Beef Newsletter - May 2025

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In this month's edition:

• Deadline dates
  A new dairy-beef scheme (National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme (NDBWS)) was announced and opened by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in late March 2025. Participants in the Scheme will be required to weigh eligible calves and submit weights to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF). All calves must be at least 12 weeks old at the time of weighing, and weights uploaded within seven days. All weights should be submitted before 5.30pm on November 1, 2025. Applications for the 2025 NDBWS must be lodged online through agfood.ie before midnight on Thursday, May 15. The closing date for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) scheme is May 15, 2025. Remember to book your appointment with your advisor early in order to avoid errors/penalties.
• Steps for making quality silage
  1. How much quality silage is required? The first step is to decide how much and what type of silage is needed.
  2. Cut early at the right growth stage. Grass growth stage at harvest is the most important factor in deciding silage quality.
  3. Quality over bulk. Using a ‘one big first cut’ approach to make silage increases risk of fodder shortages because second-cut yields are reduced by pushing first cuts into mid June.
  4. Considerations if nitrogen (N) is in the crop. A useful guide for fertiliser N is that grass uses two units per day on average.
  5. Test sugars. High sugar content allows the crop to ferment quickly in the pit or bale. Ideally we want sugars at 3% to allow good preservation of the crop.
  6. Wilt for a day. Wilting grass to increase dry matter is very beneficial to good preservation.
  7. Plan for a good second cut. With earlier cutting there is a great opportunity to make a good second cut of silage in July.
• Time to turn out dairy-beef calves
  Farmers are getting ready to turn springborn dairy-bred calves out to grass. A successful transition from indoors to outdoors is essential when it comes to avoiding sickness and maintaining good thrive.
• Keep an eye on your bull
  Breeding season is about to commence on many suckler farms. Careful observation of the stock bull at mating is needed for a successful season. Make sure the bull is mounting and serving cows correctly.
• Health & Safety - Machinery safety
  May is the month when tractor and machinery work ramps-up on farms. The silage season gets going, and fertiliser and slurry spreading along with crop spraying all take place. All this leads to high injury risk. Most injuries occur due to being struck by a farm vehicle. Blind spots exist around vehicles where the driver’s view is obstructed – particularly at close range.