It is estimated that more than 6% of calves die before they reach six months of age, most of these losses occur in the first month of the calves’ life and many are a re...

Diarrhoea or ‘scours’ is one of the leading causes of mortality in pre-weaned calves, particularly in the first month of life. The cost of an outbreak of scour can av...

Contract heifer rearing involves setting up an agreement with another farmer to rear your heifers rather than doing it yourself. This frees up time and capital, allows yo...

Replacement heifers are one of the most valuable assets but also biggest costs to a farm. Physical development is more important than age at first calving for a success...

Genomic evaluation is a relatively new tool for breeding improvement in the dairy industry, but in recent years uptake of the technology has increased exponentially, and ...

Consistent growth throughout their early years is essential to ensure heifers calve in at the most economical age at first calving of 24 months, but all too often turnout...

Johne’s Disease is emerging as a prevalent and costly disease amongst UK beef and dairy herds. This Farming Note covers: Which tests to use (blood, milk or faeces) ...

Leptospirosis (lepto) is a bacterial disease of cows which causes infertility, abortion storms, higher cell counts and lower milk yields. Control of lepto is particularl...

Liver fluke can have a significant impact on weight gain in young cattle and can reduce milk quality and yield in lactating animals. To prevent fluke causing a detrimenta...

Heifers are the future of your herd and time spent ensuring they reach targets effectively and efficiently will pay dividends when they enter the herd. A typical 150 cow ...