Irish Simmental Yearbook 2022-D 2 - Flipbook - Page 24
2021 calf at 6 weeks
Simmental Calf at birth
a responsibility to supply a quality beef calf into
the dairy beef sector. In early 2020 we looked at
switching to Simmental to see if we could increase
the value of our beef calves, purchasing a stock
bull from Leeherd Simmentals whilst also ordering
Simmental straws from the GeneIreland program.
Looking at the genotype for the stock bull and also
that of the AI bull, we were con昀椀dent on paper
we had made the right decision, yet many told us
we were making a poor decision and would have a
lot of trouble calving. We choose Simmentals for
ease of calving, high calf value and short gestation.
Our average cow size is 522kg which is a nice sized
pedigree Holstein for a grass-based system.
averaging 350 euro per head once they reached
6 weeks of age. Our Simmental bred calves
were achieving 150 euro per head more than the
traditional beef breeds we were using and with the
satisfaction we had in the 昀椀rst season we returned
to Leeherd Simmentals to purchase a second stock
bull. We also keep a number of pedigree Jersey
cows all of which get served to sexed semen Jersey
and the stock bulls mopping up any that don’t go
in calf and we found these calved no trouble to
Simmental.
With the 昀椀rst AI bred Simmental calves being born
in February 2021 we were impressed from word
go. We have three requirements from a beef bull, a
quality calf that isn’t a hard calving whilst keeping
an eye on gestation length. Calving wasn’t an issue
with Simmentals, they are long calf with lots of
potential but they don’t seem to have a big head
and shoulder which can be a big issue at calving,
they seem very stream lined with scope to be a
fantastic calf at four weeks of age. Thankfully all
cows were calving on or before their due date to
Simmentals.
We invested heavily in a new calf shed in February
2021 including a second automatic calf feeder,
our aim being to keep every calf on farm for a
minimum of 4 – 6 weeks as we believe there will be
a greater focus on calf welfare in the future. Calf
sales must pay for that investment and the fact that
it costs us 22 euro a week to keep a calf on farm.
Our 昀椀rst Simmental calves were sold in March
of 2021 with one group going to Roscommon at
450 euro per head while another batch went to
Macroom mart achieving 350 euro per head. The
remaining Simmental calves were sold privately
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CORK DAIRY HERD - Irish Simmental Yearbook 2022
As a family dairy farm we always have a few
pet calves that are kept for the summer, in early
October 2021 our daughter Becky took one such
pet into Macroom mart for the weanling show and
sale. On her 昀椀rst venture into the weanling show
and sale territory she was surprised quickly when
she saw the judge place her bull in a separate pen
and an hour later he stood with a red ribbon on
his back claiming the male dairy beef bred section,
I was equally surprised when I saw her little pet
stand on the scales weighing in at 440kg which
is a fantastic weight for a February born calf but
likewise he had tremendous length as a calf.
With the 2022 calving season in full swing and 昀椀fty
percent of the herd calved by Valentines day with a
herd due date start of 2nd February we again have
some smashing Simmental calves on the ground
which will be sold in early March and we also have
an order for Simmental heifer calves to go to a farm
in Louth. Having quality calves early is a fantastic
boost to cash 昀氀ow in the Spring and I 昀椀rmly believe
Simmentals have great potential as a dairy beef
breed, the key thing for anyone purchasing a stock
bull is look at the genotype data and purchase from
respected breeders who understand the type of bull
which is suitable for dairy cows.