Preparation for January calving is underway on Willie and James Kelly’s suckler-beef and sheep farm in Co. Sligo.
The farm is one of the eight ABP Monitor Farms that are finishing cattle in a variety of systems and are based across the country on a range of different land types.
December tends to be a quieter time of the year on the farm and all cattle have been housed with only a small number of cows calved before Christmas.
The majority of cows calve from January onwards and preparation is ongoing with cows being fed a higher-fibre, less-intensive feed.
The volume of straw fed to cows is increased and this is fed out through a diet feeder. This is to avoid too large of calves which may be difficult to calve.
There is a keen attention to detail on the genetic composition of the suckler herd so quality is never a problem with calves maintaining a super confirmation and structure as soon as they hit the ground.
This is evident when the suckler-bred calves reach maturity as beef cattle and the kill out percentages and confirmation statistics are testament to this.
The Kellys finished bulls in mid-November at the ABP Clones site in Co. Monaghan with an average carcass weight of 400kg and confirmation of U3.
The Kellys are currently feeding bulls on for expected slaughter in early January onwards, these are on a TMR consisting of high-quality DMD grass silage, straw, and 8kgs of a 50% maize blend all being fed through a diet feeder.
Heifers have also been selected and drafted for breeding or else fattening depending on age, quality, maternal traits and confirmation.
Heifers that have been selected for finishing will remain on a similar less-intensive feed until after Christmas when ready for slaughter.
Heifers which had been selected for breeding are receiving a lot less intensive diet of high DMD silage, straw and 1.5kgs of meal through the feeder in order to maintain growth and development.
Cattle had all been clipped and treated for lice with a pour on solution at housing and repeated two weeks later in order to ensure the most effective result ensuring both lice and hatching eggs had been treated. This is a vital part of the farms’ herd health plan throughout the winter.
The Kelly’s flock of ewes had been scanned with the first ewes starting to lamb from January 6 onwards. All ewes are vaccinated against pasteurellosis pneumonia and clostridial diseases and dosed according to dung sample results.
Commenting on the Kelly’s Monitor Farm, ABP Food Group’s Philip Farrell said: “The Kelly family farm maintains an excellent standard of farming which is evident in their produce throughout the year, which we here at ABP are very grateful of and would like to thank the Kelly family for their hard work and dedication throughout the year.”