Newford Farm May/June Update 2023
Grassland
- Incorporation of clover
- Making surplus bales in May to feeding bales as a buffer in June
- Growth increases again with the rain
Breeding
- May is all about breeding – sire criteria and selection
- Breeding will stop in mid June to keep calving compactly in 2024
Grassland
To maintain optimum pre grazing covers (1200-1500kg/DM/Ha), paddocks over 1600kg/DM/Ha are being cut and removed as surplus bales. Buddy white clover has been over sown in early May at 2.5kgs/acre on paddocks removed as surplus bales and within 48 hours after paddocks been grazed.
| 29/05/2023 | Newford | Out Farm 1 | Out Farm 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cover(KG/DM/HA) |
600 | 748 | 438 |
|
Growth |
81 | 65 | 45 |
| Demand | 51 | 62 | 49 |
|
Days ahead |
12 | 12 | 9 |
The first cut of silage was taken on the 1st June with 2500g/ac slurry and 60 units protected urea/acre gone out on this ground since for a second cut.
The clover which was over-sown at a rate of 2kg/ac in early and mid-May has struck and seems to be doing well. These paddocks are being grazed at lower covers of between 1000 and 1200kgDM/ha in order to let light into it and allow the clover to become well established. Clover paddocks from previous years skipped a round of fertiliser in May and will be skipped again, or receive a very low level in July.
The dry spell at the end May/early June contributed to a week of tight grazing from the 13th to 19th June, during which cows were buffer fed bales alongside grass to ensure grass could be kept in front of yearling stock to maintain performance. Grass quickly bounced back once the weather softened and the application of between 16 and 18 units of protected urea + Sulphur, depending on clover content had us back on track.
Breeding
Artificial insemination began on the 24th April and will continue until 4th July (10 weeks) Bull selection criteria is outlined in table 2 and selected sires and mating policy is outlined in table 3.
Repeats after 15 days into the 2nd cycle is as follows: Cows 19/80 Maiden heifers 7/25.
Picture 1: Vasectomised bull with moo heat collar
Sire selection is based on the following criteria;
| 5 Star Terminal Index (within & across breeds) | |
|---|---|
|
|
<8% calving difficulty for mature cows |
|
|
<5.8% calving difficulty for younger cows |
|
|
>70% reliability calving difficulty |
|
|
>35kg predicted carcass weight mature cows |
 |
>25kg predicted carcass weight young cows |
| |
>1.86 on conformation |
| |
<6% for 1st calvers:80% reliability |
| |
>25kg predicted carcass weight |
| |
Cost of straw less than €20 |
| |
>-3 days predicted transmitting ability age of slaughter |
List of bulls selected:
|
Sire | Breed |
Beef cow calving difficulty |
PTA Carcass (kg) |
PTA Confirmation | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LM2014 | LM | 2.5 | 28.9 | 2.45 | Maiden Heifers |
| LM4851 | LM | 3.1 | 28.9 | 2.85 | Young Cows |
| CH4321 | CH | 4.9 | 41.5 | 2.24 | Young Cows |
|
LM7713 |
LM | 2.4 | 28.4 | 2.65 | Young Cows |
| LM4366 | LM | 3.4 | 42.5 | 2.31 | Mature Cows |
| CH6271 | CH | 4.8 | 48.4 | 2.06 | Mature Cows |
| LM7404 | LM | 3 | 32 | 2.18 | Mature Cows |
| CH8262 | CH | 7.2 | 41.7 | 2.37 | Mature Cows |
Biodiversity
The 2022 born beef progeny have been introduced to the GreenFeed (C-Lock) which measures enteric emissions – methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2). “Bait feed” is used to entice the animal to stay at the GreenFeed system for a minimum of 3 minutes. The data is then uploaded every hour to an online server which calculates emissions and will quantify how much emissions is emitted by Newford livestock.
