Upcoming Events
A Guide to a Successful Calving Season Webinar Series 2026
Strong calf performance and farm profitability start well before calving. Getting nutrition, minerals, vaccination and calving management right has a major impact on calf survival, cow health and labour efficiency on suckler beef farms.
Teagasc Future Beef team hosted a two part webinar series designed specifically for suckler beef farmers, combining the latest research with practical on-farm experience to help reduce calf losses and improve performance in the coming calving season.
A live calf at calving: A step by step guide to calving your cow and keeping that calf alive
Tuesday, 20th January | 8pm
The second webinar in the series, which took place on Tuesday, 20th January focused on best practice at calving time and the critical first hours and days of a calf’s life – when most losses occur. Webinar host Aisling Molloy, Future Beef Advisor was joined by John Donlon, Veterinary Lecturer, ATU and Wesley Browne, FutureBeef Farmer.
Topics discussed include:
- Calving the suckler cow – recognising normal calving, managing difficult calvings and knowing when to intervene
- Newborn calf management – colostrum management, hygiene, housing and early disease prevention
Speakers
- John Donlon, Veterinary Lecturer, Atlantic Technological University (ATU)
- Wesley Browne, Future Beef Farmer
Watch webinar recording below
Profit Starts Before Calving – Reduce Calf Losses Before They Happen
Tuesday, 6th January | 8pm
The first webinar in the series, which took place on Tuesday, 6th January, focused on the key management decisions during pregnancy that influence calving difficulty, calf vitality and early-life disease risk. Webinar chair, James Mullane, Future Beef Advisor was joined by Professor David Kenny, Teagasc; Dennis Howard, Munster Bovine; and James Skehan, Future Beef Farmer.
Topics discussed included:
- Nutrition of the pregnant suckler cow – matching energy and protein supply to stage of pregnancy
- Minerals – how important are they? Identifying deficiencies, choosing the right supplementation and timing
- Vaccination programmes for suckler herds – controlling scour and pneumonia:
- Which animals to vaccinate
- Which vaccines are appropriate
- When vaccines should be administered to protect the newborn calf
Watch webinar recording below