Beef and Lamb

How to prepare for suckler cow calving

County Fermanagh countryside. Picture: Cliff Donaldson

Commodity watch by policy officer Kellie Rouse

DAERA future agricultural policy, suckler cow scheme, is due to start in 2025. Any cows calving down in 2025 will need to calf down within 415 days from their 2024 calving dates to meet the year one target. Any heifers calving down for the first time in 2025 must calf down under 34 months to be eligible in year one. Further scheme year targets are below:

Year: Calving interval
1: 415 days
2: 405 days
3: 395 days
4: 385 days

Year: Age at first calving
1: 34 months and under
2: 32 months and under
3: 30 months and under
4: 29 months and under

By now any spring calving herds should be well in calf and scanning complete. Many farmers will be thankful for the break in the weather this Autumn which has allowed cattle to be grazed longer, grass and crops to be harvested and slurry and manure spread. For many spring suckler calving herds majority of cows will now be housed and farmers will be focusing on nutrition over the winter months and coming up to calving as it has major role in calving ease, calf survival and cow fertility. The goal for suckler cow farmers to be sustainable is for a suckler cow to deliver a calf unassisted each year and rear the calf successfully until weaning.

Farmers should group cows according to body condition score (BCS) and ensure rations meet their energy, protein and mineral requirements depending on the stage of pregnancy. The ideal calving down BCS is 2.5-3. Farmers are advised to get a silage analysis completed so that rations can be suited to meet the nutritional requirements of cows throughout pregnancy and lactation. Silage analysis are completed by most meal merchants. If silage quality is good (above 10ME and 11% crude protein) farmers are recommended to avoid suckler cows becoming overfat to include straw or lower quality forage in the diet to maintain rumen fill. Farmers should always remember to ensure there is sufficient feed space to allow cows to access feed at the same time. If straw is supplemented farmers should always remember it is low in energy, protein and minerals and correct supplementation should be included.

During the last month of pregnancy, the calf nutritional demands increase and in the last two weeks the cow is making colostrum. Mineral supplementation to cows will vary depending on the type of ration. Ideally one month before calving a mineral supplementation should include 10% magnesium and 2000iu/kg vitamin E. Magnesium contributes to ease of calving and vitamin E increase in immune system of suckler cow and is passed to the calf through colostrum. Vaccines against E.Coli, Rotavirus, Coronavirus and Salmonella should be administered prior to calving to give passive immunity to calves through the colostrum.

When a cow calves, their energy requirements increase by 30% and need to be fed accordingly for milk production and reducing the risk of metabolic diseases e.g., ketosis, milk fever, hypomagnesaemia etc. First calving heifers, leaner cows and cows with twins are most at risk of metabolic diseases due to lower energy and mineral intake.

Cow fertility will also be a key requirement of the suckler cow scheme ensuring cows are fertile and back in calf within the target calving intervals. To improve cow fertility, farmers should avoid difficult calving where possible through ensuring calves are not oversized, overweight cows, small pelvis size, correct sire and dam selection and correct nutritional feeding. Bull fertility is also extremely important at breeding season. Fertile bulls can go through periods of infertility due to health issues. It is important that a bull is in good condition and health, 10 weeks before breeding season starts. However farmers should be careful not to over feed bulls as this can lead to locomotion, reduced semen quality and diminished libido. Ideally a BCS of three is required for bulls.