Newford Farm July/ August Update 2024
Breeding
The 2024 breeding season finished on Newford Farm on the 1st of July. It started on 22nd April which equates to a 10-week period.
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- There were 78 mature cows and 23 maiden heifers put forward for breeding this year
- 82% of the mature herd was artificially inseminated in the first three weeks of breeding and 100 % of the herd were inseminated within the first eight weeks of breeding
- Performance was positive bearing in mind of the very wet and cold spring
- 46 cows ( 59%) were inseminated once
- 22 cows ( 28%) received a repeat insemination
- 9 cows ( 11 ½ ) repeated twice and were inseminated three times
- 1 cow was inseminated 4 times
- The ‘once-a-day AI rule’ was used again on the farm this year. Cows were inseminated once each day at midday.
- If a cow was inseminated at 12 noon and if she was still showing signs of standing heat again that evening, that same cow was served again the next day (12 noon)
- 9 cows out of the 78 mature cows were inseminated twice on two consecutive days using this rule
- All 23 maiden heifers (photo below) were inseminated once since breeding started on the 22nd of April. These heifers were inseminated for six and a half weeks
- 14 heifers were inseminated once
- 7 heifers were inseminated twice
- 2 heifers were inseminated three times
Photo: Selection of heifers that were inseminated in 2024
Performance
Last week brought an improvement in the weather and Newford noticed for the first time since turnout that the young suckler calves were beginning to thrive at grass but their ADG at grass was still behind compare to previous years due to cold / wet year and no heat in the ground.
- On previous years the males calves would have achieved ADG per day of 1.25 Kg plus and heifers of 1.22 Kg per day plus
- All calves were weighted on the 2nd of July along with being treated for RSP ( pneumonia) protection and they will received their booster shot in 4 weeks’ time and this will safeguard the calves against pneumonia before weaning in late August
All the 2023- born heifers were weighed on the 27th of June.
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- The average weight of the 43 heifers was 441 Kg
- Their average daily gain since turnout was 0.80 kg / day ( Turnout on the 17th of April)
- Like the suckler calves the beef heifers are roughly back by 50 kg compare to other years and once again this is due to the very poor wet autumn in 2023 and the late turnout in 2024
Grassland
Stephen is keeping a close eye on the grass situation in Newford. Currently he is happy enough with 19 days of grass ahead. With demand of the herd higher than the growth rate , he will apply one more round of protected urea at 20 units/ acre. He wants to start to build grass covers for the autumn.
Photo: Focus on clover. Existing sward switched with a grass/clover mix on June 7th.