Dairy Newsletter - January 2024

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In this month's edition:

• Top five tips for January
  • Prepare for calving – ensure all calving and calf-rearing facilities and equipment are ready, with ample supplies of consumables such as calf tags, gloves, iodine, and lubricant available. 
  • Are you feeding the correct rate of pre-calving minerals? 
  • Review soil analysis and plan slurry applications to make best use of these valuable nutrients.
  • Are you vaccinating for calf scour this year? Ensure vaccine is administered at an appropriate time pre calving. 
  • Review silage stocks and grass supply. Source additional feed if a deficit is likely. 
• Good reputations attract good workers
  Employers in all sectors are looking for good staff. Small businesses often say that word of mouth is the best way to find suitable people. Therefore, having a good reputation as a farmer and employer is extremely important to be able compete with other employers.
• Get set up for a trouble-free calving
  For most herds peak calving season is just around the corner. That brings great advantages later in the season but means a big labour challenge at peak time. Based on the experiences of some top-performing farms with compact calving and low calf mortality rates, some useful tips are outlined.
• Make 2024 safe and healthy
  Sadly, 13 fatal farm workplace accidents occurred in 2023. Teagasc research shows that workload, rushing and tiredness are major factors, so good planning and preparation are key to reduce risk. Keep facilities and machines well maintained, allow sufficient time to get each job done safely and seek help during busy periods.