Visited a dairy farmer in Co. Wicklow to scan a herd of Holstein dairy cows. We had visited this client 3 months previously, and diagnosed a cow carrying triplets. The client subsequently, terminated the pregnancy on the basis of the risk to the health of the cow. The client was shocked when I scanned the […]
Read MoreOn a farm visit outside Kilworth, Co. Cork, we scanned a herd of dairy cows and a batch of 30 maiden heifers which were running with a Jersey stock bull. I knew from the beginning that this bull was dangerous because of his behaviour. This issue was agreed on by the client who was in […]
Read MoreIn farm visits in West Cork, a client informed me that their plans to upgrade farm buildings and expand have been put on hold because of the very poor financial position pertaining this year with milk price and weather combining in very poor returns for the dairy industry.
Read MoreVisited a suckler farmer outside Midleton, Co.Cork. This client presented a group of suckler cows for scanning. He presented one group of 9 cows that were running with a yearling Hereford bull. They were all confirmed pregnant carrying male calves. The odds ratio of this happening is very low. It cannot be explained biologically.
Read MoreVisited a suckler farmer outside Clogheen, Co. Tipperary. This client presented a group of weanling heifers to assess reproductive status prior to sale. It transpired that just 2 animals out of 15 were either cycling or in calf. Normally farmers would inject maiden heifers prior to sale. However, this approach is often wasteful and ineffective […]
Read MoreVisited a client in Co. Tipperary. They told me that they had a neighbour with a cow that had four calves. A local veterinary surgeon from a practice nearby was involved in delivering what was thought at the time to be triplets. However, the farmer who was not present on the farm at the time, […]
Read MoreDr Dan’s Weekly Diary up to September 17, 2012 The days are getting shorter which is evident in both the mornings and the evenings. It is now dark when we leave Fermoy each morning. Thankfully, temperatures are still high and rainfall is low for the week. There is still some spring wheat and barley to […]
Read MoreProfit Monitor system for Irish Dairy farms averaged a cost of €1200 to keep a cow for a year on a dairy farm in Ireland. With the cost of production at 24 cents and the cost of milk at 32cents each cent profit by 6000 litres, this makes little economic sense.
Read MoreThe wet weather in the months of June, July and August, resulted in many dairy and suckler farmers keeping their cattle indoors. They were pleasantly surprised at the 90% plus pregnancy rates achieved for a 15 week breeding period.
Read MoreOn call outside Ballyneety, Co. Limerick, where we previously scanned a cow carrying a heifer calf. The cow calved this week, and the calf was born without eyes. The farm manager jokingly said ‘How come when you were sexing the calf you did not look into the calves eyes’. The client is looking forward to […]
Read More
085 858 1985
