Newford Notes - Week of 2nd November 2020

All the beef animals at Newford Farm have now been housed. Michael Fagan,Technician of the Newford Suckler Demonstration Farm in Athenry gives the latest update of heifer slaughter details together with feeding programmes and recent weights of the remaining beef bullocks, heifers and weanlings.

(Photo above: Weanling males enjoying the last few days of grazing before housing)

Finishing Beef Heifers

• Nine more heifers were slaughtered on the 22^nd of October. These heifers were sold off grass and received a small amount of concentrates (60 kg) per heifer before slaughter
• The average grade for the nine heifers was R =  3 =
• Their liveweight going up the ramp of the lorry was 544 kg
• Their average carcase weight was 293 kg
• This gave a kill out percentage of 54 %
• The average sale price was € 1,172 at 20 months of age
• These heifers were 213 days at grass before slaughter
• The remaining 22 heifers were housed on the 27^th of October
• Their average weight on the 2^nd of November  was 557 kg
• They are receiving 5 kg concentrates along with ad-lib silage
• They have also been treated for lice

Finishing Beef Bullocks

The 34 beef bullocks were housed on the 2^nd of October

• They are receiving 6 kg concentrates along with ad-lib silage
• Feeding is split with 3 kg of a high-energy 12% protein content coarse ration offered in the morning and another 3 kg in the evening
• The bullocks have had their tail’s and back’s clipped to keep animals cooler with temperatures currently relatively high
• The 34 bullocks were weighed last Monday, 2^nd of November, and the average liveweight was 627 kg at 20 months of age
• 14 of these bullocks will be drafted for sale later this week. (results in next week’s notes)
• The remaining 20 bullocks have been treated for lice.

Weanlings

All the weanlings (105) have now been housed. The wet weather last week in the West put an end to the 2020 grazing season on Newford farm

• Newford farm lost a male weanling last week due to pneumonia. The animal was sent to Athlone Veterinary Laboratory for post mortem analysis and the results show that the weanling died of sub clinical pneumonia and some abnormal gut infection. Under veterinary instruction all the weanlings were treated for pneumonia with “ Rispoval IntraNasal” as the rest of the group were coughing and some of the  weanlings had a high temperature
• There are no signs of any health issues now within the batch
• All weanlings are receiving  2 kg of a high-energy, 18% protein ration and good quality silage offered ad lib
• The young male weanlings were housed on the 30^th of October and their housing weight was 355 kg.
• ADG from birth to housing was 28 kg per day
• The heifer weanlings were also housed on the 30^th of October at a liveweight of 349 kg
• Their ADG from birth to housing was 23 kg
• A summary table is listed below of the average housing weights for the weanlings 

Newford Farm produced a video titled ““19 month old beef heifers sold off grass”. Watch below.

  Key recommendations for this week

• Watch weanlings closely for pneumonia and coccidiosis
• Keep mineral buckets offered to cows
• Consider plans for early grass in spring 2021
• Order dosing for housed animals
• Turn off all water going to troughs in the paddocks