East Donegal farm to host CalfCare summer roadshow
Gareth Peoples, who farms at Tullyannon, just outside the village of Carrigans, will open his gates to promote calf care and the potential of beef production from the dairy herd on Monday, June 23
A Carrigans farmer will host the opening night of CalfCare Summer Events ’25, a collaborative roadshow by Animal Health Ireland (AHI) and Teagasc’s DairyBeef 500 campaign.
Gareth Peoples, who farms at Tullyannon, just outside the village of Carrigans, will open his gates to promote calf care and the potential of beef production from the dairy herd on Monday, June 23.
Summer Events ’25, which is a fresh addition to CalfCare’s traditional New Year schedule, will showcase practical advice on maintaining recommended average daily gain to achieve optimal performance, effective mid-season grass management and achieving good silage quality, what farmers need to know about parasite control at grass and in advance of housing, as well as key health tasks to avoid a growth check in cattle.
With the support of Volac Milk Replacers Ireland Ltd’s Feed For Growth initiative, Summer Events ’25 will provide farmers with expert knowledge on calf rearing and the maintenance of mid-season animal health.
Animal Health Ireland CalfCare Programme Manager, Michelle McGrath, explained why the Summer Events schedule has been initiated.
“These new events represent a natural addition to the highly successful events we’ve been holding around the country over recent Januarys,” she said. “This addition to our CalfCare series will deliver the latest information and advice on boosting animal performance, discuss the significance of quality silage, up-to-date health checks on your herd and what farmers need to prioritise across the board.
“The longer evenings also lend themselves to hosting events such as these so we hope the scheduling will also prove popular with farm families to continue our efforts to promote calf health and helping farmers achieve optimal performance.”
Commenting on the introduction of the Summer Events schedule, Teagasc’s DairyBeef 500 Programme Co-ordinator, Alan Dillon, said: “These events will be a new venture for AHI and Teagasc in highlighting the importance of mid-season management for calves. The first 12 months of life is where ground is lost in calf to beef systems and these events will help address some of the issues facing farmers.”
Teagasc dairy specialist, Stuart Childs, said: “The milk feeding phase of calf rearing is only setting the foundations for future growth and while extremely important, the subsequent management of stock is vital to achieving appropriate levels of daily gain required to achieve the weight targets for the different systems. This Summer Events programme seeks to promote best practice in animal management and to achieve the desired performance required for success.”
Una Hickey, National Sales Manager of Volac Milk Replacers Ireland Ltd, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting the Summer Events series through our Feed for Growth initiative which provides practical advice, support, resources and tools to help farmers grow better cows.”
The CalfCare Summer Events ’25 programme is being run with the help and support of the co-ops and meat processors in each region.
The event at Tullyannon on June 23 is scheduled to commence at 7pm, followed by refreshments.
For further information, visit www.animalhealthireland.ie/calfcare/.
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