Newford Farm calving performance 2022

Michael Fagan, Teagasc Technician on the Newford Suckler Demonstration Farm in Athenry, Co. Galway gives a brief update on the calving performance on the Newford herd for 2022. Newford Farm had 93 cows to calve down this spring, including 17 in-calf heifers.
All of the cows and heifers were in calf to 5 star terminal bulls including: Fiston; Hideal; Gstaad; Laurel; Kilconnelly Kodaline; Tomschoice Lexicon; and Ewdenvale Ivor.
At housing all the cows were penned according to their body condition score, and were allowed feeding rates to match their intake requirements. All cows received 100 grams of pre-calving mineral on top of their silage each morning.
A light layer of lime was spread on top of the slats daily to reduce the risk of bacteria building up in the sheds such as mastitis in late pregnancy. This practice also helped to keep the cows teats clean and dry, which had a big advantage when the calves were born. All the calving sheds were power washed, disinfected and bedded down before the start of calving.
The first calf arrived on the farm on the 27th of January and the last calf was born on the 5th of April. At 6 weeks into calving, 89% of the herd had calved down. All of the 93 cows had calved down within 10 weeks from start to finish.
The average weight of all calves born on the farm was 42Kg with a calving score of 1.2. 82% of the herd calved down with no assistance required, or in other words, 76 cows out of the 93 cows calved down on their own. At the end of the calving season out of the 93 cows there was 2 sets of twins and 89 live calves. Unfortunately, the farm had six cases of mortality - 5 still births and 1 calf at 2 weeks of age.
All of the cows calved in the straw-bedded calving pens and when the mother and calf were fit to be moved, they were transferred in to larger straw-bedded sheds. A strict code of calving hygiene practices were put in place, including placing foot bathing facilities at the entry of each shed to prevent the spread of bacteria from one shed to another and cut down on the risk of scour spreading. This proved to be an excellent routine with little to no infections occurring on the farm during calving.
When the calves turned 10 days of age they were transferred to the main suckler shed where a temporary creep area was in place. Cows were penned on the slats and the calves had access to a straw bedded area set up in a passageway through a creep gate. This practice was a great saver on straw and labour and once again all the slats received a light coat of lime daily to prevent infections.
This Charolais bull calf sired by Derryolam Matt out of a 6th calver Aberdeen Angus cross cow was born on the 4th of February at 49Kg with a calving score of 1.
This Charolais bull calf sired by Lapon out of a 5th calver Aberdeen Angus cross cow was born on the 27th of January at 43Kg with a calving score of 1.
This Limousin bull calf sired by Laurel out of a 5th calver Hereford cross cow was born on the 1st February at 43Kg with a calving score of 1.
On the 28th of February the first of the 36 cows and their calves went to grass. They had to be brought back indoors once at night time and this was only for a short period of time.
All the calves were vaccinated against pneumonia and received their clostridial vaccination along with being dehorned as they came of age. All the cows have access to mineral buckets since turned to grass to help guard against grass tetany.
By early April the majority of cows and calves were at grass and some of the cows have started to cycle and come in heat. These heats are being recorded to assess breeding activity and pick up any early potential issues. This year’s breeding season will commence on 20th April.