FINANCIAL LOSSES OF NOT hitting BREEDING TARGETS

• The following losses accrue:
  • Six-week calving rate: For every 1% below target, you lose €8.22/cow.
  • Calving interval: For every one day lost, you lose 0.12c/L.
  • Replacement rate: For every 1% over 18%, you lose 0.14c/L.
  • Days in milk: For every 30 days short of target, you lose 0.6c/L.
  • Herd age (lactations): For every one lactation below target 4.5, you lose1.5c/L.
• 100-cow farmers, on average, are losing over €30,000 by not achieving these targets. A serious loss, mainly due to:
  • National six-week calving rate being 68%.
  • Calving interval is 385 days.
  • National culling rate is 24% (target 18% B&W and 14%
    Jersey X)
  • National average lactations of herd is 3.7 (target 4.5+).
  • National average lactation of cows being culled is 4.7
    (target 5.5).
• Serious financial losses, but compact calving is now all about getting this difficult period over and done with as fast as possible.

STEPS TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL BREEDING SEASON:

• Decide on your mating start date (MSD) based on your targeted median calving date for 2026, and the number of days from start of calving to median calving date in 2025.
• Based on research, the following median calving dates are advised:
  • South (dry land): February 16 (50% of herd in calf by May 9).
  • North (or wet land): February 26 (50% of herd in calf by May 20).
• The target number of days from start of calving to median calving date is 15-20 days for cows and 10 for heifers:
  • The median calving date is that day when 50% (half) of the cows have calved
  • Look up yours on the calving report, on the ICBF, site for your herd.
  • Then, subtract your days from the target median calving date set for 2026, to help you decide on the MSD.
  • Farmers may need to start calving four to six days later than usual because many are calving before the research-advised date.
• It is best to start recording heats three to four weeks before MSD – early April.
  • This will give you information to identify non-cycling cows and heifers.
  • Non-cycling cows may be due to low BCS, lack of iodine, cows that have had retained afterbirth, had milk fever, had a left displaced abomasum, etc. – get the vet to check them.
• Sexed semen now drives the breeding season planning process (it is a must-do on all dairy farms).
• Choose the following animals:
  • Maiden heifers, R2s, they must be the main target, and they must all:
    • Be genetically better than the cows.
    • Be on target liveweight.
    • Have a BCS of 3.25+.
    • Be on their third heat.
  • Choose suitable cows. They must:
    • Be above average for herd EBI.
    • Be more than 50 days calved.
    • Be cycling regularly.
    • Have high fertility genetics (€120+ for B & W and €65+ for Jersey X).
    • Be in lactations one to three – this is very important!
    • BCS 3+.
    • Free of postpartum disorders and uterine disease.
  • Both the cows and R2s must be on a rising plane of nutrition for the two weeks before and after MSD.
    • They must be on the same type of diet – no sudden changes.
• Sexed semen is a key technology for dairy farmers. It is a fragile product, requiring careful handling. The technology means that:
  • Fewer dairy calves will be born on farms.
  • You will have better EBI replacement heifers.
  • You will have better and more valuable non-replacement calves.
  • Improved sustainability achieved on farm.
  • But you must order AI straws ASAP.
• When using sexed semen:
  • Use within the first three weeks of the breeding season – within the first 10 days, if possible.
  • Timing of AI: 14-20 hours after heat onset – collars help greatly.
  • Fixed-time AI is costly but mitigates the risk. Facilitates targeted use of sexed semen on MSD.
  • It is vital to observe the following standards on the day of AI:
    • Organise sexed straws into one goblet.
    • Only thaw two sexed straws (max.) at a time.
    • Thaw straws at 35-37oC for 45 seconds.
    • Load straws into a pre-warmed AI gun and keep warm.
    • Deposit semen in the uterine body.
    • Complete inseminations within five minutes,
• Stephen Butler, Teagasc Moorepark, recommends the following synchronisation plan/protocol for both cows and heifers for fixed time AI (FTAI) on Friday, April 25 (change the days to suit your situation) – calving down on February 1, 2026.

Notes on terminology (previous table):

GnRH: Gonadotropin releasing hormone e.g. Ovarelin, Receptal.

PG: Prostaglandin e.g. Estrumate, Syncroprost, Enzaprost, Lutalyse.

P4D: Progesterone device e.g. progesterone releasing intravaginal device (PRID) and controlled internal drug release (CIDR).

On Friday 25 the R2s get GnRH at 8am but delay the FTAI with SS (sexed semen) until 4pm. This gives 10% better conception.

• Select adequate number of bulls to avoid some malfunction,
  as follows:

  Herd size (including heifers)	Minimum number of bulls
  0-100	7
  100-150	8
  150-200	10
  200-250	11
  250-300	12

• For non-cycling cows or late calvers, the above synchronisation programme is suggested – talk to your vet.
• Decide on the number of dairy AI straws required:
  • For every replacement, you require two sexed straws.
  • You are advised to aim for 30% in calf to dairy AI; that means using at least 60 sexed semen straws per 100 cows with the remainder being beef AI straws.
• A lot of time must be spent in identifying the very best cows and the best bulls to suit your farm.
• Identifying your best cows:
  • Your best cows will have EBI €230+, fertility €90+, % fat (F) 0.20, and % protein (P) 0.10+, with positive health traits and PDs for milk solids (MS) of 15+kg.
• Identify our ‘ideal’ B&W AI bulls. They must have a high EBI, with fertility over €130, a maintenance of €18+, with PDs for % F and % P of 0.3+ and 0.2+, respectively. They should have a health figure of €7+ with transmittnig ability for TB of 8.2% (you must aim for or as near as possible to these criteria). I have a list of 40 B & W bulls meeting the ‘ideal’ requirement.
• Metricheck all cows 20-28 days after calving to make sure no infection is present.
• Body condition score (BCS) loss of 0.5+ from calving to MSD results in 20% lower conception rates. It is important to BCS the whole herd now and again in early May:
  • Any cow that has lost weight should now be put on once-a-day (OAD) milking to be on a rising plane of nutrition for the two weeks before and after mating.
  • Cows under BCS 2.75 should also go on OAD milking.
• Cows must be on a rising plane of nutrition now with no decrease in energy intakes post-mating. See Table 1 for meal-feeding levels for various levels of grass intakes to achieve various levels of milk yields.

Table 1: Level of meal (kg) required to maintain BCS depending on milk yield and grass intakes.

• Establish your annual yield by multiplying the peak yield by 215-225.
  • Over-feeding may put you into the high stocking rate band.
• Good grass (18kg DM intake) can support 28kg milk/cow/day.
  • Make sure to back-check cows’ intakes per day during breeding.
• Be alert to volume and % protein decreases as these are indicators of energy deficits in the cow’s diet. It may be due to:
  • Poorer grass quality;
  • Lower intakes due to wet weather;
  • Very low covers in dry weather;
  • A lot of bulling activity; or
  • Health issues.

• Mineral issues: If you suspect problems in this area, blood test 10% of your cows, get a composite grass analysis from four or five of the first paddocks being grazed in the second round.
• If you have a poor six-week calving rate, I recommend the Why Wait programme.
  • This involves moving cows being served in week two to week one and from week three to week two, but you need very good pre-mating records.
  • See Table 2 for the date/procedures which must be followed to the letter of the law.
  • You must accurately identify and record cows coming on heat during the last 21 days before MSD – mark them with a special colour or marking, as per Table 2 suggestions.
    • That means for a MSD of May 1, pre-mating heat recording must start on April 5-7 with all calved cows painted red.
    • Cows identified as being on heat in weeks one, two, and three are painted yellow, blue and green, respectively, leaving the red ones to be seen by the vet.
  • To move week two expected heats to week one, all cows with blue paint should get 2cc PG on the MSD.
  • On May 7 (or seven days after MSD), cows with yellow paint should get 2cc PG.
    • They will come bulling two to four days later (cows rarely come on heat the day after PG).
    • With this programme, you will have AI’d 60% of your cows within seven days and 90 per cent within 14 days of MSD.
    • Many of my clients have successfully done this over the last few years, with very good calving results subsequently.
• As you will see from Table 2, I am recommending an early scan, 32-39 days post service. It is done only once per week as outlined, scanning cows that have not being served a second time/supposed to be pregnant.
  • Whether you do ‘Why Wait’ or not, this early scanning option is very worthwhile, instead of waiting until 30 days after the end of breeding season, which only confirms pregnancy.
  • So here, you are confirming pregnancies, and making an early identification of cows you have missed, in addition, a good scanner will identify ‘weak’ pregnancies.
  • From this, you could PG non-pregnant cows and reserve again in a few days.
• Due to their biological position, heifers take six to seven days longer to go back in calf the second year; hence, the need to serve/calve the heifers six to seven days before the cows.

SUBMISSION RATE IS KEY!

• High submission rate, target 90% in three weeks, is the key to deliver the 90% six-week calving rate.
• Heat detection is difficult as the following facts show:
  • Each standing mount only lasts two to three seconds.
  • The average number of mounts by Holstein-Friesians and heifers is 11.
  • Bulling lasts three to 30 hours, averaging 11 hours.
  • So, you only have a window of 25-40 seconds to see some cows on standing heat.
• If you miss her, you have lost €140-€180.
• What heat detection aids are available?
  • Tail paint with non drip household emulsion at a cost of 25-30c per cow for the season. But be careful to keep the strip only two inches wide, nine inches long from the tail-head forward.
    • Clip hair prior to ‘painting’ as paint will come off easier and layering will be minimised.
  • Specialised tail paints with brush on bottle costing €1 per cow for the season.
  • Aerosol sprays, costing 30-80c per cow.
  • Kamar detectors (pressure-sensing device) costing €1.50-€1.80 each.
  • Paint sticks, costing 15c per cow every time it is put on.
  • Scratch cards – recommended for heifers.
  • A vasectomised bull, but do not use him until five to six weeks into the breeding season. You still have time to get the vet to ‘fix up’ an uncastrated yearling. You need one for every 30 expected bulling cows.
  • Computerised systems/collars have proved to be a labour saver and very successful with the exact timing for sexed semen.
  • Five observations per day but this is very demanding.
• The AI technician needs a suitable crush; the ideal service crush is free standing and 1.75m by 0.71m with a 1.37m chain at back to hold her in – no steps.
  • With the sire advice he will know in advance which AI bull goes on which cow.
• It is vital that you, now, notify/book your vet and AI technician of your plans.

SIRE ADVICE – A MUST-DO TASK!

• Use ICBF sire advice to match your AI chosen bulls with your cows – too few farmers are using it. Follow these steps:
• Click on Menu, then Applications, then Sire Advice, then Manually enter Bulls, then Add (green on right hand side) the AI bull that you have previously identified, then straw allocation, then Run Sire Advice, then Save and send to AI.
• Or you could go to Sire Advice Plus where, effectively, you identify your best cows for mating to best AI bull; your cows for culling; your cows for beef AI/bull and cows for cross breeding. Farmers with very high cow genetics MUST use this option, even if time-consuming, it will be worth it.

• I have a list of B&W and Jersey bulls that I consider are ‘ideal’ for most situations.

GRAZING MANAGEMENT: GET ON TARGET!

• April grassland management will be challenging:
  • The dry/harsh weather in March has resulted in lower farm covers (or average farm covers [AFC]) and low pre-grazing covers (PGC) on the first paddocks to be grazed on second rotation.
  • The targets have been established by Teagasc to work for all farms to keep a balance between grass availability and quality.
  • You must measure weekly but at challenging times, like now, measure twice per week.
• Establish the AFC and act!
  • You need an AFC of 600-700kg DM/ha in early April with the following AFC per cow:
    • Most of country: 180-200kg DM/ha.
    • Wet/cold land: 200-210 kg DM/ha.
  • PGC of 1,200-1,300kg DM/ha on the first three paddocks are required for the start of the second rotation and a PGC of 1500-1600kg DM/ha for the start of the third rotation in late April,
  • Meal will need to be fed as per Table 1.
    • So as to feed 800-900kg DM/ha/cow this year you should not average more than 3kg meal this month, but the preferable amount will be 1-2kg per day.
• Because many farmers have applied very little N they should apply 25-30 units of protected urea and sulphur per acre early in the month; however, if no P or K has been used apply one to two bags of 18:6:12.
• Make sure to apply all your slurry now – results in lower losses – on your silage ground but not exceeding 3,000 gallons per acre.
  • Use 60-70 units/acre of urea, discounting for slurry N and residual N from grazing.
• Graze silage ground a second time before closing mid-April if you have adequate grazing grass. This will alleviate grazing grass shortages and reduce spending three to four times the cost of grass on meal.
• On some farms, there will be surplus grass on some paddocks in the first rotation – what to do?
  • The priority is to start the second rotation when you have 1,200+kg DM/ha on first few paddocks.
  • If you are on your second rotation with PGC of 1,200-1,400kg DM/ha, then you should cut this grass as baled silage, immediately.
• Aim for the following grazing stocking rates which will free up the remainder of the farm for silage and you can calculate if those acres delivers enough silage for next winter:

• If these high stocking rates result in grass being tight you can graze some of the silage ground. But you must make this plan because silage ground will get 70 units N/acre whereas if you depend on taking out surpluses off grazing paddocks, this will only achieve less than 40 units/acre.
• This plan ensures a large first cut which is the cheapest silage.

SHORT REMINDERS

• Clover: Swards with clover get the same N rates in April as pastures with no clover.
  • It is very important to go through every paddock in April and score it for clover content because the percentage clover in the sward determines the amount of N that paddock should get per hectare.
  • Clover must be sown on all farms because the lower rates of bag N have resulted in lower yields of grass on all farms where there is no clover in the sward.
  • April is a very good month to sow, preferably a full plough and till.
  • Sow white clover on the MP; 50% of the area, with 1kg red clover in the mix.
  • Farmers who have sown red clover for silage on outside blocks have been very pleased with the yield (three cuts with little or no N) and the quality.
    • Because of disease risks it needs a six-year break, therefore, plan the rotation with that in mind.
  • Only use clover varieties from the UK-recommended list:
    • Some of the failures last year were due to not using suitable varieties.
• Reseed in April – we need the best grass varieties to maximise grass yield from now.
• Calves must get to grass because:
  • Being in houses increases the risk of disease, pneumonia and scours.
  • Weight gain will be much higher.
  • Management will be a lot easier.
  • Use good grassland management practices to prevent parasite issues.
  • Teach students/staff how to measure grass and identify cows on-heat.

Quote of the month

“High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.”