Farmer Focus: Heifer weights on track in run-up to calving

With January just about gone, we are on the verge of getting busy with calving once again.

It was with great relief that we passed our annual bovine TB test in the first week of the new year.

I already have the problem of valuing calves, after they are born at home, for buyers wanting to buy direct from here.

It’s not that I want to be greedy, nor do I want to give them away, I just want a fair market value without having to take them to market.

See also: What is the secret to a smooth calving period?

About the author

Eurig Jenkins

Eurig Jenkins and family are spring block-calvers on 316ha at Lampeter in west Wales. Eurig oversees the management of 430 New Zealand Friesians, supplying First Milk. Stocking rates are up to 4.11 cows/ha in the summer. Calving lasts nine weeks and youngstock are wintered on deferred grazing.

Contact:

Email: Eurigj@hotmail.com

Read more articles by Eurig Jenkins

Calf pens are ready, a new run of 450 tags has arrived, and heifers and cows are bagging up fast.

The yearling calves had 10cm of snow to dig through to get to their grass, and we upped their concentrates as well and have left it at 1.5kg a head a day, as they were slightly underweight.

With the roads being impassible with a 4×4, we opted to run the quad over daily. That was like being in the Alps.

In-calf heifers were weighed on 2 January and averaged 492kg. Their average daily liveweight gain since April was 0.73kg on grazed grass only (no cake).

We did visit the Lamma show, and it’s definitely a well-attended event, with trade stands and farmers keen to see what is new on the market.

Apart from a breakfast, which set us up for the day, no purchases were made and, with the February milk price sitting at 30.25p/litre, I feel nervous and wonder if we will see another drop again for March.

January work seems repetitive: gathering quotes for milk powder, cake, plastics and other stuff we put out for tender, to see who comes up with the best value-for-money deal.

It’s quite time-consuming every year, but unless you do it, I wonder if you’re getting the best value for your money.

Apart from having quite a few days off, it’s been a relatively relaxing month – keeping the log burner going, trying to wean myself off alcohol, and cutting portion sizes to reduce kilograms on the bathroom scales.

The intakes have not changed, but the kilos are nearly half. I managed to do this by being fully naked and putting only one foot on the scales.