05 September 2023
Watch: Preparing for weaning with Future Beef farmer Ger McSweeney
Ger McSweeney farms with his wife Karen and daughter Ella in Tooreenbawn, Milstreet, Co. Cork. He works full-time on farm and farms 31.1ha – split in four blocks, consisting of 13.22ha of owned and 17.88ha of rented land.
Ger runs a suckler to beef system, consisting of 38 spring-calving suckler cows. The males are finished as under 16 month bull beef, while the heifers not retained for breeding are finished at 21 months. He is using 100% AI to allow him to use the best genetics available.
Ger plans to wean the suckler bulls in mid-October and the heifers on November 1. Weaning is a stressful period for calves and Ger aims to reduce changes to their environment as much as possible.
The calves have been creep grazing paddocks ahead of the suckler cows by going under the electric fence. This helps to break the cow-calf bond and gives them access to the best quality grass, while the cows can graze paddocks tighter. It also helps to reduce the worm burden of the calves.
Ger started using nose paddles to wean his calves last year and found that they worked well. One week before weaning, the nose paddles are fitted on the calf. This prevents them from suckling and helps to break the maternal bond.
The herd is then brought into the yard. The calves are separated and have the nose paddles removed and the cows are housed. The bulls are typically kept in the shed too and the heifers go back to grass, weather permitting.
In the below video, Ger details his vaccination programme and meal feeding protocol pre-weaning:
Six weeks pre-weaning, the suckler calves are vaccinated against respiratory disease – mainly RSV, Pi3 and Mannheimia. Four weeks later, they are given a booster shot to ensure that they have adequate protection before the stressful weaning period. They are not vaccinated against IBR as per veterinary advice.
Calves are then fed ration four weeks before weaning and two weeks after weaning, at an average of 1kg/head/day. This also qualifies them for the National Beef Welfare Scheme meal feeding requirement.
This article first appeared in the Future Beef Newsletter for September.
Farm walk
On Thursday, September 7th, Ger will host a farm walk. Commencing at 2pm, topics covered include: breeding progress; improving grassland management; financial performance; and future plans to reduce carbon footprint.
