Dairy herds in many areas have seen marked declines in milk yield well beyond normal yield curve reductions, writes independent ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

Creep feeding in the suckler herd should ideally commence when calves require additional energy to maintain target weight gains beyond the energy consumed from milk and grass

Breeding heifers at a younger age and at lighter weights yields a calf and return on investment earlier than waiting to breed until the heifer is heavier and older, but may require more careful management at calving, writes ruminant nutritionist Brian Reidy

A lot of dairy and suckler producers are extremely disillusioned with the indices being used.

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