Are your calf rearing facilities adequate ahead of spring 2020?

Dairy specialist Martina Gormley joins Emma-Louise Coffey to help identify the proper requirements for calf housing facilities on dairy farms in Ireland. She explains that 1.5 million dairy cows will calve down in Ireland in 2020, with almost 1 million of those calving in the first 3 months of the year. Martina guides farmers on how they can calculate their calf rearing requirements based on their calving pattern. Where a dairy farmer has an 80% 6 week calving rate will have a peak of 70 calves on farm in early March. Each calf requires a space allowance of 1.7㎡. She also emphasises the importance of calculating requirements compared with current facilities and ensures that where there is a shortfall in current facilities, it is not too late to make a plan to create alternative options.  For more episodes and information from the Dairy Edge podcast go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/