16 August 2022

Newford 17 ½ months old in-spec Beef Heifers finished off grass without meal

In the current update from the Newford farm Michael Fagan has some detailed information on heifers slaughtered on August 4th off grass with no meal. There is also an update on the TB outbreak which has hit the farm. he also gives an update on how the 2022 calves are faring.

On August 4th 2022 20 - 17 ½ month - Newford in-spec beef heifers, all of which satisfied the Quality Payment System (QPS) specifications, were slaughtered off grass with no meal. These 20 heifers were turned out to grass on the 20^th of January 2022 at an average weight of 411 kgs and were 195 days at grass before slaughter.

The average grade for the 20 heifers was R - 3 =
Their average liveweight going up the ramp of the lorry was 567 kg
Their average date of birth was the 17^th of February 2021
The average carcase weight was 290 kg and their average kill-out percentage was 51%
There were 17 “R” grades and 3 “0” grade heifers
The average sale price per kg was €5.10
The average sale price was € 1,474
The 20 heifers were on average 17.5 months of age at slaughter
All heifers received the QPS payment
3 heifers grade (O + 3 –) which is minus 12 cent less than the base price. The base price was €4.90 on the slaughter day. Leaving the 3 heifers at €4.78 + 20 cent QPS = €4.98 price /Kg
2 heifers received addition 6 cent per kg for being R +. Leaving those heifers at €5.16 price / Kg
The only meal feeding the heifers received was at weaning time for BEEP-S and the winter period of 2021
The heifers consumed roughly 251 Kg of meal costing approx. €90 during their weanling period.
These heifers remained at grass after weaning and were housed on the 7^th of December at 379 Kgs for only 44 days before being turned back out to grass on the 20^th of January 2022 at 411 Kgs
There are 17 remaining 2021 progeny beef heifers and their average weight is 540 Kgs. Their weights range from 590 Kgs to 490 Kgs
The majority of these heifers will be drafted at the end of August with no meal

View images below with liveweight and carcass information for a selection of these heifers

Newford Farm TB

The 6 cows and 2 calves that were identified as reactors were moved off the farm immediately and were tested for lesions at the factory. Of the 8 animals identified as reactors, 3 cows and 1 calf had lesions

Newford Farm work closely with the Department of Agriculture District Veterinary Office and the DVO and all of the remaining suckler cows and all 2021-born beef heifers were blood tested on Wednesday the 20th of July , to see was there any super spreaders in the herd. From that test, 2 cows tested positive with TB from the blood samples and these cows have since been removed off the farm by the Department

In 60 days’ time all the herd will be retested again with a skin test, which will take place early October and again in early December

Newford Calves

All of Newford suckler calves are thriving well with no health issues to report. All the calves and their mothers were weighted on the 27^th of July as part of the BEEP-S scheme.

Newford Calves Creep feeding Some of the calves weighed light as some of their mothers were culled out of the herd due to TB and this had an effect on their weighing performance. (See weighing table below)

Meal feeding is fully in progress with all the calves to prepare them for weaning and also as part of the BEEP-S scheme requirement. The calves are encouraged to creep graze ahead of the cows by simple raising the electric wire Newford calves creep grazing in one section of the paddock with two horse PVC plastic posts

The creep feeding is being offered to the calves in troughs and they are on average consuming 0.5 Kg of creep per day.

Calf Weights 2022

Weighing date - July 27th 2022

	Number of calves	Average weight at birth	Average Weight on July 27th	Average age	*ADG from birth to July 27
Heifer Calves	25	38Kg	271Kg	5 months	1.25Kg/day
Male Calves	62	44Kg	248Kg	5 months	1.21Kg/day

*Average Daily Gain

Newford Cow & calf August 2022

Calf Sire: Scardaune Mark - CH 4491
Dam: AA x Friesian-cross cow - 9^th Calver
Born: February 21st, 2022
Birth weight: 49Kg
Weight July 27th: 307Kg
ADG from birth to July 27th: 1.43Kg