Ahead of this, the ABP Food Group Advantage Beef Programme farm liaison team members Matthew Quinn and Aideen Bates have highlighted a few points for farmers to consider before their calves arrive this spring.

Now is the time to clean and set-up sheds ensuring that milk replacer and concentrates are ordered and facilities are all ready for when the calves arrive.

Farmers should also speak with the dairy farmers they purchase their calves from, if they have not already done so, to discuss the arrangements for the calves.

Where farmers are purchasing calves from multiple dairy farms directly and have been doing so in recent years, it is advisable to check if there was a difference in the performance of the calves based on the source farm.

Advantage team member Aideen Bates said: "This is where weighing cattle becomes extremely important.

"Take a look at your lightest weanlings and beef cattle and see if there's a recurring pattern with the genetics or the source farms you’re purchasing calves from."

Calf-rearing shed

Matthew Quinn from the Advantage team highlighted some pointers for farmers to keep in mind with their calf-rearing sheds.

A good calf shed should allow the calf access to a deep, dry straw bed with roughage and access to clean, fresh drinking water available at all times.

The shed should be draught-free at the level of the calf.

"Straw beds should not be moving with a breeze," he explained. as draughts will consume calf energy to stay warm.

Before calves arrive to the shed, he advised that farmers "ensure the calf house has been washed and disinfected thoroughly since the last batch of calves were reared".

"Drainage outlets as well as pipes and grid covers should be thoroughly cleaned and calf feeders should be disinfected with rubber teats replaced," Quinn said.

"Where farmers are using automatic calf feeders, book a service and calibrate the machine for the first pallet of milk replacer.

"Before calves arrive, stock up on veterinary supplies such as electrolyte powders, needles and syringes, dehorner, gas, vaccines and other essentials".

Milk replacer

Aideen Bates said that the milk replacer should have a protein content of 20-25% and be whey or skim-based, which is more easily digested than non-milk proteins such as wheat gluten, wheat starch, or wheat protein.

The milk replacer used should have a fat content of 17-20%  and an ash content below 8.5%, as high ash content can lead to stomach upsets and scour.

The milk replacer should have a fibre content of below 0.15%.

"A fibre higher than 0.15% can indicate there is high levels of the above mentioned indigestible non-milk proteins used," she explained.

"Milk replacer ingredients are listed in descending order with the highest inclusion rate first and so on.   

"It will compromise growth rates and weaning weights of calves and immediately these calves will be on the backfoot."

Concentrates

A good quality, 18% protein concentrate should be used for calves and this can be in a nut, pellet or ration format.

"Once it is good quality it doesn’t matter which type is used," the Advantage team member said.

The calves' feed trough should be topped up daily with fresh concentrates and stale leftovers cleaned out.

Beef farmers interested in sourcing or rearing calves and that are interested in joining the Advantage Beef Programme can contact a member of the ABP farm liaison team.