It's very common every spring to hear about suckler cows going down with Tetany, writes ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Drive intake pre-calving and reap the benefits for the whole lactation

Spring calving is about to kick off over the coming weeks in spring dairy herds and preparation well in advance is critical for a smooth run

All cows and cattle take an average of 21 days to adjust fully to any new diet formulation or new ingredient introduced.

The extended grazing season has been a fantastic boost but if the cattle eat it all now, it will not be there at the other end of the winter

Keep good records of any heats you see, regardless of if you are using AI or a stock bull. One of the main purposes of this should be to allow you to identify cows not cycling and in need of intervention

Grazed grass is currently exceptionally low in protein due to poor nitrogen uptake and poor growing conditions, meaning cows are deficient in dietary protein

At turn-out, the most important thing to monitor is grass intake and Rumen fill

One really important thing that can't be overemphasised is the transition from the close-up dry cow period into the early lactation stage.  Cows should remain on their dry cow diet until after they have calved.

If you are feeding the incorrect ration with available silage, then overfeeding of energy or protein will result in excessive costs.