

For the year-to-date, the total number of calves registered to beef dams stands at 62,145 head, which is also down on the figure for the same period in 2023.

There has been a reduction in the number of calves registered to beef dams by 18,071, in 2024 the total number of calves registered to this period of the year was 80,216 head.

Calf registrations

Issues with registering calves have been highlighted already this year, with many having issues with passports being returned from the National Genotyping Programme (NGP).

In a statement issued on Tuesday, February 20, ICBF said that over 127,000 passports have been issued to date under the programme, which is now in its eighth week.

The average turnaround time from birth to passport being issued was 13.1 days, it said.

To help ease the delays with the issuing of passports for calves, ICBF has introduced a number of measures.

For samples that spend 10 days in the lab, it will automatically issue a passport for the calf.

In the event that a sample is identified as unsuitable or empty, ICBF said that a passport will be issued automatically

The farmer will be required to follow up with their tag company to order a new DNA button tag to resample the calf for its genomic evaluation.

ICBF also noted that some farmers have expressed concerns around receiving passports on different days, despite sending all samples together.

“While this is a normal occurrence, we are endeavouring to reduce the incidence. Please rest assured that samples are being processed as quickly and efficiently as possible,” it said.

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10 pedigree, in-calf Speckle Park cows as well as two running with the bull averaged £2,629 at a recent sale held at Ballymena Mart.

All the animals were consigned by north Antrim breeder, Richard Creith.

The sale topped £3,465, paid for a top quality a young cow. There was equally keen interest demonstrated in another young cow of a similar type; she made £3,202 in the ring.

Three of the animals in the sale were purchased by Co. Mayo Speckle Park breeder, Pat Morrison. The Castlebar man is the current secretary of the Irish Speckle Park Cattle Society.

Glen Crooks, from the Moy in Co. Tyrone, also purchased three of the animals that featured in the sale. He owns the Scollop herd with Robert Martin.

Speckle Park

Richard Creith has been working with pedigree Speckle Park cattle since 2010 and was to the fore in introducing the breed to Northern Ireland.

His Ballylough herd is synonymous with the highest standards of Speckle Park breeding in Ireland. A number of bulls currently stand at AI studs throughout Ireland.

The opportunity to reduce herd numbers was taken simply to lessen the workload on the Creith farm.

The Speckle Park is a breed developed in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan by blending Teeswater Shorthorn, Aberdeen Angus and British White bloodlines.

Bred for beef, the Speckle Park was recognised as a breed in Canada in 2006 where it has a reputation for consistent, high-quality carcases.

The breed is renowned as a quiet, good-natured and docile breed with bulls being especially easy to manage. Cows are easy calving, normally giving birth to quite small calves.

Their unusual coats are often roaned or spotted and range from black to grey and white.

Their dark pigmentation acts as protection from the sun. They are hardy and have the ability to withstand harsh climates.

The breed has a solid white stripe down the underbelly and spine. The cattle are naturally polled.

Speckle Park cattle are very hardy. Females are easy-calving and calves have low birth weights,

The breed is also characterised by its high fertility, great udders, high milk flow, with distinct markings and the cattle are much sought after because of their consistent, high quality carcasses.

The breed provides a high-quality fine tender meat and produces a high marbling with perfect fat covering, whether fed off grass or grain.

Richard Creith commented:

“The cows are extremely hardy and have a very quite temperament. They thrive on forage – grazed grass and silage. They receive no meals at all.

“Calves are extremely healthy and very easy to manage.”

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Calving season is well underway across the country, and reports suggest that numbers for the calf trade are down on previous years.

Although numbers may have reduced, there is still a strong trade – especially for stronger, continental calves.

To get an insight into the trade, Agriland spoke with two mart representatives.

Calf trade

Carrigallen Mart held it’s calf sale on Saturday, February 17, with over 130 calves and runners on offer at the Co. Leitrim-based mart.

A strong trade was seen for all types, but significant prices were paid for a number of Belgian Blue cross calves.

Hereford and Angus cross calves sold from €85, while Angus-cross heifers sold for up to €385.

Sample prices for Hereford and Angus calves:

• Hereford cross bull calf sold for €385;
• Angus cross bull sold for €155;
• Angus cross heifer sold for €200;
• Hereford cross heifer sold for €190.

The prices for continental calves reached €850 for a Belgian Blue heifer out of a Montbeliarde dam; with other Belgian Blues making €830 and €710.

Sample prices continental calves:

• Belgian Blue cross bull sold for €450;
• Limousin cross bull sold for €220;
• Belgian Blue cross bull sold for €230.

The price being paid for Friesian bull calves varied with a top price of €170, but the majority sold for between €5 to €50.

There was also a good number of runners presented for sale in the mart, with prices reaching €770 for a Limousin cross heifer runner.

Sample prices for runners:

• Hereford cross heifer sold for €720;
• Angus cross bull sold for €690;
• Friesian bull sold for €300.

Carnew

Carnew Mart held it’s calf sale on Friday, February 16, with 350 calves on offer at the Co. Wicklow-based mart.

Speaking to Agriland, Eugene Clune from Carnew Mart said that it was a very ‘”solid and lively trade for calves”.

He noted a strong exporter presence at the mart, looking to purchase calves suitable for shipping and farmers very keen on the continental and beef-type breeds.

Clune said that numbers are back on last year, but that the calves presenting for sale are stronger and in very good condition.

The Hereford and Angus cross calves sold from €90 to €220 – with the majority of the calves selling for between €150 to €180.

Continental calves were in big demand, with month-old Belgian Blues calves easily passing for €400 – with one strong bull making over €500.

In general, continental calves sold between €320 to €400.

The Friesian bulls sold from €30 to a top call of €120. The shipping type calves sold from €30 to €80, while the stronger type Friesian sold for up to €120.

The post Watch: Calf trade sees reduction in numbers but remains strong appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Calf registrations have now reached 314,424 head for 2024, with 96,628 registered in the last week based on Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) data.

The data from ICBF applies to calves that were registered before February 16.

This time last year, some 434,763 head had been registered, which means that based on the data, registrations are down 120,339 compared to last year.

Calf registrations

Looking at the data, 268,888 calves have been registered to dairy dams – this is down 104,442 head on 2023.

For this week, 87,906 calves were registered to dairy dams, which when compared to the same week last year is down 62,588.

Some of the decrease may be due to the National Genotyping Programme, which is currently taking 12.5 days for calves to be registered from tagging.

Moving to the calves registered to beef dams, there have been 45,536 calves registered so far this year.

For the same period in 2023 some 61,433 calves had been registered to beef dams, which means that numbers are down 15,897 head.

For the week ending February 16, a total of 96,628 calves were registered to dairy and beef dams – which when compared to the same period in 2023 is down 68,608 head.

For the same period in 2023, some 165,236 had been registered to dairy and beef dams.

Genotyping

The National Genotyping Programme is in its first year, and as of February 13, more than 66,000 animal passports were issued via the programme.

ICBF has stated that the programme is “progressing well” and that on average, it is taking 12.5 days from birth to receiving the animal’s passport.

Postage delays have been noted as an issue in the receiving of samples to the labs.

However, in the programme’s information handbook, ICBF said that including postage, the whole process – from tagging to the issuing of animal passports, can take on average 10 to 12 days.

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Carrigallen Mart hosted its weekly calf sale on Saturday, February 10, with a total of 90 calves and runners on offer at the Co. Leitrim-based mart.

A strong trade was seen for all types on offer at the sale, with the continental-type animals in the biggest demand.

After Saturday’s sale, Agriland spoke with Carrigallen Mart manager Helen Kells, who commented on the sale, saying: “There was a really strong trade for continental-type calves, with a strong farmer presence around the ring.”

Looking at the continental calves first, the majority of the calves in this section of the sale were Belgian Blue cross with Charolais and Limousin cross calves.

Top price of the calves went to a Charolais cross heifer, selling for €700.

All of the calves in this section of the sale sold well, with almost all calves achieving prices over €200, with a good number making €400 and above.

Sample prices:

• Belgian Blue cross, heifer sold for €510;
• Belgian Blue cross, bull sold for €480;
• Limousin cross, bull sold for €240.

Angus and Hereford

Angus and Hereford cross calves made up a good portion of the calves on offer at the sale on Saturday.

With a top price of €260 being achieved for a Angus cross bull calf and €170 for a Hereford cross heifer calf.

The majority of the calves on offer is this section of the sale sold for between €150 to €200.

Sample prices:

• Hereford cross, heifer sold for €160;
• Angus cross, heifer sold for €255;
• Angus cross, bull sold for €240;
• Angus cross, heifer sold for €190;
• Angus cross, heifer sold for €230,

Friesian

Moving to the Friesian bulls on offer at the sale in Carrigallen Mart on Saturday.

The number of Friesian bull calves present at the sale was small, with prices ranging from €5 to €120 for the stronger-type calves.

Runners

There was also a number of runners present at the sale on Saturday, with Charolais, Angus, Belgian Blue, Hereford and Limousin cross animals on offer.

They sold from €400 for a Hereford cross bull to a top price of €800 for a Limousin cross bull.

The majority of the runners sold from €500 to €600, with five animals achieving over 600 on the day.

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The spring calving season is now underway, with data from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) showing that there has been 87,856 calf registrations to date.

The data from ICBF is for calves registered up until February 2, 2024.

Although it is still early in the calving season, there has been a somewhat significant reduction in the number of calves registered on Irish farms.

Calf registration

A total of 64,157 calves have been registered to dairy dams to date, which is 40,618 head behind the same period in 2023.

For the same period in 2023, some 104,775 calves had been registered at this stage.

Beef births are also back on 2023 figures with 23,699 born so far this year, down from 32,936 – a drop of 9,237 head.

Meaning that 49,855 less calves have been registered in 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

For the same period in 2023, a total of 137,711 calves had been registered on Irish farms.

The calving season is just in the early stages, but that is a significant reduction in registrations.

The number of calves being registered should increase over the coming weeks, but it is likely that we will see another year of with a reduction in calf registrations – with nitrates having an impact on dairy cow numbers and suckler cows number falling.

2023

The data which was up until December 29, showed that there had been a reduction in calf registrations of 41,979 head.

The data from 2023 showed a slight increase in the number of calves registered to dairy dams from 1,593,641 in 2022 to 1,611,993 in 2023 a increase of 18,352 head.

However, there was a drop in the number of calves registered to beef dams from 814,942 in 2022 to 754,611.

Based on the data from ICBF this resulted in a total reduction in calf registrations of 60,331 head in a 12-month period.

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Springtime is fast approaching and with the arrival of spring, farmers and agri-contractors will be busy spreading nutrient applications in the form of slurry, dung or chemical fertiliser onto farmland, when permitted.

Often, on farms, the value of slurry that is produced can be taken for granted but in recent years, more farmers are beginning to appreciate the value of their home-produced fertiliser and are taking a more targeted approach to their nutrient applications.

Slurry and farmyard manure (FYM) or dung, where possible, should be targeted at the fields which most require the nutrients, not the fields that are most conveniently located to the slurry store.

Teagasc has recently assembled a table detailing the nutrient values of various slurries and FYM and the monetary values of these, based on average nutrient and Dry Matter (DM) contents:

Some notes to consider when reading the table:

• The value of N in cattle slurry is 9 units/1,000 gallon (based on total N of 2.4kgN/m³ at 40% N availability by low emissions slurry spreading (LESS) application; Conversion: kg by 2=units;
• Spring application of organic manures is required to maximise N recovery. Manures should be tested to determine manure nutrient content;
• In relation to pig manure, incorporation of hig N manures within 2-6hrs after application, assume 50% N availability;
• Value of N = €1.26/kg; P = €2.73/kg; K = €1.05/kg for 2024 (nutrient values based on price/volume of range of fertiliser products;
• The cost of spreading or transport is not included in the value;
• Replace P availability to 50% on P Index 1 & 2soils;
• Values under units/1,000gal or per/t have been rounded to the closest unit.

The table above provides guideline figures, and farmers who wish to get accurate nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) values for slurry on their own farms can do so by getting their slurry tested.

Using an N value of €1.26/kg, a P value of €2.73/kg and a K value of €1.05/kg, the table indicates that 1,000gal of cattle slurry with a DM content of 6% has a value of €29.

1,000gal of pig slurry with a DM content of 4% has a value of €32, according to the table.

The costings do not include the cost of spreading and transporting the slurry.

Before determining what chemical fertilisers are needed for the farm this year, farmers should first consult a recent soil sample analysis taken of their farm.

Where no recent soil samples have been taken, now is the ideal time to take a soil sample, where nutrients have not been spread on land in the past three months.

An up-to-date soil sample will help farmers identify areas of ground on their farm that should be targeted with slurry and areas on the farm that may need a lime application.

Often farmers who soil sample their land are surprised to see they may need to purchase much less chemical P and K fertiliser than they originally thought.

The post How much money is slurry worth in nutrient terms? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

This week’s factory quotes have seen the lower price quotes from last week edge up for this week while the higher quotes from last week have held for this week.

Generally speaking, steer (bullock) price quotes have increased by 50c/kg, and more in cases, since early November of last year.

It remains to be seen if prices will continue to increase, however sentiment amongst buyers of forward-store cattle at marts around the country suggests the mood on price is one of further positivity.

Factory quotes – heifers and steers

Bullocks are being quoted at €5.10-5.20/kg on the grid this week, generally speaking.

Heifers are being quoted at €5.15-5.25/kg on the grid.

Demand for finished heifers and steers remains strong from all major beef processors.

Supplies of both heifers and steers to-date, this year, are running ahead of January 2023 levels.

Cow price

Cow prices have increased at some outlets this week also despite supplies remaining high.

In the week ending Sunday, January 14, over 8,900 cows were slaughtered at Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)-approved factories, an increase of 1,000 head on the equivalent week of last year.

Short-fleshed cows make up a large volume of these cow kill figures and naturally enough, processors are willing to pay more where well-fleshed, heavy cows are presented for slaughter.

U-grade cows are being quoted at €4.70-4.75/kg and R grade cows are being quoted at €4.50-4.65/kg, generally speaking, but much more is available at some outlets for choice lots of fleshed R and U-grade cows.

In the week ending Sunday, January 14, official DAFM figures show up to€5.05/kg was paid for U=3= grade cows.

O grade cows are being quoted at €4.10-4.15/kg while P grade cows are being quoted at €4.00-4.15/kg.

A look at prices actually paid for cows by grade in the second week of January is available here.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are being quoted at prices ranging from €5.25-5.40/kg for U grades, with €5.15-5.30/kg being quoted for R grades.

O grade bulls are being quoted at €4.95-5.10/kg, generally speaking with €4.85-5.00/kg being quoted for P grade bulls.

Under-16-month bulls are being quoted at €5.05-5.10/kg on the grid.

Farmers can see the prices actually paid for bulls by each factory in the week ending Sunday, January 14 by clicking here.

The post Factory quotes: Lower beef prices see increase this week appeared first on Agriland.ie.

There is positive news to report in this week’s factory quotes for beef cattle, as prime cattle quotes have increased by as much as 10c/kg at some outlets.

Despite this price increase, other factories are holding their price quotes at a similar level to last week for all cattle types leaving a variation of up to 15c/kg, and more in cases, in steer (bullock) price quotations this week.

While prime cattle price quotes have increased at some sites, O and P grade cow price quotes have remained relatively consistent with last week – albeit with big variations in price depending on the quality of cows presented, and the processor in question.

Factory quotes – prime cattle

Looking first at the stronger end of the price offerings, one Donegal-based outlet was offering €5/kg on the grid (plus a 10c/kg weight bonus on eligible cattle, with a carcass weight between 300-400kg) for steers last Monday, but has raised its offering to €5.10/kg for steers this week.

This leaves €5.20/kg on the grid available for eligible steers with a carcass weight of between 300-400kg.

While factory quotes would suggest the highest prices are available for cattle in Donegal, a look at the ‘all in’ average prices paid for R+3= grade steers in the week ending, Sunday, January 7, suggests differently. Farmers can view these prices here.

So, while top quotes for steers are coming in at €5.20/kg (for 300-400kg carcass weight) today, most other outlets were holding back on their quotes this morning, with price offerings of €5.05-5.10/kg on the grid.

These outlets will likely have to pay a little extra to secure volumes of cattle from larger suppliers.

The top heifer quotes are coming in at €5.25/kg on the grid this week (for eligible 300-400kg carcass weight heifers).

Despite this, the general run of price quotes for heifers is ranging from €5.10-5.15/kg, with some outlets opening the week at lower rates, but likely having to pay more to secure larger numbers of heifers.

Cow price

O and P grade cow price quotes seem to have remained similar to last week, with increases seen in the offerings for the R and U grade cows.

U grade cows are being quoted at top prices of €4.70/kg, with €4.40-4.60/kg being quoted for R grade cows.

O grade cows are being quoted at €4.20-4.30 for the better types, while P grade cows are being quoted at €4.00-4.10/kg.

To view the prices actually paid for cows by grade in the first week of this year, farmers can click here.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are being quoted at prices ranging from €5.20-5.40/kg for U grades, with €5.10-5.30/kg being quoted for R grades.

O grade bulls are being quoted at €4.90-5.10/kg, generally speaking with €4.80-5.00/kg being quoted for P grade bulls.

Under-16-month bulls are being quoted at €5.05-5.10/kg on the grid.

Prices actually paid for young bulls in the first week of this year can be viewed here.

There is plenty of variation in price quotes between outlets and carcass specifications, and prices actually paid to farmers will vary depending on the processor and the number and type of cattle the farmer has on offer.

The post Factory quotes: 10c/kg prime cattle price rise at some outlets appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Data from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) shows that up until December 29, 2023, there were 41,979 less calf registrations on Irish farms in comparison to 2022.

Based on the data, 2,408,583 calves were registered on Irish farms in 2022. This dropped to 2,366,604 in 2023.

For the same period in 2021, the total number of registered births stood at 2,408,657 head.

Beef

The drop in calf registrations can be attributed to a considerable deduction in beef births, with 60,331 fever births compared to the same period in 2022.

Based on the ICBF data, a total of 754,611 calves were registered, or born to beef dams in 2023.

For the same period in 2022, it stood at 814,942, while on December 30, 2021, there had been 840,455 calves registered to beef dams.

Based on figure for 2021, the total number of calves registered to beef dams has fallen by 85,844 head in 24 months.

This represents a 10.76% reduction in births to beef dams between 2021 and 2023.

Dairy

Moving to the dairy birth registrations, a total of 1,611,993 head were registered in 2023.

This is a slight increase of 18,352 head on the same period in 2022 when 1,593,641 calves had been registered on Irish dairy farms.

When compared to the same period in 2021, some 1,568,202 calves had been registered to dairy dams.

There has been an increase in calf births to dairy dams of 43,791 head – a 2.75% increase in the two year period.

Calf registrations

The trend in beef calf registrations is not new, with births from beef dams declining since before the removal of milk quotas in 2015.

Dairy births had been increasing in this period, but due to a number of challenges facing the sector and a natural levelling-off national herd, it appears to be stabilising.

We are now seeing a decline in overall registered births, as the beef decline surpasses the dairy increase.

The post Calf registrations down over 40,000 in 2023 appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Farmers have been reminded of the importance of ensuring their cattle have been given an effective treatment for liver fluke, as cases are have been described as “very prevalent” this year.

Speaking to a group of beef farmers suppling cattle to ABP Food Group, Liam Carroll who is a vet working for Blackwater Veterinary Clinic in Co. Meath said: “With the year that’s in it, liver fluke is very prevalent.

“The national fluke survey showed that of animals that were killed in the factory, 39% of herds had at least one animal with liver fluke damage and 12% of herds had at least one animal with live liver fluke present. “

The video below shows the presentation that the vet made to farmers at the event.

In the demonstration seen in the video, the vet showed farmers liver from two different cattle.

One of the livers had never been affected by liver fluke while another of the cattle had been affected by liver fluke.

Looking at the healthy liver, he said: “So you can see the nice homogenous surface here and the cross section through the liver here… you have nice healthy tissue. Obviously this liver is unaffected by fluke.”

Then looking at the cattle liver which had been impacted by fluke, he said: “Whereas in comparison, here we have quite a badly damaged liver. You’ve areas of consolidation here, and then looking through the cross sections of the liver, we’ve greatly increased bile ducts. We have some calcification here as well from scar tissue secondary to the liver fluke.”

The vet explained that naturally enough, the animal with the healthy liver will thrive better than the animal with the damaged liver.

“An animal with a damaged liver like this is going to have decreased average daily gains in comparison to an animal with a healthy liver that isn’t compromised by a parasite burden.”

Dosing for liver fluke

In terms of dosing cattle, the vet explained that “there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach”.

“There’s probably 40 or 50 different products would work perfectly well for treating animals. It’s just to get the right combination for your farm and the type of cattle you have.”

He reminded farmers of Animal Health Ireland’s (AHI) initiative ‘Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health’ (TASAH) which has been running for the last two years.

Liam Carroll explained that TASAH is “a free consult where a farmer signs up with their local vet”.

“They can get a free consult and get two free faecal egg count tests, which is brilliant for assessing the parasite burden under farms, and seeing the effectiveness of their dosing regime.

“It also lets them identify risk areas on their farm and then also come up with an appropriate dosing plan for the risks that exist on their individual farm with their local vet that’s aware of the issues on their farm and the history of the farms in the areas well.

“Hopefully with this scheme they can come up with a plan that’s practical for the farmer and that hopefully is going to benefit them financially in terms of animal performance and production.”

The post Video: Vet shows damage caused by liver fluke in cattle appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Farmers who are in the business of finishing cattle have been reminded to be wary of the level of starch in cattle diets as excessive levels could lead to acidosis cases.

Speaking to a group of beef farmers suppling cattle to ABP Food Group, animal nutritionist from Brett Brothers Ltd, Heather Peppard, delivered a presentation on factors to consider “within the farm gate” to improve the performance of livestock.

She said: “The diet that should be presented to finishing cattle needs to be balanced for starch, sugars and digestible fiber.”

The group of farmers heard the presentation while on a site visit to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) Tully Progeny Test Centre last month.

The animal nutritionist reminded farmers of the basic principals of a good finishing diet for cattle.

She said: “The diet has to include an element of forage whether that be silage grown on the farm or possibly straw or hay.

“Then combined with that, you have to look at all the feeds available such as maybe fodder beet or whole crop silage and then ingredients coming into the farm such as a purchased feed or home-grown cereals to be balanced.

“The most important aspects when looking at finishing diets is to make sure that there’s not too much starch in the diet, which could lead to acidosis.”

She emphasised that it is “really important” that farmers get their livestock diets assessed and consult a professional nutritionist.

Heather also advised farmers that the inclusion of feed additives, rumen buffers and yeasts can reduce the risk of acidosis in intensive finishing systems and improve overall feed efficiency.

Water and feed space

As well as feed factors, the animal nutritionist reminded farmers of the importance of water access and feed-barrier positioning for cattle.

Farmers often are reminded of the importance of ensuring cattle drinkers are kept clean and are checked regularly but in cases, this job can be sometimes overlooked.

“There must be water freely available, and it must be potable and have the same standard as what we as humans would drink as well,” she continued.

She explained that based on data from the Tully research centre where feed intake and water intake is measured, “the minimum amount of water that any animal is consuming [here] at present is 40L/day”.

She also said that farmers should pay attention to how comfortably cattle can feed at the barrier.

“The best feed in the world could be put in front of cattle, but they’re not going to perform if they’re not able to actually physically access that,” she added.

She noted the actual space allowance for feeding is important, but also reminded farmers to make sure the barriers are “set at a height that allows the animal to physically reach that feed”.

“If animals are showing that they consistently have a bare patch at the back of the neck, that means that they have to reach to get feed. We would encourage a farmer in that situation to maybe look at either adjusting the feed barrier height, or maybe to push in feed on a more regular basis throughout the day.”

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The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has said that he doesn’t agree with farmers blindly selecting animals based on their star rating.

Sean Coughlan was speaking to Agriland on the latest episode of the AgriFocus podcast where he detailed the recent changes to the Euro-Star beef breeding index.

The index is designed to help beef farmers select more profitable breeding animals. Euro-Star Indexes quantify the genetic component of an animal’s performance across all traits of importance for Irish suckler farmers.

The Euro-Star Index has two overall indexes – the Replacement Index and the Terminal Index. This is to facilitate the use of Euro-Star Indexes across different farming systems.

Some farmers may breed their own replacements, in which case the Replacement Index is most relevant. Other farmers may sell all of their suckler progeny as weanlings or take them through to slaughter, in which case the Terminal Index is most relevant.

Coughlan explained that the last major update of the index in terms of economic value, which has proven controversial with some farmers in the suckler sector, was carried out almost eight years ago.

“Dr. Paul Crossan from Teagasc in Grange has done all of the work on this,” Coughlan told the podcast.

“What we were seeing from 2015 is that inflation was running very little. The costs of inputs and the output prices were staying very very constant.

“Then since 2020, what we’ve seen is a dramatic increase… beef prices improved thankfully, but unfortunately the input costs have increased dramatically. So that is what has triggered the reasonably significant change.

The underlying evaluations actually haven’t changed that much. What is driving the major change in this scenario is the economics. It’s the values coming from the Teagasc economic model,” the ICBF chief explained.

“Some farmers will have a little bit of work to do, but the vast majority of farmers are going to be absolutely fine and the effect is not going to be, perhaps, as significant as some are making it out to be.”

You can listen to the full interview on the AgriFocus podcast by clicking here.

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Enniscorthy Mart held its weekly calf sale on Wednesday, November 29, with 120 calves on offer at this weeks sale.

While many herds are heading into the dry-period, autumn-calving herds having been calving cows for the last few months.

To get some insight into the trade for autumn-born calves, Agriland spoke with the Co. Wexford based mart.

Enniscorthy Mart

The 120 calves on offer at the county mart were met with a strong trade, with buyers especially interested in the stronger type calves on offer.

Calves between the ages of four-to-six weeks made up the majority of calves on offer at the sale this week.

Starting with the Friesian bull calves on offer, which sold from €50 up to €210 for strong calves.

Some sample Friesian prices:

• Two, five-week-old Friesian bulls made €210;
• A two-week-old Friesian bull made €70.

Moving to the continental calves on offer, which sold from €170 for a Limousin-cross bull calf up to a top-price of €400 for two-month-old Limousin-cross bull.

Sample continental prices:

• A three-week-old Limousin-cross bull sold for €360;
• A eight-week-old Limousin-cross bull sold for €400.

Looking at the Angus and Hereford calves sold anywhere from €165 for lighter calves up to €430 for a six-week old Hereford-cross bull.

Some sample Hereford and Angus prices:

• A six-week-old Hereford-cross bull made €430;
• A five-week-old Hereford-cross bull made €405;
• A six-week-old Hereford-cross heifer made €390;
• A four-week-old Hereford-cross heifer made €335.

A spokesperson for the mart said that overall, it was a very strong trade.

With one farmer selling 60 Hereford-cross claves between four-and-six-weeks-old averaging €300 a head.

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A 445kg Belgian Blue weanling heifer has sold for a record-breaking €21,500 at the Carrick Winter Fair.

The Midland and Western Livestock Improvement Society’s show and sale of commercial weanlings event, which is better known as ‘The Carrick Winter Fair’, kicked off yesterday, Sunday, November 26, at the Showgrounds, Carrick on Shannon, Co. Roscommon, with the show of commercial weanlings and the sale got underway today, Monday, at 11:00am.

It was after 9:30p.m when lot 499, a heifer belonging to John Kennedy from Ardara, Co. Donegal, entered the ring in Carrick On Shannon to a packed ringside audience.

This heifer had won first in her class: ‘Belgian Blue X female calf 450kg or under’ in the show on Sunday.

After an intense round of bidding with one bid jumping €2,000, there was a huge cheer when the heifer crossed €20,000. Three more bids of €500 each and the March 2023-born heifer settled at her selling price of €21,500 and auctioneer Eamonn Gaffney dropped his hammer to a huge round of applause from the audience.

The Belgian Blue heifer was sired by Belgian Blue bull AZL.

This heifer wasn’t the only one to take an impressive price before the sale rolled into its 11th hour.

Another Donegal-bred heifer belonging to Denis McBride from Creeslough, Co. Donegal, sold for €18,400.

This July 2023-born Limousin weanling heifer was sired by Ballinloan Jagerbomb and entered the ring weighing 260kg. She sold for €18,400 or just over €70/kg.

Selling for €10,800 was lot 450, a 350kg Elgin-sired Limousin heifer belonging to Sean Hughes from Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan.

Lot 410 was a Limousin heifer belonging to the Ramsbottom family from Co. Laois,. This one sold for €10,100.

There are over 400 head of cattle entered in the sale which is expected to continue into the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Stay tuned to Agriland for further updates from the sale.

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Castleisland Mart held its calf sale on Monday, November 20, with an extremely lively trade for autumn-born calves.

The autumn-calving season is underway on farms, with many winter milk-producing herds calving cows for a few months in cases now.

Although the majority of calves born on Irish farms are born during the spring, the autumn-calving of cows has a vital role to play in the system.

To get an insight into the trade for autumn-born calves, Agriland spoke with Adam Coughlan from the Co. Kerry based mart.

This weeks sale had an entry of 60 autumn-born calves.

The lots on offer at the sale were mainly made up of Angus-cross and Hereford-cross type calves.

Castleisland

Starting with the Hereford-cross calves which were on offer at the sale on Monday, they were met with a strong trade according to Coughlan.

The bull sales sold up a top price of €350, while the Hereford-cross heifers sold to a top call of €320.

Moving to the Angus-cross calves, they were also met with a strong, but from online farmer buyers Coughlan said.

Top-price of €320 was paid for a three-week-old bull calf, while the Angus-cross heifers make up to €280.

There was also selection of Charolais-cross and Limousin-cross calves from Friesian dams on offer.

These calves which were around the three-week old-mark, sold from €330 to €375.

A small entry of Friesian bull calves were also present at the sale on Monday, and the prices achieved for these calves ranged from €20 to €100.

Coughlan said here was an improved trade for the weanling bulls and heifers, due to more farmer activity.

The prices for quality lots on offer freely reached €3 to €3.50/kg.

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The latest update to the economic breeding index (EBI) will be available from November 28, 2023, and will see changes to the fertility sub-index.

Updating of the indexes occurs on an ongoing basis, as more information becomes available from sires.

The latest update will see the adoption of a new method for the genomic aspect of the fertility evaluation, which should reduce bias.

EBI

The EBI will see two methodology improvements implemented in the November 2023 genetic evaluation.

These are:

• Single-step calving evaluation;
• Reduction of bias in genomic for fertility.

The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) says in line with international best practice, the single-step evaluation method will now be applied to the calving evaluation.

This will help to improve the accuracy of the evaluation by leveraging the 2.5 million genotypes available to the evaluations.

There will be minimal visible impact to the EBI as a result of this change.

Fertility

ICBF says that genomic prediction bias is unavoidable and is a global challenge.

In Ireland, fertility is one such trait that tends to be overinflated when animals receive a genomic evaluation.

After much research, a method to improve the genomic aspect of the fertility evaluation has been identified to reduce such bias.

This improvement will see a slight reduction in the number of extreme bulls available for superior fertility.

Young bulls will be most impacted by this change, they will typically see a reduction in their fertility sub-index to the magnitude of €26.

The board of ICBF has approved the implementation of updates to the dairy EBI, following independent review, consultation with working groups and technical advisory panels.

These changes stem from several years of research involving Teagasc and ICBF, arising from industry feedback and international best practice.

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The Donegal Dexter Cattle Group hosted its second annual pedigree Dexter show and sale.

The show and sale took place at Raphoe Livestock Mart, Co. Donegal, on Friday, November 10, 2023.

The pre-sale show was judged by Dexter breeder and chairperson of the Northern Ireland Cattle Group, Ryan Lavery.

According to the organisers, the demand “wasn’t as big as the previous year, but this was to be expected, as the entry requirements for the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) drove demand significantly last year”.

Despite this, cattle with high-star ratings did “very well”, with Rosemary Marshall’s three-cow-and-calf teams making €1,300, €1,400 and €1,440/head.

The top-priced lot on the night was Bohillion Gemma, owned by Rosemary Marshall. The cow-calf pairing sold for €1,440 with a September-2023-born heifer calf at foot.

The table below gives a sample of the prices from the sale:

Springing cows and heifers also did well, with Louise Marshall selling animals for €920, €940 and €1,020/head.

Breeding senior and junior bulls didn’t fare so well with many not selling in the ring. Also shorts (short-legged Dexters) were not in favour on the night.

Donegal rare breed show and sale

In other traditional breed cattle news, Ballybofey and Stranorlar Cooperative Livestock Mart, Co. Donegal, is set to be the venue for a show and sale of rare-breed cattle.

The Stranorlar Traditional Native Breed Cattle Show and Sale will host its first-ever multi-native breed show this Saturday, November 18, 2023, at Stranorlar Mart, Co. Donegal.

The event will kick-off at 12:00p.m, and will feature a catalogued show and sale of registered and pure-bred unregistered cattle.

Some of the breeds set to feature in the event will include:

• Dexter;
• Droimeann;
• Kerry;
• Shorthorn;
• Belted Galloway;
• Highland;
• Irish Moiled;
• Certified organic cattle of any other breed.

There will be prizes on the day for the top-priced cattle and export facilities will be available.

All pens will be straw-bedded on the day of the show and sale.

The event will be supervised by Angela Flack and Des McFadden, secretary and chairman of the Donegal Traditional and Native Breed Society, as well as Brian Crawford, manager of Ballybofey and Stranorlar Co-op Livestock Mart Ltd.

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Warm and wet weather conditions this year have contributed to over one third of the cattle herds in Ireland having at least one animal with liver damage due to fluke.

This information comes from the Beef HealthCheck programme, which is run in partnership with Meat Industry Ireland (MII), that collects and reports liver fluke information in cattle at slaughter from participating meat factories nationwide.

To date, abattoir examinations showed an average of 39% of herds with at least one animal with liver damage due to liver fluke and live liver fluke parasites were seen in 12% of herds.

Overall, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said this year’s levels of liver fluke infection are slightly lower than those reported in the last few years.

However, the consistently high rainfall this year could result in a higher risk of liver fluke on certain farms going into winter.

Fluke forecast

Each year, the DAFM in collaboration with Met Éireann, University College Dublin (UCD), Teagasc and Animal Health Ireland (AHI) advises farmers of the predicted risk of disease caused by liver fluke infection in livestock for that winter.

This year’s forecast is based on meteorological data gathered between May and October 2023 by Met Éireann. 

The Ollerenshaw Summer Index 2023 predicts infection being prevalent across all areas of Ireland with the exception of south Leinster where the risk of disease is somewhat lower. 

The high values of the index are due to the warm, wet conditions experienced in July, August, September and October. 

Counties in the north-west of Ireland were more heavily affected, with 70-80% of herds in Counties Sligo, Roscommon and Donegal reported to have signs of liver fluke at slaughter.

The prevalence within herds is typically low depending on the farm with 6.6% of animals presented to slaughter showing signs of liver fluke damage and 1.1% of animals showing live liver fluke parasites.

It is important for farmers to know whether liver fluke is present on their farm and to treat accordingly to avoid production losses.

Liver fluke in sheep

From June to December, DAFM collects blood samples from lambs in meat factories from a proportion of flocks at the time of slaughter.

These are tested for the presence of liver fluke antibodies to determine the timing and geographical spread of liver fluke exposure in grazing lambs.

The number of flocks selected for sampling from each county is generally proportionate to the sheep population of that county over the entire sampling period.

Data from this survey indicates that the majority of infected flocks reside in counties in the west.

Some positive and inconclusive results were reported in counties outside of the west and the north-west in the August testing, possibly associated with a high summer rainfall level.

This was the case in the border areas, midlands, south and in Leinster where there was substantial evidence of fluke exposure in lambs by October.

From July to October 2023, blood samples from 757 flocks across 26 counties were tested for the presence of liver fluke antibodies.

The presence of liver fluke antibodies in 2023-born lambs shows the exposure to liver fluke in the wider sheep population in the region, as these lambs must have been exposed during the 2023 grazing season.

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Vets in many regions of the country have noticed high parasitic burdens in livestock cattle that were grazing this summer and have attributed this to the mild and wet weather conditions experienced this year.

Cases of cattle coughing in sheds are widespread this winter.

Cattle have already been housed for a number of weeks in most parts of the country and generally receive their parasitic treatments when they are being housed.

In cases where husky coughing can be heard continually from cattle, one potential cause of this could be lungworm.

The best advice is to consult with your veterinary practitioner before determining the best course of action for a livestock parasite treatment plan.

Treating cattle that have heavy lungworm burdens once they have been housed is not as straight-forward as treating livestock before they are housed.

This is because cattle can have a negative reaction to dead worms in the shed which can make the situation worse.

Cattle treatment

According to Teagasc, heavy lungworm infestations can lead to respiratory disease, therefore a pre-housing treatment is recommended to ensure animals are clean of any burden before housing.

Farmers should take time when checking cattle to listen for clinical signs of lungworm and also to remain vigilant for signs of other parasites such as fluke, stomach worms or lice.

As regards treatment and control, most available anthelminthics are effective against larval and adult lungworm.

Levamisole and white drenches will take out the parasites present on the day of treatment, but will have no residual affect.

Macrocyclic Lactones, such as ivermectins, will give longer protection, according to Teagasc.

Webinar

Teagasc hosted a DairyBeef 500 Winter Herd Management webinar in conjunction with Agriland, on Thursday, October 26.

The webinar discussed a broad range of feed and non-feed related livestock management practices associated with the winter housing of cattle.

A link to the webinar is available to view here.

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Irish cattle exports to-date this year are approaching 300,000 head, according to latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

As of Sunday, October 29, DAFM figures show a total of over 297,000 cattle have been exported in the first 43 weeks of this year.

Overall cattle export figures to-date this year are up 14% on last year and 30% on figures from the same time period of 2021.

The table below shows Irish cattle exports by type in the first 43 weeks of 2021, 2022 and 2023.

As can be seen from the table above, calves account for over 205,000 of the Irish cattle exported this year.

Disease restrictions in France and Spain are helping to add further demand for Irish cattle within and outside of Europe.

The number of calves exported this year has increased by 21% on 2022 levels and 47% on 2021 levels.

For the purpose of the above table, calves are classified as cattle under six-weeks-of-age, weanlings are all cattle from six-weeks-of-age to six-months-of-age, store cattle are all cattle from six-months-of-age to 24-months-of-age and adult cattle are all cattle from 24-months-of-age and older.

The table below shows Irish cattle exports by destination in the first 43 weeks of 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The number of cattle exported to Northern Ireland to-date this year has increased by 17% to 47,215 head.

Large volumes of store and adult cattle are being exported to this market for beef processing, however recent vet strikes in Northern Ireland have caused some interruption.

As the table above indicates, the Netherlands and Spain account for the largest volumes of Irish cattle exports with primarily calves being exported to these market destinations.

52% of all Irish calves that are exported go to the Netherlands and 27% of calves that are exported go to Spain.

The table below shows Irish calf exports by destination in the first 43 weeks of 2021, 2022 and 2023.

While the Netherlands and Spain remain the largest buyers of Irish calves, there has been noticeable growth in the numbers of calves being exported to markets such as Italy, Poland, Northern Ireland and Romania.

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Carnaross Mart, Co. Meath, hosted its weekly sale of bullocks on Monday, November 6, with approximately 490 bullocks on offer in the sale.

Speaking to Agriland, mart manager Padraig McElroy said: “Heavy cattle are in high demand at the moment and northern Ireland-based customers are really helping the trade.”

Approximately 80 cattle were exported north from the Monday sale at Carnaross.

Sample prices from the bullock sale:

The top price per kg at the Monday sale was €1,340 or €3.27/kg for a 410kg Charolais bullock.

Numbers of cattle in the sale are lower than previous weeks when there were over 1,000 bullocks on offer for several consecutive weeks.

McElroy said: “Top-end bullocks are making over €3.00/kg. We had a good 745kg continental bullock here on Monday sold for €2,360 or €3.17/kg and there was a good 670kg Angus bullock that sold for €2,030 or €3.03/kg.

“Hereford and Angus bullocks don’t seem to be that plentiful but remain in high demand.”

More sample prices from the Monday sale:

He also said there are “plenty of customers for the Friesian bullocks with a 700kg Friesian bullock making €1,510 or €2.16/kg but noted that a lot of the Friesian bullocks over 500kg are generally trading from €2-2.10/kg.

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Latest beef kill figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that the overall factory cattle supply to date this year is almost 53,000 head below the same time period last year.

As of Sunday, November 5, a total of 1.52 million cattle (1,518,187) had been slaughtered at DAFM-approved factories. The figure is 52,970 head of cattle below the same time period of 2022.

Prime cattle have been presented for slaughter a few weeks later than normal this autumn due to poorer performance at grass as a result of the poor weather conditions.

Analysis from Bord Bia suggests that prime cattle throughput is expected to increase going into the final quarter of the year.

The table below gives an overview of last weeks’ beef kill compared to the same week last year and the overall beef kill this year compared to last year.

As the table above indicates, the number of steers processed to-date this year has fallen by over 23,000 head.

The cumulative heifer kill has dropped by over 14,500 head and the young bull kill has fallen by over 13,500 head.

The cow kill has remained relatively high with numbers only back by 1,200 head. Changes in stocking rates on farms due to regulation changes, coupled with prolonged wet autumn weather may well have contributed to the high number of cull cows this year.

The graph below shows how weekly kill figures this year have been comparing to last year.

The significant dip in supply numbers last week comes as a result of the October Bank Holiday and resulting four-day week at most factories.

Supplies for this week are expected to have bounced back, but to what extent remains to be seen.

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The Irish Charolais Cattle Society hosted a show and sale of Charolais bulls at GVM Tullamore Mart, Co. Offaly on Saturday, November 4.

The sale featured pre-selected Charolais bulls born from March 1, 2022 – November 4, 2022.

The judge on the day was Gene McCann who was assisted by junior judge, Colin McGrath.

A total of 107 Charolais bulls were catalogued for the sale. Due to a number of home sales and double entries for the upcoming Christmas Cracker, just short of 60 bulls were offered on the day.

The sale resulted in a 72% clearance rate, with an average sale price of €4,060 on the day. A total of 12 bulls sold for €5,000 or more, highlighting the demand for the top-end bulls.

Top priced Charolais bull

The sale topper and the overall senior champion was Kilcleagh Tom, exhibited by Noel Farrell from Co. Westmeath.

The bull is a son of Fiston and was bred out of a Bova Sylvain-bred dam. This May-2022-born bull has a calving figure of 7.6% on beef cows.

At +45kg on carcass weight and +2.4 on carcass conformation, the bull was sold to a suckler farmer from Co. Clare for €9,000.

Hot on his heels at €7,300 was the first-prize winner from the first class of bulls, Sunnaghmore Timmy ET, exhibited by Andy McGovern from Co. Leitrim.

This March-2022-born bull is a son of Pirate out of a CF-52 bred dam. He catalogued with a five-star terminal index of €137 and carries one copy of the Q204X gene. A Co. Roscommon suckler farmer had the last call on this one.

Patrick Hughes from Co. Cavan was in the money when his bull Pottlereagh Tyson went under the hammer at €6,600.

This 17-month-old bull is a son of Giono and a home-bred dam by Cavelands Fenian. He packed a fantastic set of indexes, along with a calving figure of just 3.5% on beef cows. Tyson sold to a west of Ireland suckler farmer.

Also trading at €6,600 was the second-prize winner Ballym Toro, for Louise Quinn from Co. Offaly.

This powerful April-2022-born bull is a son of the homebred Ballym Mate and Ballym Olive 2, who goes back to Bourgogne.

Displaying a five-star terminal index of €140 and a calving figure of just 5%, he proved to be an attractive package for buyer Melvin Matthews from Gurteen, Co. Galway.

Three bulls changed hands at €5,800. The first to do so was Scardaune Targat for Daniel Conway from Co. Mayo.

This stylish bull is a son of the herd’s stock bull Roughan Pearse, and a daughter of Derryowen Harvey.

Targat carries a terminal index value of €162 and a calving figure of 4.8% on beef cows, as well as a carcass weight figure of +42.8kgs. He sold to a suckler farmer from Co. Galway.

Droumadesert Taylor was the next bull to hit €5,800, the property of Elizabeth O’Leary from Co. Kerry.

This bull was bred off Ballym Mylove and an Inverlochy Gurkha daughter, Taylor displayed some impressive indexes, including a terminal index value of €153 and a carcass weight figure of +44kg.

This bull also carries one copy of the Q gene. A Co. Clare farmer had the final call on this one.

The final bull to sell for €5,800 was Fieldview Titus, exhibited by David Erskine from Co. Monaghan.

One of the youngest bulls on the day at just under 14-months-old, Titus is a son of Solitude Narcos and a Blelack Digger-bred dam.

With stars in abundance and a calving figure of just 4% on beef cows, the Monaghan bull attracted significant interest in the sales ring. He sold to a suckler herd in Co. Galway.

Inish Tyson was the overall junior champion. A super quality son of Inverlochy Ferdie and Tawny Gracias, Tyson is just over 14-months-old.

He catalogued with a five-star terminal index of €159 and a calving figure of 5.9%. He also carries one copy of the Q gene. Snapping the champion up was a Co. Clare suckler farmer.

Michael Kiernan from Co. Leitrim received a call of €5,400 for his first-prize winner Gallaway Trueman.

A son of Mullawn Noble and a Jaquard-bred dam, Noble is a double carrier of the Q gene. Once again, terminal stars were in abundance, accompanied by a calving figure of 6.9% on beef cows. He sold to a suckler enterprise in Northern Ireland.

The reserve junior championship was awarded to Ballinderry Thames belonging to Michael Stephens.

This young bull is a son of Drumcullen JJ and a Vexour Gareth-bred dam.

Having failed to meet his reserve in the sales ring, he changed hands outside the ring for €5,000, selling to a farmer from Northern Ireland.

The day’s reserve senior champion went the way of Scregg Terry 2 exhibited by Michael Brehony from Co. Roscommon.

This June-2022-born bull is a son of Pottlereagh Mark and a Pirate-bred dam. This classy bull offered a tremendous set of stars, with five stars on nearly all traits, along with a calving figure of just 5.6% on beef cows.

Ger Mulvey from Co. Roscommon was the buyer on this occasion at €4,600.

Other leading prices included:

• €5,100 for Nolagh Ted exhibited by Martin Shelvin from Co. Cavan;
• €5,000 for Lisnamoyle Teddy exhibited by Frank Garvey from Co. Mayo.

The society expressed its thanks to judges, stewards, Tullamore Mart, and all exhibitors and wished the best of luck to all buyers.

The next society sale is the Christmas Cracker Bull Sale, which will take place at Elphin Mart, Co. Roscommon on Saturday, December 2, where there will be 90 bulls catalogued.

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With the reopening of the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS), announced last week, many conventional beef farmers across the country will now be considering applying to the scheme.

With this in mind, Teagasc organics advisor Enda O’Hart has assembled a table comparing the profitability of organic and conventional beef farming systems based on 2022 figures.

The data used in the table was taken from the 2022 National Farm Survey and the Teagasc 2022 E-Profit Monitor Programme.

The table below compares the profitability of conventional beef systems with the profitability of organic beef farming systems.

The Teagasc advisor said: “Based on 2022 figures comparing organics and conventional beef farms, we find that organic farming is more profitable and these farmers are less intensely stocked, have lower costs and have a greatly reduced whole farm carbon footprint.”

He also added that the sample size used for the organic farm profitability is small with only 20 farms used to source the average figure.

He explained that organic beef farms tend to be less intensively stocked than conventional beef farms and output from the organic farms is lower as a result of this.

While stocking rates tend to be lower in organic systems, the total costs on organic farms are much reduced when compared to conventional beef farms, as the table above indicates.

“This results in a net margin excluding direct payments of €18/ha on organic farms and -€150/ha and €24/ha on the conventional farms.

When direct payments are factored into the net margin / ha figure, then organics comes out best at €741/ha vs €300/ha and €506/ha for the conventional farms.

“This difference is mainly down to the OFS payment, which farmers in organics avail of. The expectation is that this difference will widen as OFS payments increased in 2023 by about 50%,” O’Hart said.

The Teagasc advisor continued: “When all these figures are assessed, we can say that organic beef farmers are financially better off than their conventional colleagues and that this profitability gap will widen due to increased OFS payments from 2023.

“Total costs are lower on organic farms, which results in less cash flow pressures and a lower-risk business model.”

Organic payments

Drystock farmers entering into a contract could qualify for yearly payments of up to €300/ha during the conversion period, and up to €250/ha when they have achieved full organic status.

Higher payment rates are available for horticultural and tillage farmers in organics.

In addition, an annual participation payment of €2,000 in the first year of conversion and €1,400/yr thereafter, has been introduced to support farmers in organics.

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This week’s factory quotes sees trade generally steady overall despite prolonged wet conditions keeping factory cattle supply numbers high.

Over 40,000 cattle were slaughtered in weeks 42 and 43 of this year. Cows account for approximately 25% of the overall weekly kills with P grade cows making up approximately 62% of cow supplies and P1 grade cows making up approximately 25% of overall cow supplies.

Procurement staff have noted the high number of short-fleshed parlour cows that are available at present and have said in cases where well-fleshed P grade cows are presented, more money is available.

Procurement staff are also noting farmers are more keen in general to move on forward-type cattle as wet conditions countrywide ARE leaving shed space for cattle in high demand.

To view prices paid for cows by grade in week 43 of this year, click here.

Factory quotes: Heifers and steers

Heifers are being quoted at €4.65/kg on the grid generally speaking, leaving an in-spec R-3- grade heifer coming in at €4.85/kg on the grid.

Steers (bullocks) are being quoted at 4.60/kg on the grid leaving the same grade and spec of a steer coming into €4.80/kg carcass weight.

In the week ending Sunday, October 29, the average price paid for an R=3= grade steer was just over €4.80/kg, inclusive of all bonuses paid.

The average price paid for the same grade of a heifer in that week was just over €4.83/kg.

Cow price

Cow price has remained steady at most sites despite one processor moving to take 10c/kg off its cow quotes this week.

As always, most stronger cow-buying outlets will pay higher rates for well-fleshed cows but are also interested in short-fleshed parlour cows, albeit at a lower price.

In the week ending Sunday, October 29, the average price paid for a P=1+ cow was €2.70/kg, according to Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) official figures.

U grade cows are being quoted at €4.20-4.30/kg in general, with up to €4.50/kg being quoted at the top-end of the scale.

R-grade cows are being quoted at €4.10-4.20/kg. O grade cows are being quoted at €3.80-4.00/kg while P-grade cows are being quoted at €3.70-3.90/kg.

The above quotes are for cows with a fat score of 2+ or above and a carcass weight of 270kg or higher.

According to figures from (DAFM the average price paid for an O=3= grade cow in the week ending Sunday, October 29, was just under €4.00/kg.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are being quoted at €4.75-4.80/kg for U grades with €4.65-4.70/kg being quoted for R grades.

O grade bulls are being quoted at €4.45-4.50/kg and P grade bulls are being quoted at €4.35-4.40/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are being quoted at €4.60-4.70/kg on the grid in general.

The post Factory quotes: Trade steady as weather drives on supply appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Dairy calf-to-beef farmers will know that their dairy-beef Angus and Hereford heifers tend to come fit at lighter weights and at an earlier date than the male breed counterparts finished as steers.

While dairy-beef heifers come fit earlier than steers, the heifers tend to have a lighter carcass weight than the steers.

One of the questions put to Teagasc’s Dairy Beef 500 programme coordinator, Alan Dillon, on the Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Winter Herd Management webinar which took place in conjunction with Agriland, last week was – ‘what weight should I be starting to finish Angus and Hereford Heifers at?’

Responding to the question, Alan Dillon said: “For Angus and Hereford heifers, you’re probably limited enough in terms of where they’re going to go” in relation to their carcass weight.

“If you can get them up to around the 250-260kg carcass weight mark, it’s probably a lot of what they’re capable of in terms of the genetics.

“You typically see on some of these Angus bulls that are used on dairy herds, they’re probably the ones with maybe lower carcass potential so often the 250-260kg carcass, that’s around the 500kg lightweight.”

He outlined the finishing period that is generally necessary for these type of heifers and said: “40 to 50 days [finishing period] will do a lot of those heifers to put a bit of flesh on them and get them up to a fat score of three.

“Once you’re you’re hitting near 440kg or 450kg live weight, you can start feeding them maybe 3-4kg/day of a high-energy ration with silage and they will be gone within less than two months anyway guaranteed.”

The online dairy beef event addressed animal health at housing as well as feed and non-feed factors to consider during the winter housing period.

The speakers on the panel were as follows:

• Aidan Maguire, DairyBeef 500 programme farmer;
• Cara Sheridan, MSD Animal Health Ireland technical vet;
• Alan Dillon, Teagasc DairyBeef 500 programme manager.

The presentations were followed by a live panel discussion, chaired by Agriland.

The post Video: What weight should I start to finish dairy-beef heifers at? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Cows with a carcass grade of P1, or the lowest grade achievable, accounted for almost 25% (24.4%) of the cow figures in the national beef kill last week, according to latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

These cows are predominantly ‘parlour cows’ or dairy cows which are coming from the dairy herd and are sent directly for slaughter without receiving additional feeding to fatten them before slaughter.

While 24.4% of the cows graded a P1, 62.1% of the cows graded a P.

Last week’s (week 43) cow kill at DAFM-approved factories totalled 10,079 head making it the highest weekly cow kill to date this year.

According to DAFM figures, just under 10% of these cows (9.6%) were P-1- grade cows.

The department said that the national average price paid for P-1- grade cows in the week ending Sunday, October 29, was €2.20/kg while the average price paid for P+1+ cows was €2.94/kg.

For a full list of average factory prices paid by grade on a weekly basis, click here.

The table below gives an overview of the beef kill for week 43 of this year (excluding veal) versus the same week last year and the overall kill to date, this year, compared to the same time period of last year.

As the table above indicates, the cumulative beef kill to date, this year, (excluding veal) is running 54,228 head below last year.

Week 43 saw the total beef kill cross 40,000head for the second consecutive week of this year.

Supplies generally tend to peak at this time of year as the grazing season draws to a close across the country.

Interestingly, the steer kill dropped off by 940head to just over 17,150head after being over 18,000head for two consecutive weeks.

Bord Bia has forecast the supply of prime cattle will increase in the final quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024 but to what extent this trend will materialise remains to be seen.

The post Beef kill: P1 cows comprise 25% of last week’s cow kill appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The Irish Limousin Cattle Society’s annual bank holiday premier show and sale took place at Roscrea Mart on Monday, October 30.

The auctioneer on the day was George Candler and judging cattle in the the pre-sale show was renowned commercial producer Gareth Corrie.

There was a clearance rate of 87% for bulls and 55% for the heifers that were offered in the sale.

Seven cattle from the sale were purchased by customers from the UK and Northern Ireland. Bulls ranged in price from €2,900 to €16,500 with an average price of €5,144.

The heifers on offer ranged from €2,400 to €6,100 with an average price of €3,760.

Top-price bull

Lot 62, Carrefour Turbo from John Kenny, Dunkerrin, Co. Offaly, was tapped forward as junior champion in the pre-sale show and went on to take the top price of €16,500.

Turbo is a son of Derrygullinane Kingbull and the Wilodge Cerberus dam Carrefour Madonna, his full brother was a first-prize winner at the premier show and sale last year.

Mayo-bred Derrygullinane Kingbull is producing offspring that are commanding top placings at shows, including the Junior Championships at the noted Royal Welsh show.

Carrefour Turbo boasts five-star indexes in terminal, docility, carcass weight, and carcass conformation. A leading pedigree and commercial producer acquired the bull.

Sean Ryan of the Sliabh Felim herd, Cappamore, Co. Limerick presented Lot 77, an outstanding Damona-sired Sliabh Felim Toddy.

Standing second in his class, Toddy took the second-highest price of the day when the gavel fell at €8,800.

This young bull is very well related, with his dam a full sister to Sliabh Felim Sterling standing in Dovea AI.

His grand-dam Sliabh Felim Jenny is also dam to the 2019 top-priced bull Sliabh Felim Mourinho, a herd sire to the highly-regarded Maraiscote herd of the Nimmo family in Scotland.

Mourinho is proving his credentials with a son sold at the recent Sterling bull sale for 9,000gns. Toddy is heading to an established pedigree herd in the south-east.

Lot 86 Baileys Trump ET was the reserve junior champion selling for €8,600. This 13-month-old bull was bred by Thomas Bailey, Batterstown, Co. Meath.

Trump is a son of Wilodge Vantastic and Baileys Norma Et, a daughter of Goldies Jackpot and Roundhill Vjoyeuse 820 Et, a granddam that needs no introduction – she is the dam of world congress and national show champion, Baileys Ice Princess.

Trump has proved himself in the show ring taking the junior male champion sash at this year’s national show. Trump was purchased by a UK-based customer.

Lot 41 was tapped out as the reserve senior champion. Ballyline Thomas sold for €8,200 and is also heading to the UK.

April-2022-born Thomas was bred by Bertie Mannion, Athlone, Co. Roscommon.

He is a son of Mereside Godolphin and like the reserve junior champion, his dam Ballyline Norma is also sired by Goldies Jackpot. Thomas has five-star indexes in replacement, terminal, docility, carcass weight and carcass conformation.

Lot 91 Bracken Tick Tok ET also breached the €8,000 mark and was second-prize winner.

13-month-old Tick Tok is a son of the aforementioned Derrygullinane Kingbull, and the Sympa daughter Esker-Hill Karen Et.

Tick Tok was bred by Padraig Gormley, Carrigallen, Co. Leitrim. No stranger to success, Tick Tok won the Reserve Junior Male Champion at Tullamore Show.

Lot 25, Ballybrown Toby ET was the senior champion selling for €7,300. Toby was the overall male champion at this year’s national show.

Born in March 2022, Toby was bred by Bobby O’Connell, Clarina, Limerick. He is a son of Ampertaine Foreman and the Elite Ice Cream dam Roundhill Punanime 1945 Et.

Toby has five-star indexes in terminal, carcass weight, and carcass conformation.

Teleri Thomas from Longwood, Co. Meath sold her April-2022-born bull Keltic Tinder for €7,000. Tinder is a son of homebred bull the renowned OKH – Keltic Handsome and the Kaprico Eravelle daughter Keltic Nepeta.

Tinder came to the ring as one of the highest-index bulls of any beef breed on replacement index with a value of €209. Tinder placed fourth in his class in the pre-sale show.

Third prize winner Ernevalley Topnotch realised a selling price of €6,800 for his breeder Eddie Lynch, Loughduff, Cavan.

Topnotch is a son of Loyal and the Ampertaine Majestic daughter Ernevalley Partygirl Et. Boasting five-star indexes in most traits, 16-month-old Topnotch was one of nine bulls presented by the Ernevalley herd.

First-prize winner Clonlara Todd sold for €6,200. Todd is a son of Plumtree Fantastic and the Neuf daughter Clonlara Irish Rose.

Todd came to the ring with five-star indexes in terminal, carcass weight, and carcass conformation. Todd was bred by Colin Hogg of Clonlara, Clare.

Lot 65 also realised €6,200. Mullary Tomato from Michael Molloy, Dunleer, Co. Louth. Tomato is a Tomschoice Lexicon, he boasts an array of five-star ratings coupled with +5.4 for daughter milk.

Lot 28, the second bull on offer from Bobby O’Connell was Ballybrown Turbo selling for €6,000.

This April-2022-born bull is a son of Plumtree Fantastic. He placed second in his class in the show ring.

Limousin heifers

Heifers on the day sold for an average price of €3,760, with a clearance rate of 56%.

Taking the reserve female champion title was Carrickmore Sasha ET from the herd of John and Karol Connell, Oldcastle, Co. Meath.

Sasha is an in-calf daughter of Sympa and Carrickmore Miss Dynamite Et, a daughter of the renowned Baileys Iceprincess.

Sasha came to the ring with a replacement index of €104 and a terminal index of €151. She found a new home for €6,100.

The second prize winner Meelickaduff Take On Me sold for €5,500. Take On Me is a daughter of Plumtree Fantastic and the Ampertaine Elgin dam Meelickaduff Rinka.

This yearling heifer was bred by Michael Hester, Castlerea, Roscommon. Take On Me is the reigning North West Calf Champion 2023 and Overall Limousin Champion at Elphin and Castlerea for 2023.

Female champion Clontown Stooki realised €5,200. Stooki has Ionesco, Wilodge Vantastic and Sympa in her sire stack.

Her maternal grand dam is the renowned Haltcliffe Avon (a consistent breeder of show winning  cattle). Stooki was bred by Stephen Treanor, Scotstown, Monaghan. She had a very successful show season.

Upcoming Limousin sales

The next Irish Limousin Cattle Society sale will be held at Athenry Mart, Co. Galway on Saturday December 9. The catalogue will be available in mid-November.

This month, the Clare Limousin club is holding a pedigree heifer sale at Sixmilebridge Mart on Friday evening, November 17.

Also in the west of Ireland, the Cavelands herd is holding a reduction sale of all 2022-born females at Tuam Mart, Co. Galway, on Saturday, November 18.

The North West Limousin club will host its annual elite heifer sale at Elphin Mart on Monday, December 4.

The post Kenny’s Carrefour Turbo takes top price at Limousin premier appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Suckler farmers will see their suckler herds’ new evaluations online from Tuesday, November 21, the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has confirmed.

The cattle breeding database hosted a webinar this past week, in association with Teagasc, to explain the changes it had made to the terminal and replacement indexes.

It was outlined during the webinar that all suckler farmers will need to check their herd status.

Suckler farmers who are participating in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) will have to be particularly vigilant to the changes.

It was outlined in the webinar that as a result of the changes, approximately 5% of SCEP applicants “will have to react down the line to meet future SCEP targets”.

84% of the current four- and five-star animals are expected to retain their four- and five-star status after the changes.

The remaining animals which are four- and five-star animals will drop but “as many will rise as will fall in the replacement index”.

According to the ICBF, the changes to the indices will result in slightly lighter, but more fertile, cows.

It is expected to result in easier calving, shorter gestations and see less calf mortality.

The ICBF has also said the changes will result in improved bovine tuberculosis (TB) resistance, lower feed intakes and earlier finishing ages.

While some pedigree cattle breeders and suckler farmers are welcoming the changes, others remain rather wary of the changes which are set to be implemented later this month.

A look at the changes to the top 100 active AI bulls in the replacement index shows that the popular commercial suckler cow breeds such as the Limousin, Saler and Simmentals have fallen considerably while the number of Angus and Hereford bulls in this index has increased.

The post Suckler farmers to see new index ratings on November 21 appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The Irish Aubrac Cattle Society hosted its annual show and sale on Saturday, October 28, at Tullamore Mart, Co. Offaly.

The event featured over 50 pre-selected pedigree Aubrac cattle and “the quality was through the roof”, according to a statement from the breeding society.

First to go through the ring was the bulls, but it was the heifer sale that recorded the highest price.

The champion bull and overall show champion was Ashbrook Samson bred by Michael Hanlon from Co. Longford.

Sired by the famous artificial insemination (AI) bull Dolby, he made the best price for males on the day when the hammer fell at €3,200.

Second prize in the class went to Lot 1, Turloughmore Sensational, sired by Despagnou and bred by Kevin O’Brien from Co. Galway. With a bid of €4,800 in the sale, this bull went home unsold.

Third prize went to Turloughmore Salou from the Turloughmore Aubrac herd again. Sired by AI bull Dauphin, he went on to make €3,000.

The average price for bulls sold was €2,800.

Next up was the weanling heifer class and it was Heatherfield Shakira bred by Conor and Gerard O’Donnell from Co. Donegal who took first prize.

Sired by AI bull Turloughmore Magnificent, she made €1,450.

Heatherfield Tricia took second place, again bred by the O’Donnell’s from Co. Donegal. She was bred by AI bull Armenian and was unsold.

Heatherfield Taylor took third place. Once more bred by Conor and Gerard O’Donnell from Co. Donegal. She was sired by AI bull Bayon 2 and sold for €1,000.

The average price for weanling heifers sold was €1,100.

Maiden heifers then took centre stage, and first prize and overall reserve champion went to the smashing Ballintra Sian bred by John Walsh from Co. Donegal. Bred by French bull Delrieu Miami, she sold for €2,200.

Ballintra Sandie took second prize again for John Walsh of the Ballintra herd. Sired by French bull Marquis, she went on to make €2,000.

Ballintra Sabra 2 claimed third prize for the Walshs from Donegal. Sired by Marquis, she sold for €2,000.

The average price for maiden heifers was €2,005.

William P. Walsh sold a smashing heifer for €3,400, while John Walsh sold another lovely heifer for €3,000.

The top price on the day was sold by Leo Dooley to Julie and James Regan for €3,500.

In-calf heifers were next into the ring and the first prize winner was Deerpark Rosie bred by father and son duo, James and Tomas Lacey of the Deerpark Herd from Co. Tipperary.

Bred by Shrubbywood Marchi, she sold for €2,800.

Second prize went to another Deerpark heifer bred by James and Tomas Lacey. Deerpark Susan was sired by Deerpark Nevin and sold for €2,600.

Third prize went to Altamount Rosie bred by Leo Dooley from Co. Wexford. Sired by Calverstown Jock and with Heritier breeding on the dam’s side, she sold for €2,750.

The average price for in-calf heifers was €2,915.

Lot number 49 claimed first-place in the cow class. In-calf Westfield Nika sold for €2,000. Sired by Whitestown Lioran and owned by Sally Ann Grassick and Mark and Eoin Hanly from Co. Tipperary.

Second place went to Omaunmore Molly bred by Martin Bermingham from Co. Galway. Sired by Calverstown Janga and with an impressive bull calf at foot, she was unsold at €3,000.

Carrowbane Natalie claimed third prize. Sired by Shrubbywood Jimmie, she made €2,300 for her owner Patricia Doody from Co. Limerick.

The statement from the society said: “Overall it was a good sale with good prices achieved and the quality on offer was superb.”

The Aubrac society also expressed its thanks to those who prepared stock for the event and wished the best of luck to all those who bought stock in the sale.

The post Longford-bred bull takes top title at Aubrac show and sale appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Farmers are being warned that as a result of the early autumn warm weather leading to an extended grazing period, they should be vigilant for increased parasites.

The current wet weather means that hoose or lungworms could be an issue on many farms. 

Due to the increased number of parasites in the environment, lambs are continuing to suffer from high worm burdens, which can have knock-on performance impacts and slow down their finishing times.

A vet, Ben Strugnell, of Farm Post Mortems in the UK, explained that the mild weather at the start of autumn prolonged the parasite breeding season, and has put both sheep and cattle at risk of infection.

“It’s crucial to monitor lambs closely, looking for signs of poor performance. If you can, weigh them frequently and faecal egg count (FEC) test, to confirm any suspected worm burdens within a flock,” Strugnell said.

Parasites

Strugnell explained that he has recently seen increased numbers of cattle come into his clinic in the UK with heavy worm burdens.

“I’ve performed several post-mortems on calves who’ve died after losing condition suddenly,” he said.

“Although the cause of death was originally thought to be liver fluke, it was revealed that these calves had bad cases of parasitic abomasitis [inflammation caused by worms)[or lungworm.”

The vet said while lungworm is uncommon in sheep, it is more prevalent in cattle, though generally only occurring every few years.

Strugnell said: “I’d caution all farmers not to forget about lungworm in cattle, and never ignore stock with a ‘husky’ sounding cough, as this is a key symptom.

“In terms of testing for lungworm, although both methods aren’t 100% reliable, you can send faecal samples away to check for larvae, and blood samples to check for antibodies after infection.”

He explained worms are harder to monitor in cattle than in sheep, as the egg numbers present in FECs are not as high, but in general, anything over 200eggs/g means it is worth worming.

“Again, in cattle, anthelmintic resistance isn’t as common as it is in sheep, but it’s still important to follow best practice by worming to weight and conducting a second FEC two weeks after drenching, to check wormer efficacy,” Strugnell added.

The post Keeping vigilant for parasites in autumn appeared first on Agriland.ie.

With the majority of cattle now housed on farms across the country, attention is now turning to winter diets and what level of concentrate feed is needed to maintain acceptable levels of growth in livestock.

On dairy calf-to-beef farms, about 30% of the total feed costs goes towards making silage.

In the video below, Teagasc’s DairyBeef500 programme advisor, Fergal Maguire, explained that in some cases, farmers are under the illusion that allowing silage to ‘bulk up’ will reduce the cost of rearing and finishing cattle, but said that this is not the case.

He said “the old saying ‘penny wise and pound foolish’ comes to mind” when farmers follow the practice of focusing on silage bulk rather than silage quality.

“Studies carried out by Teagasc Grange, show there could be a difference of 48kg in live weight gain between cattle fed high-quality silage versus cattle fed low-quality silage” during winter housing.

In the example used in the video, there is a farm with two-different types of silage. There is good-quality silage with a dry matter digestibility (DMD) of 72% and poor-quality silage with a DMD of 62%.

“Cattle fed the 62% DMD silage will require 2kg of extra meal/day over a four-month period compared to the cattle that are on the 72% DMD silage.”

He explained that the cattle that were offered the lower DMD silage will need an additional 250kg of meal supplementation over the winter to maintain adequate growth rates.

“With a meal price of €350/t, that amounts to an extra €88/head in feed costs over the winter,” he explained.

He acknowledged that there is nothing farmers can do about their silage quality at this stage of the year but advised farmers “the first thing you have to do is get your silage analysed”.

“If [silage quality] is average or poor-quality DMD, then there’s still a good return on investment in feeding the extra meal as additional live weight gain over the winter will cover the extra cost of feeding.

“Going forward, the target should be to make top-quality silage,” he said.

The post Video: How much meal should I feed cattle this winter? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Teagasc and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) is set to host a webinar tonight, Thursday, November 2, focusing on recent changes that have been made to the beef breeding index.

The webinar will get underway at 8:00p.m. and will be followed by a live questions and answers session. A registration link is available on the Teagasc website.

The webinar will hear from four speakers, two of whom are from the ICBF and two from Teagasc.

The speakers at the webinar will outline the changes that are set to take place, and will explain how these will impact star-ratings of cattle.

The four speakers in the webinar are as follows:

• Margaret Kelleher, ICBF;
• Donagh Berry, Teagasc;
• Paul Crosson, Teagasc;
• Siobhan Ring, ICBF.

A spokesperson for Teagasc explained to Agriland that the webinar will be “an opportunity for suckler farmers to get a better understanding of what is actually going to happen” as regards the changes to the beef breeding indexes.

Terminal and Replacement index changes

Last week, the board of the ICBF announced the approval of the implementation of changes to both the Terminal and Replacement beef indices.

The changes come following an independent review as well as consultation with working groups and technical advisory panels.

According to ICBF, these changes stem from several years of research involving Teagasc and ICBF, arising from industry feedback and international best practice.

The last review of beef breeding indexes in Ireland occurred in 2016, with economic values based on the Teagasc bio-economic model at that time.

Due to the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP), the indexes remained untouched for the duration of the scheme, despite changes in economic costs.

The post Webinar tonight on new beef-breeding index changes appeared first on Agriland.ie.

One of the main factors affecting decision-making on the economics of winter-beef finishing is how much it will cost to finish cattle in the shed.

Farmers who have housed forward-type cattle for the winter will now be considering if it is best to push these cattle on for a shed finish over the winter, or to retain these cattle as ‘stores’ over the winter.

Speaking on the Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Winter Herd Management webinar which took place in conjunction with Agriland, on Thursday, October 26, Teagasc’s DairyBeef 500 Programme Co-Ordinator Alan Dillon advised farmers to calculate their winter-finishing costs before making a decision on the best course of action.

He said: “If we look at the economics of finishing dairy-beef steers over the winter, I would say that the costs have remained very high and one of the main problems we’re seeing this year is that cattle are coming in a lot lighter than we expected given the wet summer.”

He explained that cattle that would be expected to come in at 500-520kg off grass are probably coming in “at somewhere between 450 and 480kg, they’ve lost about 50kg. We put that down to two things, the late turnout in the spring, and the wet summer resulting in low grass dry matters”.

“This weight gain will have to be made up inside at a cost of €4.00-4.50/day in big cattle or €1.50-2.00/day in weanlings versus achieving that weight gain in a good grazing season at probably €1/day for stronger cattle or 50-60c/day for a calf or weanling.”

The table below includes sample costings for a 100-day winter finish for a 500kg Friesian steer.

In the table above, silage was costed at €40/t and meal was costed at €350/t. The target live weight gain/day was 1kg.

The Teagasc advisor advised farmers to use costings relevant to their own farm when calculating what it will cost to finish cattle over the winter but said costs will be from €4.00-4.50/day on most farms.

The post Video: How much will it cost to finish bullocks this winter? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

This week’s factory quotes have seen prices remain unchanged at most outlets with quotes for prime cattle generally 10c/kg above the same week last year.

Bullocks (steers) are generally being quoted at €4.60/kg on the grid. In the same week last year, steer price had bottomed out at €4.50/kg on the grid.

According to the Bord Bia beef market tracker, the average Irish R3 grade bullock (steer) price to date, this year, has been €5.01/kg, which is 24c/kg above the average steer price in the the same time period of 2022 (€4.77/kg).

Overall beef kills in both weeks 42 and 43 have surpassed 40,000 head of cattle which is considered a large weekly beef kill but despite this, processors remain particularly keen for supplies of in-spec prime cattle.

Factory quotes: Heifers and steers

Heifers are being quoted at €4.65/kg on the grid generally speaking, leaving an in-spec R-3- grade heifer coming in at €4.85/kg on the grid.

Steers (bullocks) are being quoted at 4.60/kg on the grid leaving the same grade and spec of a steer coming into €4.80/kg carcass weight.

In the week ending Sunday, October 22, the average price paid for an R=3= grade steer was just under €4.80/kg, inclusive of all bonuses paid.

The average price paid for the same grade of a heifer in that week was just over €4.86/kg.

Cow price

Cow price has remained steady. As always, most stronger cow-buying outlets will pay accordingly for well-fleshed cows but are also interested in parlour cows at a price.

U grade cows are being quoted at €4.20-4.30/kg in general, with up to €4.50/kg being quoted at the top-end of the scale.

R-grade cows are being quoted at €4.10-4.20/kg. O grade cows are being quoted at €3.80-4.00/kg while P-grade cows are being quoted at €3.70-3.90/kg.

According to figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) the average price paid for an O=3= grade cow in the week ending Sunday, October 22, was just under €4.00/kg.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are being quoted at €4.75-4.80/kg for U grades with €4.65-4.70/kg being quoted for R grades.

O grade bulls are being quoted at €4.45-4.50/kg and P grade bulls are being quoted at €4.35-4.40/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are being quoted at €4.60-4.65/kg on the grid in general.

The post Factory quotes: Prices steady at 10c/kg above last year appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Over 40,000 cattle were processed in the week ending Sunday, October 22, making it the highest weekly kill of cattle to date this year.

Latest beef kill figures show 40,070 cattle (excluding veal) were slaughtered at Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) approved factories in week 42 of this year.

Generally speaking, late October or early November tends to see the largest weekly kills of cattle.

Last year, the two-highest weekly kills were seen in weeks 41 and 42 which ran from October 10 to October 24.

The table below shows the beef kill from week 42 of this year versus last year and gives an overview of the cumulative beef kill this year versus last year.

Week 41 of this year was the highest weekly kill of both steers and cows. The highest weekly heifer kill was in week seven, in mid-February.

The highest weekly young bull kill was in the second week of January at 3,816 head.

The cumulative beef kill to date this year is now 54,662 head of cattle below 2022 supply levels.

Analysis from Bord Bia suggests that supplies of prime cattle will increase in the final quarter of this year bringing the overall supply to approximately 20,000head below last year.

It remains to be seen to what extent this forecasted trend will materialise.

The graph below shows how weekly beef kills this year have been comparing to last year.

As can be seen from the graph above, the cumulative weekly beef kills this year have been trending below last year’s supplies.

Bord Bia has forecast the supply of cows to drop 4% in the final quarter of this year however, with changes to nitrates rules and severely heavy rainfall countrywide over the past few weeks, farmers could nwell opt to cull additional cows which would drive up cow kill numbers.

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Ballybofey and Stranorlar Co-operative Livestock Mart is set to be the venue for a show and sale of rare-breed cattle.

The Stranorlar Traditional Native Breed Cattle Show and Sale will host its first-ever multi-native breed show on Saturday, November 18, 2023, at Stranorlar Mart, Co. Donegal.

The event will kick-off at 12:00p.m. and will feature a catalogued show and sale of registered and pure-bred unregistered cattle.

Some of the breeds set to feature in the event will include:

• Dexter;
• Droimeann;
• Kerry;
• Shorthorn;
• Belted Galloway;
• Highland;
• Irish Moiled;
• Certified organic cattle of any other breed.

There will be prizes on the day for the top-priced cattle and export facilities will be available. All cattle must be TB tested within 30 days of the sale to be eligible for export to Northern Ireland and overseas.

All pens will be straw-bedded on the day of the show and sale. The event will be supervised by Angela Flack and Des McFadden, secretary and chairman of the Donegal Traditional and Native Breed Society as well as Brian Crawford, manager of Ballybofey and Stranorlar Co-op Livestock Mart Ltd.

There will be a fee of €10/entry but this fee will be capped at €50 where there are five or more entries from one owner.

Highland judge for Stranorlar

The organisers will welcome registered Highland cattle breeder from Co. Longford, Michelle Shaughnessy, to judge the Highland cattle in this year’s event.

Michelle is a trustee and council member of the Highland Cattle Society of Scotland and describes herself as being “unreservedly passionate” about her love of the highland breed, whom she describes as “the most beautiful, most distinctive and most prestigious cattle in the bovine world”.

The Scottish Highlander, she proudly explained “is the oldest registered breed in the cattle herd book”.

Michelle is in regular communication with breeders in Scotland and UK where she has built up a large knowledge of the breed characteristics, the breed pedigrees and the breed standards which she says “we should try to observe and maintain here in Ireland when looking at purchasing Highlands”.

“I look out for pedigrees that are known for their sweet docile temperament, good locomotion, a good strong head, neck and shoulder and horns that are proportionate to the body,” she said.

“No crop ear is critical for highlands and a well-rounded hind quarter and of course a good dossan (facial fringe), face and personality. “

Michelle concluded: “We wish all animals and their proud owners the very best at this special show and sale.”

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Housing time has arrived for the 400 or more 2023-born cattle on the ABP Demo Farm and with this in mind, ABP’s Advantage Beef Programme officer Sean Maher has outlined the protocol for housing the 2023-born cattle on the farm.

He explained that Storm Babet made grazing difficult and with this week’s rain forecast, the decision was made to house the calves earlier this week.

Housing weights for the 2023-born cattle are expected to be back slightly on the previous years due to the challenging weather conditions experienced throughout this grazing season.

All of these cattle have received their pneumonia booster vaccine in the last few weeks which will cover them for the winter months.

Sean said the pneumonia booster vaccine “is incredibly important and worthwhile over the last number of years with no treatment necessary once animals are housed”.

The plan was originally to start housing the smallest and youngest calves first, but with the heavy rain that arrived, all calves were housed.

Calves have been housed in sheds with both slats and access to a straw-bedded lie-back. Moving cattle into the shed gradually is advisable, where possible, to reduce stress levels.

“While it may not always be possible, housing cattle when their backs are dry is also advisable,” Sean explained.

Upon housing, all animals on the ABP Demo Farm have the hair on their backs and tails clipped and then receive a pour-on lice treatment. It is important to select a lice treatment that treats both sucking lice and biting lice and remember a secondary lice treatment may be necessary later in the year.

Sean said: “Clipping cattle helps with controlling the spread of lice and also stops the animals from sweating as they are naturally cooler.

“Another helpful way of avoiding stress at housing is to house groups together. Mixing of cattle groups is not recommended and may be a further stressor on the animal’s immune system.”

Dung samples will be taken to see if there is need for a further wormer. With the wet year, fluke is suspected to be an issue.

“It’s important to consult your vet and put a plan in place for winter animal health,” Sean said.

Winter feed on ABP Demo Farm

The farm has made over 220 bales of red clover silage this year which will form a very important part of the winter diet.

The aim is to reduce the amount of imported protein used on the farm and the red clover has been very successful in doing that.

The farm is awaiting the results of this year’s samples. The yearling diet this winter will be made up of grass silage, red-clover silage and concentrates.

Lowering the protein content of the concentrate feed will reduce the ration cost while also reducing the farm’s carbon footprint.

Once cattle have been housed and housing weights have been recorded, cattle performance over the summer of 2023 will be analysed on the farm.

The ABP Demo Farm will be looking at all aspects of animal performance over the winter months to identify weaknesses and areas to improve.

Factors to consider are:

• Which calves performed the best?
• What farm did they come from?
• How long on average were they on milk?

“These are just some of the questions we will be asking ourselves as we strive to improve performance each year,” Sean said.

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The board of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has approved the implementation of changes to both the Terminal and Replacement beef indexes.

The changes come following an independent review as well as consultation with working groups and technical advisory panels.

According to ICBF, these changes stem from several years of research involving Teagasc and ICBF, arising from industry feedback and international best practice.

The last review of beef breeding indexes in Ireland occurred in 2016, with economic values based on the Teagasc bio-economic model at that time.

Due to the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP), the indexes remained untouched for the duration of the scheme, despite changes in economic costs.

The fundamental improvements to the genetic evaluations include:

• Updates to economic values;
• Inclusion of carbon;
• Inclusion of new traits;
• Improved methodology.

These new changes are being implemented ahead of the commencement of Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP).

ICBF update to economic values

Updates to economic values are arising from revisions in the Teagasc bio-economic model. Due to multiple factors economy-wide, the costs and revenues associated with beef production have changed in recent years.

The changes to the economic values attributed to traits “are reflective of a longer-term outlook on the industry as a whole”, according to the ICBF.

E.g., the carcass weight economic value has increased from €3.89 to €4.68.

Inclusion of Carbon

The inclusion of carbon in beef breeding indexes marks “a world first”, according to the ICBF.

In November 2022, carbon was included in the Economic Breeding Index (EBI), and included in the Dairy Beef Index (DBI) in January 2023.

The move to include carbon aligns the beef breeding indexes with the other breeding objectives.

The inclusion of carbon is based on internationally recognised Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and aims to reduce overall farm carbon footprint.

In Ireland there is a legal obligation to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 51% by 2030 with each sector of society expected to contribute to this reduction.

The agricultural sector has been set a reduction target of 25% to be reached by 2030.

“Genetic improvement is a proven technology used to advance animal performance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the cattle breeding database outlined.

Inclusion of new traits

In line with the ICBF mission, new traits impacting farm profitability are incorporated into breeding indexes when appropriate.

The new traits that are now included in the beef breeding indexes are:

• Age at finish;
• Carcass specifications;
• TB;
• Single-Step;
• Non-linear cost of docility.

The economic cost associated with age at finish has long been discussed, however the additional carbon cost has not been quantified to date.

According to the ICBF, the inclusion of the age at finish trait will allow an economic value and a carbon weight to be attributed to the trait

The federation stated:

“This will result in increased profitability and reduced carbon footprint, by reducing age at slaughter for a constant level of fat in animals destined for prime beef production.”

In addition to the existing carcass weight and conformation traits included in the beef breeding indexes, new carcass specifications focused on factory specs have been included in the breeding goal. The ‘out of spec’ traits apply to carcass weight, conformation and fat.

Tuberculosis (TB) will be included in beef breeding indexes for the first time, with an economic value in the index in an effort to halt the deterioration in TB susceptibility in beef cattle.

TB cost almost €100 million in 2020, and Ireland has the highest rates of TB in the EU. “By breeding genetically more TB-resistant animals, we can help to bring the rates of TB down across the country,” according to ICBF.

Single-step is a new genetic evaluation methodology that increases the accuracy of genomic evaluations.

In line with international best practice, single-step evaluation will now be applied to the calving evaluations included in both the Terminal and Replacement Indexes.

Single-step evaluation optimises the relationship between traits to better leverage the 2.5 million genotypes available to the evaluations.

Teagasc research indicates that 65% of all farm injuries are livestock related. As a result of research and farmer feedback, the economic cost associated with poor docility has been moved to a non-linear cost.

This means that there is an increased economic cost associated with poor docility animals.

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Large crowds of farmers gathered at Tuam Mart on Monday evening, October 23, for the annual sale of in-calf suckler bred heifers belonging to Norman Connolly.

The sale featured a total of 72 in-calf heifers and witnessed a full clearance with an average sale price of €3,527.

The top price on the evening was €6,100 and went to Lot 16, a Limousin-cross heifer scanned in-calf to Belgian Blue bull An De Beauffaux (BB4438).

The four-star heifer was served with sexed semen and was expected to deliver a heifer calf.

The second-top price on the evening was €5,250 and went to Lot 72.

This December-2020-born red-roan Limousin heifer was served with sexed heifer semen from the artificial insemination (AI) bull Loyal (LM4184).

The heifer has an expected calving date in November.

Lot 19 sold for €5,000, the third-highest price on the night.

This April-2021-born Limousin-cross Belgian Blue heifer was served with sexed heifer semen from Limousin AI bull Ewdenvale Ivor (LM2014).

The heifer had an expected calving date of January 2024 and the notes in the catalogue described her as the “pick of the bunch”.

The next two highest-priced heifers were Lot 38 and Lot 71, both selling for €4,650.

Lot 38 was a Limousin-cross Charolais heifer served with sexed heifer semen to AI Limousin bull Powerful Proper (LM7416) and is due to calve next month.

Lot 71 was again a Limousin-cross heifer served with sexed heifer semen to AI Limousin bull Loyal (LM4184) due to calve next month.

Speaking to Agriland after the sale, Norman Connolly thanked the staff at Tuam Mart for their help in organising the sale and wished all successful bidders the best of luck with their new purchases.

He said: “It was clear from the sale that customers wanted, size, power and a bit of quality. There seemed to be a particular emphasis from the customers on suckler heifers with good power and weight.”

He noted that only 16 of the 72 heifers on offer were either four- or five-star.

Customers from across the island bought suckler heifers in the sale with three going to Donegal and six heifers going to homes in Northern Ireland.

Also on the evening, a Limousin heifer ‘Lola’ was raffled off with the proceeds being donated to the development of a playground at Lavally National School in Co. Galway.

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There was a large sale of cattle at Balla Mart, Co. Mayo, on Saturday, October 21, with over 1,200 cattle on offer.

According to mart management, good quality stores “got good buying as farmers were out in force along with buyers from all over Ireland and the north for the springers and breeding heifers especially”.

Bullocks in the 300-400kg weight category sold for an average price of €2.92/kg. Store bullocks in the 400-500kg weight category averaged €2.88/kg.

Heavier bullocks weighing over the 500kg mark averaged €2.84/kg. Quality heavy bullocks weighing over 700kg were making from €1,250-1,580 with their weight.

The best of the heavy bullocks were purchased by factory buyers from Northern Ireland.

Sales at Balla Mart

A Belgian Blue-cross bullock weighing 730kg sold for €2,320 or €3.16/kg while a lighter example weighing 495kg made €1,630 or €3.29/kg for a Swinford farmer.

There were over 500 lots included in the heifer sale. Breeding stock were described as “selling very well with prices ranging from €3,000-4,900.

Lighter store heifers weighing from 300–400kg averaged €2.88/kg. Heifers weighing from 400-500kg sold for over €2.95/kg, while heifers over 500kg averaged €3.30/kg.

There were some fine store heifers on offer and the top store heifers made from €2.80-3.50/kg.

A Limousin-cross heifer weighing 360kg born March 2023, made €1,260 or €3.50/kg sold by a farmer from Kilboyle, Castlebar.

One two-year-old Belgian Blue-cross heifer weighing 435kg made €4,900 or €7.97/kg, selling to an online buyer from Co. Derry.

Another Belgian Blue weighing 630kg made €4,350 or €6.90/kg and a 640kg heifer made €4,000 or €6.25/kg.

These were only a few examples of the many heifers that made over the €4.00/kg price mark.

In the dry cow sale there were just over 180 lots. There was a 965kg Limousin-cross dry cow that made €2,370 or €2.46/kg for a farmer from Balla.

There was a special sale of 24 in-calf heifers with the top price of €3,220 in this sale going to a February-2021-born heifer sold with an expected calving date of January 2024.

In the suckler sale, a March-2021-born cow sold for €3,040.

Balla Mart is set to host another special sale of 15 in-calf heifers next Saturday, October 29. These heifers are due to calve to a pedigree Limousin bull from December 1 onwards to the end of December.

Another farmer from Claremorris will have 10 five-star red Limousin first-calf heifers due from December 20 to mid-January to the five-star Limousin bulls Ivor and Marco.

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Located in Tuam, Co. Galway, the Connolly family farm is set to offer a total of 72 in-calf suckler-bred heifers for sale at Tuam Mart on Monday (October 23).

Speaking to Agriland ahead of the sale, Norman Connolly said that viewing of the lots is available from 3:00p.m on the day of the sale. The sale starts at 7:30p.m sharp.

Of the 72 in-calf heifers that will be on offer at the Tuam Mart sale, 58 of these will be calving in November or December and the remaining 14 heifers will be calving in January.

Nine of the heifers available are scanned in-calf to sexed semen bulls:

• Loyal (LM4184);
• An De Beauffaux (BB4438);
• Ewedenvale Ivor (LM2014).

Commenting on the confirmation of the heifers in the sale, Norman said: “These heifers are all between R+ and U+ grade cattle with a couple of E-grade heifers in it also.

“Generally speaking, the heifers in the sale range in weight from 700-800kg. They are all naturally fed and are not pushed.

“The heifers will range in age from 28-36 months at the point of calving.”

Some of the heifers in the sale are pictured below.

“There are a selection of heifers available in the sale to suit all suckler farmers. There are roans, blues, black and red Limousins as well as Simmental and cross-bred Charolais heifers,” he added.

“Calving dates may vary one-two weeks either side” of noted calving dates and Norman also said that “calving dates and sex of the calf are not guaranteed”.

All lots will be export tested and can be viewed prior to the sale. Contact details for Norman are available on the Haystack website and can be found here.

The heifers have all been vaccinated and received a parasite treatment as well as an iodine pour-on and pre-calving lick buckets.

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The annual Premier Hereford Autumn Show and Sale took place on Saturday, October 14, at GVM Tullamore, Co. Offaly.

A sale report from the Irish Hereford Breed Society noted “an unusually small entry of bulls for the sale” and attributed this to the “strong trade seen all spring” both at sales and on-farm.

There were 22 bulls presented for sale and 11 heifers in total. The society noted that trade on the day was somewhat affected by the weather, milk price and the delayed farm payments.

Despite this, the average price for bulls settled at €3,300 with 60% of heifers also being sold later during the day to an average of €2,100.

In the pre-sale show, the judge was Tony Bradstock from Freetown Herefords in the UK. Tony previously travelled to judge the spring show and sale in Tullamore, Co. Offaly a number of years ago.

The judge tapped out Kye Bouncer 972 as his male champion. Bred by Padraig McGrath, Co. Roscommon, this March-born bull was sired by Pulham Ranger and bred from a Freetown Hotspur dam.

Bouncer has five stars for the terminal index, carcass weight, conformation and daughter milk along with Dairy Beef Index (DBI) of €124 and was purchased for €3,500 later in the sale.

Bradstock’s choice of reserve champion went to Corlismore Egghead 188, bred by Sean and Gary McKiernan, Co. Cavan.

Egghead is a Shiloh Farm Dynamite son and bred from a Grianan Firecracker dam, both of which are National Hereford Champions.

This March-born bull has five stars for both the terminal index and carcass weight as well as a DBI of €116.

He was crowned champion at both Arva and Cloone shows earlier this year. Egghead was purchased for €3,700.

The sale-topper was lot 8, Griananpoll 1 Wolford, bred by T. and A. Fitzgerald from Co. Westmeath.

Another March-born son, Wolford was sired by Hereford Breed Improvement sire, CCR Stamina and bred from a Fabb 1 Northern Star dam.

This homozygous polled bull has five stars for both replacement index and terminal index, a calving ease of 2.1% and a DBI of €111.

Favoured by a Galway farmer – Wolford topped the sale at €4,000.

Moyclare Valiant sealed the deal before the sale ended when he sold to a Kilkenny breeder who had trouble accessing the sale online for €3,700 after placing first in his class.

Bred by Michael Molloy, Co. Offaly, Valiant was sired by Caislean jake and bred from a Freetown Nadal dam.

Valiant has five stars for terminal index, carcass weight, conformation, four stars for replacement index, a calving figure of 1.8% and a DBI of €112.

The second lot from Corlismore Herefords also sold on the day. Emperor was tapped out as first in his class by the judge before being purchased in the sale for €3,500.

Emperor was sired by Fabb 1 Northern Star and bred from a Corlismore Pompeii dam and has four stars for the replacement index.

Cave Hill Don also sold on the day earning €3,200. Don was bred by Padraig Farrell from Co. Westmeath and was sired by Dunlever Don and bred from a Gageboro Morgan dam.

Don was Hereford champion at Athlone, Mullingar and Moate shows during the summer along with winning the Interbreed Champion at Moate also. Don has a very easy calving figure of 1.9%.

Hereford heifers

The Female Champion was awarded to Coralstown Grainne bred by Colin Burke, Co. Westmeath.

Grainne is a Pute Nascar N13 daughter and bred from a Trillick George dam.

The Female Reserve Champion on the day was won by Kilsunny Lass Twirl, by Edward Dudley, Co. Tipperary.

This April 2022-born heifer was sired by Airhill Rory and bred from a Glaslough Judge dam.

There were 11 heifers presented for sale, of which six were sold.

The society wished all purchasers the best of luck and thanked all exhibitors and staff as well as auctioneer Eamonn Gaffney, judge Tony Bradstock, photographer Tricia Kennedy and Irish Hereford Prime.

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The Irish Salers Cattle Society hosted its annual breeding heifer sale at Gort Mart, Co. Galway, on Saturday, October 14.

There were a total of 197 lots of cattle offered in the sale with a 97% clearance rate achieved.

A sale report from the society outlined that two exceptional roan Salers-cross in-calf heifers topped the sale at €4,150 and €4,000 respectively.

The heifers won first and second prize in their respective classes and were exhibited by Seamus Nagle from Doolin, Co Clare.

The two top-priced heifers are sired by Salers bull Carrentubber Samurai and their dams are Shorthorn x Simmental.

After heated bidding, both heifers were knocked down to Harrington Farms Ltd., Co. Mayo.

There was strong demand for in-calf and maiden heifers throughout the day. Purebred in-calf heifers averaged €3,050. Brendan Murray, Crookstown, Co. Cork received €3,500 for first prize winner Belmount Anto.

David McNamara, Craughwell, Co. Galway was next best with €3,350 for Ganty Ava, a daughter of UK-imported cow Parkfield Polled Clarrie.

Maiden heifer Templeboy Bronagh sold for €3,450. She was bred by Niall Hunt, Templeboy, Co Sligo.

The overall champion was Wallstown Angel, a stylish maiden heifer by Powerstown Pedro. This one sold for €3,300 and was bred by Jerry McNamara, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork.

Hot on her heels selling at €3,100 was a 19-month old heifer Glengowla Belle, this Montesqieu daughter was bred by Ryan Gibbons, Rosscahill, Co. Galway.

Taking the reserve champion title was a 13-month-old heifer Sligo Brella that sold for €3,000, bred by Bernard Hunt, Gurteen, Co. Sligo.

The 10-month-old heifer Ashbury Baby Spice sold for €3,050, bred by Alfie and Conor Melvin, Co. Dublin.

Pedigree maiden and weanling heifers averaged €2,756 and €2,533 respectively. There was 100% clearance of 22 pedigree heifers.

Commercial Salers

Demand was strong for in-calf commercial heifers; the top eight commercial in-calf heifers sold from €4,150 to €3,000 with an average of €3,375.

Tom McGreal from Westport, Co. Mayo sold an in-calf commercial heifer for €3,300.

Michael O Sullivan, Inchiquin, Co. Clare had three in-calf heifers ranging from €3,000–3,300. Eddie Brennan from Co. Kilkenny sold two in-calf commercial heifers for €3,000 and €3,200 respectively.

The top 22 commercial maiden heifers ranged in price from €1,800 to €2,600 with an average price of €1,984. More average lots were €300 below this figure.

There were a number of choice pens of maiden heifers making from €4.00-4.70/kg.

“Anne McNamara from Mitchelstown, Co Cork, Alfie and Conor Melvin from Co. Dublin, Ian Molan, from Kilmallock, Co. Limerick, Stephen Kirwan from Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford and Billy Small from Co. Westmeath all had standout pens of heifers,” the society noted.

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The factory supply of prime cattle including heifers and steers (bullocks) is expected to increase over the winter months, according to a cattle supply forecast from Bord Bia.

According to the Irish food bord, the supply forecast to the end of 2023 suggests that the overall factory cattle throughput for this year is likely to show a decline of 20,000 head on last year’s cattle supply.

Latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that the factory supply of cattle to date this year is over 53,000 head (excluding veal) below last year’s supply level.

Bord Bia has said that prime cattle numbers are expected to recover “slightly” by a margin of 4-5% from October to December of this year.

A similar trend is also expected in the first quarter of 2024, with cattle numbers expected to be up 4% from January-March 2024.

While supplies of prime cattle are projected to increase, cow supplies are expected to fall. In both quarter four of 2023 and quarter one of 2024, Bord Bia expects the supply of factory cows to decline by 4%.

Fall in carcass weights

The Bord Bia Irish beef market outlook also shed light on how carcass weights have been performing this year.

It noted that steer carcass weights to date this year have declined by 3% with the average steer carcass weight at 345kg.

Heifer carcass weights have declined by 2% leaving the average heifer carcass weight this year at 311kg.

Cow carcass weights have fallen by 4% and the average cow carcass weight to date this year stands at 303kg.

Alternatively, young bull carcass weights have increased this year with the average carcass weight up 3% to 379kg.

According to Bord Bia, the lower weights reflect the growing proportion of dairy animals in the total.

Reduced grass quality over the summer months and lower concentrate feed usage also attributed to these reduced carcass weights, according to the outlook report.

The proportion of steers grading an R is down from 30% in 2021 to 25% to date in 2023. Heifers grading R were down from 43% to 36% over the same time period.

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The average (base) price Irish farmers received for R3 grade bullocks (steers) in the first week of October was 94c/kg below the average price in the UK, according to latest Bord Bia figures.

In the week ending Saturday, October 7, the average R3 steer price in the UK was €5.56/kg versus €4.62/kg in Ireland, a difference of 94c/kg.

The average Irish R3 steer price, to date this year, is running at €5.04/kg which is 6c/kg above the EU average young bull price but 46c/kg below the average UK steer price.

Factory quotes – heifers and steers

Factory quotes for heifers and steers have remained unchanged at most sites this week, generally speaking.

Steers are being quoted at €4.55/kg on the grid and heifers are being quoted at €4.60/kg on the grid at most sites this week.

5-10c/kg more is available at the higher-end of the price scale where good batches of in-spec prime cattle are presented for slaughter.

Procurement staff appear to be particularly keen for prime cattle this week and many sites have encouraged factory agents to prioritise securing in-spec fleshed heifers and steers this week.

Cow price

Cow prices continue to vary significantly between factories with the stronger cow-buying outlets quoting prices up to 15c/kg above the weaker cow-buying outlets.

U-grade cows are being quoted at prices ranging from €4.25-4.40/kg with quotes for R grade cows ranging from €4.05-4.15/kg.

Cows grading an O are ranging from €3.85-3.95/kg and quotes for cows grading a P are ranging from €3.75-3.85/kg.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are being quoted at €4.75 and €4.65/kg for U and R grade bulls respectively. €4.45/kg and €4.35/kg is being quoted for O and P grade bulls.

Stronger-paying outlets are paying up to 10c/kg above these quotes for bulls.

Under-16-month bulls are being quoted at €4.55/kg on the grid.

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There are a number of factors other than forage and concentrates that will impact on finishing cattle.

Speaking at the DairyBeef500 farm walk on Pat Collins’ farm recently, Alan Dillon from Teagasc spoke about a few of these factors.

Finishing cattle

Dillon said that there are some considerations that are often overlooked when it comes to finishing cattle, with focus always placed on silage quality and concentrates.

The first factor Dillon spoke about was space in the shed. If a pen is 5mx5m he said, then 10 finishing cattle can be housed there.

For a slated pen, 2.5m² is required for each of the cattle, and for a straw bedded pen, 4m² is required.

“I know sheds are expensive, and the tendency we often have is to fit as many cattle as possible into the space to dilute our fixed costs and push as many cattle as possible through the system,” Dillon said.

“But overpacking sheds can have a very detrimental effect on livestock thrive; it can be fairly detrimental to their production and it does increase your feeding costs overall.”

Dillon said that farmers should ensure that they have enough feeding and lying space for cattle in their pens, to ensure cattle thrive is not hampered during this period.

Water

Dillon also said that water is often ignored on farms – not the quality, but the allowance.

Finishing cattle consume a large amount of dry matter in a day and this means they require a large amount of water.

For sheds where cattle are being finished, Dillon said that nose, or small drinkers should be avoided and larger troughs should be used.

Ideally, he said that farmers will have troughs that can be easily cleaned, such as the troughs that can be tipped over.

The next factor that Dillon spoke about was ensuring that sheds have adequate ventilation for the number of cattle inside.

He said for sheeting on the shed, Yorkshire boarding is the ideal material, as it is best for letting airflow in.

Vaccinations and controlling parasites were also noted by Dillon, to ensure that cattle are, and remain healthy during the finishing period.

He also reminded farmers to ensure that they are mixing up the products that are being used for dosing to ensure that resistance to products doesn’t build too strong.

Feed

The last factor Dillon spoke about was feed management. He said that on some farms, there is old silage in front of cattle with new feed put on top.

He said that this gone-off feed is heating and producing an odour which is going to reduce intakes from the cattle.

“When you have these cattle in the shed you want them to eat as much feed as quickly as possible to grow as fast as they can,” he said.

“This means the cattle are out the door sooner, during an expensive time to be feeding.”

He said that it is important to remove the old or leftover feed each day, before feeding out for the day.

The post Finishing cattle: Factors other than forage and concentrates appeared first on Agriland.ie.

A dairy technologist from the College of Agriculture Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) has encouraged farmers to prioritise successful autumn grazing management.

Robert Patterson said successful autumn grazing management will increase the number of days at grass and ensure there is grass available for grazing the following spring.

The recent settled weather conditions have been a welcome change in the latter half of a very unsettled and variable grazing season, he said.

Grass growth on farms in Northern Ireland throughout August was higher than the long-term average and this should have made it possible on many farms to increase the grazing rotation length and average farm cover approaching September.

“A surplus of grass will have been built up in August on some farms and hopefully these will have been removed in late August,” Patterson said.

“Taking out surplus grass after the first week of September should be avoided if possible, as grass growth rates can fall quickly and paddocks removed will not have enough time to regrow and provide grass for the final grazing rotation.”

Autumn grazing

Patterson said creating an autumn rotation plan is a valuable tool to manage autumn grazing and ensure there will be grass available for grazing in the following spring.

The rotation plan will determine the area to be grazed each day, based on the initial average farm cover, the desired housing date and the target closing farm cover.

It is important, he said, to continue to measure and budget grass weekly, to allow progress to be tracked and manage supplementation if required.

“Successfully managing autumn grazing will increase the number of days at grass, reduce the cost of feeding the animals, conserve valuable winter forage supplies, and prepare the grazing platform for turnout in the following spring,” Patterson said.

“Careful management will be required to minimise sward damage and achieve good levels of grass utilisation.

“The full range of grazing tools and techniques should be used where applicable, including the use of multiple entry and exit points, using spur roads to access the back of paddocks, using 24- and 12-hour allocations, back fencing animals from grazed areas and on-off grazing if required.”

While weather and ground conditions are favourable, farmers should aim to graze paddocks with heavier soils and heavier grass covers to reduce sward damage and increase the utilisation of these swards.

“Aim to increase the grazing rotation length from 30 days at the start of September to 35 days by mid-September and 40 days by the start of October,” Patterson said.

“The average farm cover should reach its peak in mid-late September (2,600–2,750kg DM/ha), before reducing to a target closing farm cover of 2,050–2,100kg DM/ha.

“Prioritise fresh calved cows for housing first, with late lactation and lower yielding cows being the last to be housed. Grass will currently provide energy for maintenance plus 11L.”

As grass supply reduces and supplementation is required, Patterson has advised to introduce silage gradually with on-off grazing and transition the diet slowly.

He advised that paddocks most suitable for spring turnout be identified now and these should be grazed in the middle of the final grazing rotation.

“This should mean that these paddocks will have grass covers suitable for turnout (2,400–2,600kg DM/ha) and make good levels of grass utilisation more achievable,” he said.

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The importance of harvesting high-quality silage for dairy calf-to-beef systems was highlighted at a farm walk on Pat Collins’ farm recently.

Pat operates a dairy calf-to-beef system on his farm near Castlemartyr, Co. Cork, and has been achieving excellent results.

Using crops grown through the farm’s tillage operation and the harvesting of high-quality forage are two of the major factors behind the success.

High-quality silage

The importance of making high-quality silage was highlighted at the farm walk. Tommy Cox from Teagasc highlighted that for farms with 100 weanling calves in a dairy calf-to-beef system, a saving of 28t can be achieved.

Where 75% dry matter digestibility (DMD) silage is present in the yard for 100 animals, 14t of concentrates will be required over a 140-day housed period.

From this silage, the daily intake will be 9kg/day for weanlings, with a liveweight gain of 0.83kg/day.

Cox said that to achieve the average daily gain of 0.6kg/day for the weanlings on this silage, 1kg concentrates, or possibly even less will be required.

But if this silage quality is down at 65% DMD, intakes are reduced to 7.6kg/day and liveweight gain is reduced to 0.49kg/day.

This means that 3kg of concentrates would be required to achieve an average daily gain of 0.6kg for the group.

Advice

The quality of silage currently cannot be changed – with weather conditions this year posing a major challenge to many.

But a focus should be placed on increasing the quality of silage being harvested on farms, with the reduction in concentrate feeding having a potential saving of €9,800 (using the above example as a reference point).

Cox recommends that farmers get their silage tested to determine its DM, DMD, and crude protein – which will allow farmers to formulate a diet.

This will then allow them to determine how much concentrates are needed in the farm’s diet.

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Farmers keen to ensure that their cows will get the best out of the silage they have harvested in recent months should think about getting their silage analysed.

Silage analysis will be important coming into the winter as farmers will be soon begin to close paddocks and house stock.

The challenging weather conditions made the harvesting of silage tough for farmers in many areas, and therefore, ensuring that the fodder is high quality is essential.

Bruce Forshaw, product manager at ForFarmers in the UK said that insight into silage quality can help reduce expenses while maintaining productivity.

Forshaw said: “Our analysis of customers’ silage [stocks] has shown that overall there is more energy and protein compared to 2022.

“This may mean you can reduce the amount of protein you buy in, therefore lowering bills while also helping towards sustainability targets.”

Silage analysis

The benefits of getting silage analysed can not only identify the ways costs can be lowered, but can also be helpful in preventing sickness in cows.

In their silage analysis, Forshaw said that ForFarmers has discovered some results that “give cause for concern”.

“We have noticed some high DCAB (dietary cation-anion balance) silages which was caused by higher than normal potassium levels and lower chloride levels.

“This may not make a huge difference to cows in the milking herd, but can pose a problem for dry cows and can result in milk fever.

“It’s unclear why this year’s silage is showing raised levels.”

Second and later cuts this year, according to Forshaw, indicated an increased risk of aerobic spoilage and heating once silage pits are opened.

Analysis from ForFarmers indicated that this is, in part, due to lower lactic and acetic acids and higher butyric acid.

“The best advice is to get full nutritional and mineral analysis of your silage and ration exactly what your cows need to help them perform at their best while minimising waste,” he said.

“Mineral content of silage can catch you out if there is a change, so we recommend that all farms take at least one sample at the beginning of the season, especially when rationing dry cows.”

Forshaw stated that a full nutritional and mineral analysis of silage will help cows to perform to their best.

The post Getting silage analysed before winter housing appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Combining a tillage operation and dairy calf-to-beef system has been extremely successful for Pat Collins from Castlemartyr, Co. Cork.

Pat hosted a farm walk on his farm on Tuesday (September 13), which drew a large crowd of farmers looking to get insights into the system operated on the farm.

The farm consists of 50ha of grassland and over 400ac of tillage.

210 calves were purchased in 2022, with this number increased to 330 this year as the grassland block increased from 36ha to 50ha.

The system is Friesian bull, with Pat aiming to finish these cattle using produce that’s grown on the farm.

Pat is one of the farmers in the Teagasc DairyBeef500 programme, with the aim of this programme to return a net margin of €500/ha for farmers.

The combination of tillage and beef means that this figure is achieved and exceeded on the farm with a net margin of €768 achieved in 2022.

Dairy calf-to-beef

The system on the farm is 20-month-old Friesian bulls, and this is operated very successfully for Pat. Some heifers are also purchased and finished off grass.

Calves are purchased at three-weeks-of-age from dairy farmers, many of which Pat has been dealing with for a number of years.

The aim during the calf-rearing period is to wean calves weighing 95kg, with an average daily weight gain (ADG) of 0.7kg/day.

During the first season at grass that aim is an ADG of 0.75kg/day and to house these cattle weighhing 230kg in mid-November.

A dry farm means that grazing usually gets underway in early February, although January grazing does occur.

The target is to turn out bulls for their second grazing season weighing 290kg.

During the second grazing season, which lasts around five and a half months, the aim is an ADG of 1kg/day and to house the bulls in August weighing 460kg.

The finishing period lasts three months from housing until the beginning of November, by which stage all the bulls should be gone and the sheds can be used for housing the calves coming in from their first grazing season.

The aim during the finishing period is to achieve an ADG of 1.3kg/day and to kill the bulls weighing 580kg.

The first of the bulls will be drafted around 60 days with all the bulls gone by 90 days with a carcass of around 300kg.

Grass

Although concentrates have a major role to play in this system, grass and forage grown on the farm do too.

Red clover silage has been grown on the farm for the last four years, with Pat now having enough that he is hoping to remove soya from the diet this year.

Red clover silage is a high-protein forage, containing between 16-20% protein.

Calves are turned out to grass eating around 2kg of concentrates, and this is reduced down to nothing – they are then on a grass-only diet until housing.

The use of a paddock system has been a vital part of the success on this farm – with fields having good perimeter fencing and then pigtails and temporary wire used to divide them into paddocks.

Pat places a major focus on grass and ensuring the stock are eating the highest quality grass to ensure that weight gain is maintained.

Some of the crops from the tillage operation are used to feed the cattle, with all the finishing cattle currently housed on the farm being fed using all homegrown crops.

The aim is that the weanling diet will also consist of all homegrown feed, but this diet has yet to be formulated.

Margin

The calf-to-beef system started on the farm around eight years ago, with the leasing of land around the road from the home farm.

The number of calves purchased each year has increased along with the areas of grassland farm, with it now totalling 50ha in 2023.

Stocking rate is high, but a lot of the feed is coming from the tillage operation – which means that Pat is not in derogation.

The gross output from the farm is strong, but variable costs are also high, with this cost driven by the high stocking rate.

Fixed costs on the farm are high, but much of these fixed costs are driven by labour and land rental, with almost all the grassland leased. There has also been investment in facilities.

Net margin on the farm is €768 in 2022, with this being much higher in previous years.

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The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has revealed the most popular artificial insemination (AI) beef sires used on the suckler herd this year.

The results are based on AI servings recorded during the first six months of the year and are compiled from the insemination data collected from AI technicians linked to the ICBF database, through handheld systems.

Based on the data, there were 69,847 recorded serves, which is a slight decrease on the same period in 2022 when 72,103 serves had been recorded.

The table below shows the top 10 beef-breed bulls used on beef-sired cows, based on total AI handheld serves in the first six months of 2023:

The number one most-used beef bull so far this year is Lapon (CH4321), with 6,035 handheld serves recorded.

A National Cattle Breeding Centre (NCBC) sire, Lapon was also the top bull on this list in 2022.

Lapon has a replacement index of €91, with a reliability of 79%, and a terminal index of €161, with a reliability of 94%.

The second most-used beef bull this year is Powerful Proper (LM7416), with 4,877 handheld serves recorded; he is also an NCBC sire.

Powerful Proper has a replacement index of €118, with a reliability of 58%, and has a terminal index of €108, with a reliability of 67%.

The third most-used beef bull this year is Moondharrig Knell (LM4217), with 2,939 handheld serves recorded; he is also an NCBC sire.

Moondharrig Knell has a replacement index of €167, with a reliability of 94%, and has a terminal index of €119, with a reliability of 95%.

Popular breeds for sires

Out of the top 10 most-used beef bulls, nine were tested through the Beef Gene Ireland breeding programme.

The ICBF data indicates a strong preference among suckler farmers for continental breeds – namely Charolais and Limousin.

The table below shows the percentage of handheld AI serves by breed type used on beef-sired cows in the first six months of 2023:

According to ICBF, Limousin is the most used beef breed in suckler herds, with 25,353 handheld serves recorded so far this year.

Charolais follows shortly afterwards, with 17,220 handheld serves recorded.

Angus is the third most-used beef breed in suckler herds, with 10,530 handheld serves recorded.

There was a total of 1,114 beef bulls recorded on handhelds during the first six months of the year.

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Grass growth continues in a positive trend, with warm weather and good soil moisture levels resulting in good growth conditions.

Some of this growth could also be aided by the large amounts of clover that are now present in many swards.

However, although growth is good currently, it will start to slow down, so farmers should not be getting ahead of themselves and thinking this is going to last.

We are in autumn and growth will begin to tail off, so ensuring that average farm cover (AFC) is building is vital.

Grass growth

The latest figures from PastureBase Ireland show current growth rates of 55kg of dry matter (DM)/ha for Leinster, 55kg of DM/ha for Munster, 56kg of DM/ha for Connacht and 52kg of DM/ha for Ulster.

There is a slight decrease across the country for the predicted growth rates for the coming days: 51kg of DM/ha for Leinster, 52kg of DM/ha for Munster, 47kg of DM/ha for Connacht and 45kg of DM/ha for Ulster.

Rotation length

The building of AFC is underway on farms and the aim over the next month or so is to increase rotation length to around 40 days.

There are a number of ways that farmers can achieve this, but they are essentially decreasing the stocking rate on the milking platform.

This can be achieved by introducing more land, such as silage ground, which should decrease demand and allow covers to build.

It may also be time to start looking at moving on cull cows; although they may still be producing milk, they are being culled for a reason.

Removing them from the herd reduces demand and all this means that if silage needs to be fed in the next month or so less will be used as there will be fewer mouths to feed.

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Teagasc budgetary guidelines for farmers buying store bullocks to finish this winter indicate that a factory price of €5.47/kg (carcass weight) will be needed for continental steers to breakeven.

These figures were outlined at a Teagasc suckler and beef farmer information event which took place at Kildalton Agricultural College this afternoon (Friday, September 8).

The Teagasc guideline figures for finishing steers this winter are broken down into three categories: Continental-cross, Hereford-cross, and Friesian.

The table below outlines the 2023/24 figures for farmers winter-finishing steers:

 It was emphasised that the budget simply provides guideline figures and that different farm systems will have different costs.

Beef farmers were encouraged to do up their own costings using figures relevant to their farms.

As the table above indicates, based on assumed store cattle prices for autumn 2023, a beef price of €4.98/kg will be needed to breakeven in the Friesian bullock finishing system.

A beef price of €5.39/kg will be needed to breakeven in the Hereford-cross bullock finishing system and a beef price of €5.47/kg will be needed to break even on the continental-cross bullock finishing system.

The breakeven beef prices are down considerably from 2022’s price levels.

Farmers were reminded that silage quality is critical to animal performance over the winter. In the above costings, silage with a dry matter (DM) of 20% is assumed with a dry matter digestibility (DMD) of 72% and a cost of €45/t DM.

The table below shows the impact of higher and lower store cattle prices on the breakeven selling price required:

Transport and marketing costs were included at €42/head. Dosing and other animal health costs were factored in at €8/head with no mortality assumed.

The costings also accounted for half the interest cost on feed and animals borrowed at 7%. Meal costs were factored in at €330/t.

The selling prices outlined in the Teagasc budget only cover variable and fixed costs and do not include a margin.

While the costs will vary from farm to farm, the key point is for farmers to do their own budgets with their own costs and be realistic with costs.

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With temperatures to reach in excess of 27° over the coming days, farmers must be vigilant to ensure that heat stress in livestock is dealt with.

Preventing, identifying, and dealing with heat stress in livestock will be important, as conditions are set to be very warm and humid during today (Thursday, September 7) and Friday (September 8).

While many farmers may be currently busy attempting to cut hay during this dry spell, they must be careful heat stress does not go unnoticed in their livestock.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue said: “Although the recent good weather is welcomed by many, we must remember that high temperatures pose a risk to livestock.

“It is important that farmers take steps to protect their livestock during hot weather, to make them comfortable and to avoid any serious health and welfare problems arising due to the heat.

“All animals should be checked more frequently in hot weather, particularly animals at higher risk of heat stress, including young, pregnant or sick animals,” he added.

Heat stress

Heat stress occurs when an animal’s heat load is greater than its capacity to lose heat.

This is seen prominently in heavy cattle, which cannot handle heat stress compared to lighter weight cattle.

Also at a higher risk of heat stress are pregnant animals, animals recovering from illness, pigs and high-producing dairy cows.

The most visible signs in farm animals tend to be elevated breathing rates, however, increased water intake and sweating, along with decreased feed intake, are other symptoms.

To help prevent heat stress occurring, farmers must pay particular attention to water, feed, shade and management.

Consumption of water is the quickest method for animals to reduce their core body temperature.

For detecting signs of heat stress in your dairy herd, further symptoms include decreased milk production and a change in milk composition (milk fat and protein percentages drop).

Farmers should also pay attention to their livestock crowding, breathing heavily, and standing next to a water trough.

On a hot day, cows can drink anywhere up to 110L/day and they can typically drink at a rate of 14L/minute from a trough.

With this in mind, farmers are encouraged to carefully consider trough location, as cattle don’t like to walk more than 250m to get a drink.

Offering feed with a high fibre content can increase the heat of fermentation in the rumen, thus increasing the heat load of livestock.

Cattle should be given preferential access to paddocks with shade from trees and tall hedges during periods of hot weather.

This may mean having to graze more shaded parts of the farm during the day and more open areas during the evening/night.

If moving or handling cattle, farmers should minimise the time cattle are in holding yards and to reduce handling stress.

Where cattle do become affected by heat stress, it’s advisable to isolate the most severely affected animals and provide shade and cooling.

Farmers should avoid handling sheep where possible during hot weather, and where necessary, delay handling or moving sheep until late evening when temperatures cool.

For farmers transporting sheep in trailers, they should ensure there is adequate ventilation and that they are stocked appropriately.

They should check stock regularly during longer journeys and delay movements until late evening/night time where possible.

Farmers with sheepdogs should also be aware that the dogs are susceptible to heat stress, and should delay work until late evening, where possible, provide sufficient rest periods and have access to water.

For outdoor pigs, they will require access to a wallow to cool down, especially if the temperature is above 25°, as these animals are particularly vulnerable to heat stress.

For indoor pigs and poultry the temperature in the animal accommodation must be monitored closely and ventilation adjusted accordingly. 

It is also recommended to reduce stocking densities where necessary to increase air space and flow and to reduce the heat generated by the animals themselves.  

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