Newford Notes - Week of 28th February 2022
The first group of 20 suckler cows and calves went to grass on the 28th February at Newford farm with yearling heifers out a month before. Michael Fagan, Technician of the Newford Suckler Demonstration Farm, Athenry, has the latest on calving, an update on the yearling heifers, grass and fertiliser
Calving at Newford
Calving activity has been in full swing over the last month on Newford Farm
- 83% of the Newford herd calved over a period of just 33 days (1st March) with the first cow calving on the 27th of January.
- 77 cows out of 93 in-calf animals calved up to 1st March
- With 74 live calves on the ground
- There has been five cases of calf mortality
- Three cases have been attributed to stillbirths
- One calf died during a vet caesarean section
- One calf died two weeks after being born.
- There are 16 cows left to calve, as of 1st of March
- Calves are being disbudded and are receiving treatment for coccidiosis as they come of age
- They are also receiving their IBR and clostridial disease vaccination
- At this moment in time there are no health issues to report on the farm
- The average weight of all calves born to-date is 42 kg
- The average calving score is 18 and a detailed breakdown is listed below
Photo above: The first group of cows (20) and calves went to grass on the 28th February
A selection of calves grouped together in a temporary creep area
Newford Farm is using the “No Feeding of Silage Rule” during the day. It works as follows;
- Cows are restricted access to silage from 8am to 4.30pm daily
- The cows have access to straw only during this time period
- Newford has found this method very successful and it has contributed to more efficient time management and reducing labour requirements during the night
- Out of the 77 cows calved at the moment 18 cows or 23 % of the herd have calved between 1am and 6am in the morning g
Cows have access to straw only by day Electric wire in place to keep cows back from silage by day
Yearling heifers update
- Newford yearling heifers went to grass on the 20th of January 2022 weighing 411 Kg
- Unfortunalley due to the three storms (Dudley, Eunice& Franklin) last week, they had to be rehoused for six days and during this housing period they received a copper bolus. They had already received their clostridial disease booster vaccination at turnout in January
- The heifers are now back grazing again on the Cones land block
- Newford Farm’s plan for these heifers is to finish them off grass at 16 to 17 months of age aiming for an average drafting liveweight of 550 kg in early summer. The farm hopes to capitalise on seasonally stronger market returns compared to selling later in the year
Grass Walk
- Cones farm received 1.5t of lime per acre in late January
- Protected urea has been ordered and the first fertiliser of 2022 will be spread in the coming days at a rate of 17 kg per acre
2022 Newford Farm video
Newford Farm has posted its latest farm video on the Teagasc Facebook page. Watch it below.
Title: “Newford Farm Yearling Heifers Early Turnout to Grass on the 20th January 2022”
The video and article can also be viewed on Teagasc Daily at: https://www.teagasc.ie/news--events/daily/beef/newford-farm-yearling-heifers-early-turnout-to-grass.php
More information on the Newford Herd can be found here