BUSINESS METHANE RESEARCH
Beyond the long Irish lockdown Words by: Katie Starsmore and Jacob Sievwright
I Katie Starsmore and Jacob Sievwright.
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t’s finally starting to warm up here in Ireland and Covid-19 restrictions are looking to be lifted in the coming months. It’s been a long time coming! At the end of March/early April we had a few weeks of cold frosty mornings which stunted grass growth. Following that we have had lots of warm dry weather and haven’t had much rain over April so we are currently praying for the rain. Who would’ve thought you would ever say that in Ireland? We’re now in the full swing of breeding with plenty to keep an eye on. Our mating start date (MSD) is May 1 and we plan to artificial insemination (AI) for 11 weeks while using 8 teaser bulls on rotation within 300 cows. Each of the teaser bulls is fitted with a halter that has a chin ball. The chin ball marks on the cows along with tail paint that we use to identify bulling cows. Tail paint is topped up twice a week and any cows seen to be bulling are written on a
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | May 2021
