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Heifer rearing with Hazel Costigan


Hazel Costigan from Teagasc Moorepark joins Stuart Childs on this week’s Dairy Edge to discuss heifer rearing and the targets associated with it.

Hazel references a study done 10 years ago by Laurence Shalloo, which put the cost of rearing a heifer at €1,545. A further study by Donagh Berry has shown that it takes 1.63 lactations to cover this cost, and this may have increased since then.

Hazel says that the only way to manage heifer performance is to weigh them relatively regularly and, at a minimum, at key times throughout their lifetime. This is necessary to identify stock that are not on target and react to bring them back in line the rest of the group. Hazel highlights the importance of doing this due to the impact in the first, second and third lactation performance of lighter heifers in a study she did of Moorepark records from 2003-2017.

Finally, Hazel suggests that farmers weigh both their calves and heifers and act now to address weight deficits sooner rather than later. This is especially important as we move towards housing, when average daily gain will inevitably drop due to the lower quality of the diet offered relative to the grass diet currently being consumed.  

Listen in below:

During the podcast, a calf weight excel is mentioned, this is available to view here.

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast, a Teagasc co-production with LastCastMedia.com, visit the Dairy Edge podcast show page here.