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Know How / Youngstock management

Case studies

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CALVING

Why portable milkers can ease stress at calving

Using a portable milking machine in the calving pen is the easiest and fastest way to harvest a cow’s first colostrum and avoid having to move a newly calved cow.…

DAIRY

Bovine TB blow prompts dairy farmer to join Longhorn scheme

Price security and the ability to better weather a bovine TB outbreak were the main reasons dairy farmer Jonathan Scott signed up to a Longhorn scheme. In 2016, TB hit…

BEEF

3 weaning strategies explored for suckler farms

Many different strategies are employed by suckler herds across the UK to minimise stress, growth check and hassle when weaning suckler calves. Scotland’s Rural College beef specialist Basil Lowman stresses…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

How cow minerals unlocked calf health for Somerset farm

The Creeds are meticulous when it comes to calf rearing, so when animals suddenly started to get sick, it was a mystery as to why – until they discovered their…

WHATS IN YOUR LIVESTOCK SHED

WIYLS? New calf-rearing unit eases pressure

Rearing calves has historically been one of the toughest jobs for the Williams family, but a new purpose-designed shed has made the whole process healthier for youngstock and more enjoyable…

HOUSING AND HANDLING

How to train heifers in robotic milking systems

Investing time in training heifers to milk through a robot is paying dividends for a Somerset dairy. Introducing heifers to robots pre-calving has reduced stress and ensured a smooth transition…

Practical advice

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LIVESTOCK

Tips on using and cleaning a milk pasteuriser correctly

Pasteurising whole milk for calves kills major pathogens while protecting useful antibodies – but it is not a remedy for unhygienic practices. Keeping the machine clean inside and out, and…

DAIRY

7 ways to prevent colostrum contamination

Colostrum cleanliness should be given as much attention as immunoglobulin levels if farmers are to optimise calf health and performance. This is according to vets in a Glasgow University Veterinary…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Why it is important to calibrate a Brix refractometer

Cleaning and calibrating a Brix refractometer every time it is used will ensure that colostrum quality is measured accurately and consistently. This will confirm whether the farm’s colostrum protocol is…

LIVESTOCK

5 early-life heifer nutrition tips to drive milk production

Following basic principles of good colostrum management and feeding elevated levels of milk could pay dividends for herd performance. Dairy heifers fed the correct amount of good-quality colostrum at the…

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

Advice on grazing management for dairy heifers

Well-managed rotational grazing for dairy replacements can produce cost-effective growth and train calves to become effective grazers. However, it is important to recognise the limitations in their first grazing year.…

CALVING

Why portable milkers can ease stress at calving

Using a portable milking machine in the calving pen is the easiest and fastest way to harvest a cow’s first colostrum and avoid having to move a newly calved cow.…

Insights

FEED AND NUTRITION

Excess copper found to impair liver function in heifers

Feeding excess copper to dairy heifer calves can compromise liver function, leading to poorer fertility and lower milk yields in first lactation. This is according to AHDB-funded research at Harper…

DAIRY

How early life calf nutrition affects long-term metabolism

Researchers are discovering more about early life programming and how critical this is for adulthood, according to Trouw Nutrition’s Dr Leonel Leal. This starts with colostrum, but also includes feeding…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

4 ways to improve on 60-day calf mortality rate

Healthy calves can achieve growth rates of 1,080g/day, but just one day of diarrhoea reduces this by 80g. A calf with respiratory disease will lose 180g/day off its growth rate…

LIVESTOCK

Consumers' views could influence end of cow-calf separation

Cow-calf separation is “contentious” and a growing concern for consumers around the world. And while they do not understand what dairy farmers do, they will step in and regulate because…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Calf monitoring and health plans key to future performance

Some 90% of farmers want to make changes to improve the future sustainability of their youngstock management in the next 12 months, according to a Farmers Weekly exclusive survey. Yet…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Coccidiosis project raises hope for new treatment

Coccidiosis is a perennial parasitic problem in growing lambs. It presents some difficulties in diagnosis, treatment and prevention – but good news could be around the corner.  Lambs and calves…

LIVESTOCK

Calf bottles and tube feeders on test

It is unsurprising many farmers are switching from bottles to buckets with teats for feeding milk to older calves. Our test, carried out over a four-month period at my family…

LIVESTOCK DISEASES

7 risk factors of pneumonia in calves and how to avoid them

Buying calves from multiple sources and feeding calves only once a day could be putting animals at risk of getting pneumonia, a study has found. AHDB assessed data from eight…

FEED AND NUTRITION

What are the benefits of milk replacer for calf rearers?

More than half of all dairy and beef farmers in Great Britain now rear their youngstock on calf milk replacer (CMR) instead of whole milk, with potential disease risks a…

LIVESTOCK

Why textbook heifer growth rates may not be good enough

Dairying experts at home and abroad are questioning whether units are achieving heifer growth targets of 0.7-0.8kg/day and if this gain is sufficient for the modern Holstein. Concerted efforts to…

LIVESTOCK

Weaning lambs early could offer big benefits, trial shows

Early weaned lambs can grow as fast – if not – faster than their unweaned equivalents when fed legume-based forages. Research by New Zealand’s Massey University has found with the right…

BEEF

Is bigger better when it comes to cow size?

Finding the right sized cow to suit the system is key to suckler productivity. Farmers Weekly analyses whether bigger or smaller cows are best. A growing number of farms are…